Finish Our Home

Hi, my name is Mich(a)el. I never thought I'd ever be so desperate that I'd have to start a GoFundMe....but yeah, here I am.

I'll be 58 years old in a few months, and my wife 51. Neither of our lives has gone the way that we always planned. Have we made mistakes along the way? Of course....too numerous to mention if I'm being honest. BUT, the one thing that has been constant throughout is that we have always been hard-working and never "mooched off the system" to get what we wanted or needed. We have two lovely teens who are our world, a 21 year old son and a 17 year old daughter.

In any event, as seems to be the norm for us, we continue to hit setbacks in life every step of the way. Usually, we manage to work ourselves past it. Unfortunately, this time around, I can't see a way out. Here's our story:

In April 2019, we decided to use a small inheritance my wife received to purchase a home (along with a mortgage which we hoped to be able to pay off early), hopefully, also to be able to run as a B&B in our retirement. The home we purchased tentatively only needed freshening up with interior upgrades, new windows and doors, and a new electrical system to bring the house up to code. Due to our finances....no savings, or significant other available funds, I would do all the work myself. Unfortunately, once I started, I determined that much more work would be needed to bring the home up to proper standards and ensure the home's safety and integrity. No problem so far.

The first problem which occurred was that shortly after starting our major renovation work, which, to remind you, I was doing all by myself, was that my employer downsized me after a new owner took over in September. I continued working on the house while seeking new employment. In January 2020, two months after starting a new job, I had a major heart attack in March. During my stay in the hospital, the world was struck by the start of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, I once again found myself unemployed. Once I was released from the hospital and did rehab, I continued moving forward, although now at a much slower pace since I found my energy levels extremely reduced. In April of 2021, as coronavirus rules were finally starting to normalize somewhat, I finally managed to find new employment. I've since been working on our home with what little money we have available after paying all of my monthly salary towards our mortgage AND the rent we still have to pay until our house is complete.

In the past two months, my wife and I have been hit by the circumstances that brought me here. After working hard all our lives, we've both recently developed health issues which may very well end our jobs permanently. In May, after suffering from a few months of ongoing pain in my ankles, I was diagnosed with heel spurs which are growing into my Achilles tendons. The surgeon has attempted a first cortisone treatment, as I informed him that the recovery time for actual surgery (the recommended route) would ensure the end of my working career. Unfortunately, it hasn't given any improved results, and the pain continues. As a result, I may be left with choosing between living with the pain until I'm fully disabled or getting the surgery. Shortly after, my wife also developed leg issues. In her case, it would appear that she has degenerated discs in her back which (partly due to weight issues) are compressing a nerve running to her legs. Again, surgery has been recommended, with the alternative being that she will be fully disabled by age 60 (9 years).

All I want to do is to be able to complete the necessary work on our house so that we can move in, immediately removing 700 euros per month from our financial burden. It would also provide us with some security into our retirement years, knowing that our minimum pensions (or very likely disability payments) would be able to cover our mortgage payments.

My funding goal was to obtain the necessary materials and third-party work to complete our house to a stage where we could move in. Any monies over and above would enable me to have more of the work completed by outside contractors rather than having to do the work myself. In the improbable event that my GoFundMe goal is surpassed by a significant amount, I want to donate the funds to various animal shelters (also being impacted by the current economic situation) and other organizations helping people in need during these times of economic uncertainty.

I hope people will be able to donate at least the cost of a cup of coffee, but regardless, I wish to thank every person who has at least taken the time to read this.