US Marine Vet having Brain Surgery

My name is Scott. I'm a 44 year old Marine Corps Disabled Veteran. I was a Class A CDL Truck Driver, TDI Technical Wreck Diver, Search and Rescue Diver and active & energetic Marine. I pay a mortgage on a house in Phoenix, AZ. I am unmarried and live alone. I suffer from PTSD and Gulf War Multi-Symptom Illness.

I have held down a good paying job for 9 years, making better than $50,000 a year. I pay my bills on time and have never missed a house payment. I have never collected unemployment, food stamps or welfare. I have been on my own and doing fine paying my mortgage, utilities and 2 auto payments. I have rarely asked for help and when I did, I always paid my debts clean and on time. I pride myself on being an independent individual.

9 months ago, I broke my foot outside of work and since Workers Comp wasn’t involved, I spent 4.5 months at home without a paycheck. It wiped out my available emergency funds and ran up my credit cards. It took 4 months of working to recover half of my debt occurred, trying to get to stable ground again and then last November 8th, I had what appeared to be stroke symptoms at home and went to the hospital. On November 11th, Veterans Day, my work put me off on Medical leave again until I could prove I could operate my CDL without medical incident. DOT revoked my license and medical card.

I suffer from memory loss, balance issues, slurred speech, nerve damage in my legs, eye pain, numbness in my feet, depression and severe loss of energy. Some days I can barely walk without a cane and I have been issued a handicap placard because my motor skills have been failing. I've had 2 MRI's, a CT Scan, EKG's, X-Rays, countless labs, a Neurologist appointment, a Specialist Neurologist appointment and poked and prodded for months at the VA Hospital. My worst fears was that my father died of MS and can be hereditary. The Neurologist declared that this is not MS. It's something else.

In January, I had seen the Neurology Specialist and he told me that I have a Colloid Cyst in the center of my brain. The cyst could be pushing against the lobes causing all my problems. It is located right next to the memory lobe in my head which could be the reason why I have such bad short term memory loss. Further more, due to the severe headaches I have been experiencing, if the cyst stops the fluid in my brain, I could literally drop dead where I stand at any time. I have been scheduled for Brain Surgery on the 10th of March. There is a chance Ill lose some or (smaller chance) all of my memory coming out of surgery.

My recovery time is 3 weeks off my feet, 8-10 weeks off work and approximately 3 months to a full recovery, provided there is no complications or they have to install a drain plug in my head. The VA is compinsating the surgery but as of today, I haven’t worked in almost 4 months again. I have no funds. I cant pay my house, my 30% VA Disability and $163/week short term disability funds don’t cover my bills. As of March 1st, I cant pay my mortgage. I’m faced with selling everything I have to make a house payment and bills or short-selling my house and becoming homeless upon surgery. The Realtors show up on Thursday February 26th to look at my house. I don’t know what to do. I cant find a reliable roommate. I've exhausted all my options. $12,000 would cover all my bills for the next 4 months and get me back on stable ground till I can get a paycheck again. Im not even expecting a third of that but there is hope.

So some of my friends asked me to make this page. I’ve never asked for help in the 25 years that I’ve been on my own. A good friend said to me that It takes great courage to admit that you need help. I’m burying my pride for once and asking, Please Help. I don’t want to be homeless. This house is all that I have. I have nowhere else to go.

God Bless.
Scott