Lift Up the Williams Family in Crisis

For those who don't know me, my name is Nichole Williams. I am a married mother of 2 sons who are 14 and 16. I worked as a Clinical Social Worker and Grief Counselor for 18 years until I had to leave my career in 2018 due to complex and debilitating health issues that are chronic and impact my life daily.

I have lived with health issues for most of my life. I was diagnosed with Ménière's Disease in 2011 and with Chronic Migraine Disease, IBS, Depression, and Fibromyalgia in 2018. I am deaf in my left ear and I live with tinnitus, ear fullness, and ear pressure in my left ear. I have to walk with a cane or walking poles due to my balance issues and being a fall risk. I have vertigo often and feel dizzy and off balance daily. I live with chronic pain, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, light sensitivity, smell sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, and noise sensitivity. I am very sensitive to changes in the barometric pressure, which causes me to have attacks and end up sick in bed. I live with chronic idiopathic constipation and diarrhea. This past October, November, and December were some of the worst flare-ups of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Diarrhea that I have ever had. I ended up in the hospital twice, in October and in December, for 5 days each time, plus a full week of sickness in November at home, due to diarrhea, dehydration, and life-threatening low potassium. I was brought into the hospital the first time by an ambulance which I was billed for and it is not covered by my insurance company. I have health insurance, but due to the cost of these hospitalizations, plus the bill for the ambulance, we have a lot of medical expenses right now that are weighing heavily on me. We also have bills that we have incurred for the boys' trips—Caleb's robotics trip to Minnesota for the regional competition, and an upcoming trip to Houston later this year. Ryder has his trip with his biology class in June to Costa Rica as well. Needless to say, our regular budget is not making ends meet with the additional medical expenses and the trips that were previously planned for the boys as part of their education.

I am coming to you to ask for a donation, in any amount, and only if you feel able to do so. I appreciate any and all donations. This feels like a big ask. Living with chronic illness is challenging. I am trying to help my family raise as much money as possible to pay off our debt. I don't want finances to be an additional stress for us to have to worry about. It is not good for my mental, physical, or emotional health.

Thank you ahead of time for all of your support, love, and encouragement.