Hi everyone. As some of you already know, back in November of last year, I sustained an injury and subsequent infection that resulted in me being bedridden and on heavy medication for 4 months, and in having part of my right foot amputated. This came at the end of what had already been a difficult two years, for all of us. As a chef, I had been already limited and my resources were depleted by lockdown after lockdown and just a general downturn in my industry. I was already in a bad way.

All that said, by the beginning of March I was able to very slowly return to work and start to dig myself out of the hole I was in. However, a recent downturn in my recovery brought on by the strength and duration of one of the IV medications I was on, and the side effects it had on my system, has recently severely limited the number of hours I can work. I am racked with near-constant nausea, and while recent test results have confirmed the source of the problem, and more medications have been prescribed as a fix, the fact is that the road back to good health will be longer than expected, and each week I am now deeper and deeper behind, and am forced to choose between paying for food or rent while rationing my medications below the doses I should be taking.

I've looked into various government and community programs, but I either don't qualify or the process isn't one that will provide the sort of non-permanent, short-term help that I need. I am desperate, and so, as a last hope, I am asking for help. It is painful and embarrassing, but It is what I need to do to get through this last push toward getting back to full-time work while still being able to keep a roof over my head and feed myself. I realize that it is a terrible time to ask, with the state of the world and the cost of living being what it is for all of us right now, but I have nowhere else to turn.