Healing My Heart, Pos Fight Cancer, Saving My Boys

Dear friends, I hope this message finds you well. My name is Chance, I'm 24 years old, and I'm reaching out to share my story with you. I recently became a step-father to two amazing boys, aged 3 and 6, whose safety I hold dear. For almost three years now, we have created a loving family unit together. It's me, my girlfriend Phoenix, and our two boys, residing in Summerville, SC, just outside of Charleston. Over the past year, my family and I have faced numerous challenges with our living situation. Our landlords unexpectedly raised the rent, leaving us with very little time to find a new place. As a result, we found ourselves in a temporary hotel living situation. Picture two young boys and two adults squeezed into a single bedroom, struggling to create a comfortable life while facing exorbitant expenses. We were barely getting by, paying over $1,400 a week just to make ends meet. During this period, we encountered additional hardships when Phoenix's car started having issues. We were both working as Lyft and Uber drivers, relying on our own vehicles due to the unpredictable nature of our schedules. However, Phoenix's car became inoperable, jeopardizing her ability to work. With limited funds, I took it upon myself to repair her vehicle, as we couldn't afford professional repairs, nor could we afford to lose the car since she was still making payments on it. We worked tirelessly in a Walmart parking lot, where we were allowed to fix the car, despite the hotel not permitting such work. I would spend 8-12 hours a day repairing the car, only to head out for another 8-12 hours of work at night to help us financially, as Phoenix was unable to contribute at that time. It was a grueling routine, and every tool or part needed for the repairs had to be carefully budgeted for. Then, on December 23rd, 2022, my health took a severe turn for the worse. I have a history of heart complications, and that day, my heart began failing once again. I experienced symptoms of a heart attack, which later turned out to be true after medical testing. Over the next five days, I found myself bedridden and unable to eat, slowly growing weaker each day. I finally managed to force down some crackers, even though my body violently rejected them at first. From there, I gradually progressed to eating chicken noodle soup and eventually some applesauce. Unfortunately, these are the only foods my body tolerates now, violently rejecting anything else. Doctors have been running countless tests and suspect either cancer or a severe bacterial infection that has plagued me for the past six months. Recently, my symptoms have worsened, with consistent vomiting and defecating large amounts of blood, prompting the doctors to schedule biopsies on my esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and colon, as well as removing some polyps before they become cancerous, if possible. In the last six months alone, I have been admitted to the hospital more than 15 times. I've lost over 90 pounds, and my body has become frail and weak. Despite my deteriorating health, I strive to be there for our boys every day, taking care of them full-time, alongside managing household chores and attending online classes. Phoenix has been our sole breadwinner during this difficult period, working tirelessly to provide for our family. About four months ago, she was able to secure a student loan, which allowed us to move into a more stable living situation—a one-bedroom apartment that we now call home. At this point, Phoenix had lost her car due to us not being able to pay for her payments on it and the Walmart we had parked it at assumed we abandoned it due to me not being able to come out and work on it for the first month after my health problems started. The car was towed and then repossessed. However, the mounting medical expenses have taken a toll on our finances. I have accumulated over $35,000 in medical bills, and though I managed to pay off $20,000, the remaining $15,000 has gone to collections. We also face future expenses related to upcoming procedures and treatments that I have not yet received bills for. The debt that has caught up with us has put our current housing situation at risk, and we fear returning to the uncertainty of a hotel. We struggle to keep up with new bills, and our phones have been threatened with disconnection. We already lost our internet connection, and we now face the possibility of having our electricity shut off if we fall behind on our payments again. This month, we may even miss our rent payment. We do our best to maintain a sense of normalcy for our boys, but we no longer have the luxury of TV or Wi-Fi in our home. The strain this has placed on my family, both emotionally and financially, breaks my heart. It's especially difficult when my 7-year-old expresses his concern and asks when I will get better. We are in desperate need of stability and a way to catch up on our bills, as well as cover the ongoing and future medical expenses that will ensure my recovery and the well-being of my family. At this point, we estimate that it would take approximately $18,000 to catch up on our financial obligations. This does not include the future costs associated with my medical procedures and treatments. I humbly ask for your support, whether it's through donations or simply sharing our story with others who may be able to help. Your kindness and generosity, in whatever form it may come, mean the world to us. We love and appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I've tried to include as many photos to show our family and all of us together and some good memories we've had even through these tough times. I apologize in advance that I'm not in a lot of the pictures as I don't like having my picture taken and as a photographer in my free time, I enjoy being behind the camera more often than not. But have included a few. I've also tried to include proof of as much as I have for the bills, the emergency room visits, diagnosis, drug tests to show that I'm not using any substances and anything else I can provide so that there is no speculation as to whether or not there is any falsified information in this as I want to be as honest and open as I can be at this point with everyone. For some of the screenshots and photos, it might be hard to discern what is there but the diagnosis I have received is Lateral Infarction (heart attack) the age of the heart attack was undetermined and a possible inferior infarction as well, the ventricular premature depolarization is a disease of failure in the muscles of the heart that leads to systolic heart failure that is what my heart condition has been and I was diagnosed with that before all of this all over the last six months. I don't have much for the stomach issues that I've been having other than the orders for the procedure because the procedure I have to undergo will determine whether or not it is cancer or a bacterial infection, the only other things that I have are the blood tests that only show that it isn't celiac or another disease and that is why they will be doing an invasive procedure. My biggest fear throughout all of this is either losing our housing and having no safe environment for our children or the boys having to witness me being lowered into a grave because I can’t afford help or treatment. Please, from all of us, thank you so much for all words of support and help that is offered in any way you could give it. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read through all of this!