
Donate to Provide a Car for a Family in Need
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As many of you remember, I went through a very severe illness / injury in late 2023 that lasted well into 2024. What I didn't disclose to anyone but a select few was just how bad things actually were. To be blunt, in order to save my leg from the infection, they had to amputate the forward part of my right foot, leaving me with basically 2/3 of a right foot, meaning I have to wear a special prosthetic insert in my right shoe to walk semi-normally. It does also allow me to drive, although I've had to adjust how I work pedals because the insert doesn't have much weight to it, as it's basically there to help me with my balance. Needless to say, even with the insert, I still have some issues with balance and walking, although it's obviously better than without it. But, because of this, it's really not possible for me to work a regular, full time factory or warehouse job like I used to, and I'm now on permanent disability. Christina works full time, but obviously with only one person be able to work full time, our financial position has suffered greatly, particularly in this economy over the last year or so. I do get disability pay, but it's monthly and only goes so far with three kids. Back then, my friends and family here very graciously helped us greatly by contributing to a fundraiser that helped us cover our expenses and medical bills, which was a massive help to us.
As I stated in a previous post, we recently moved in with family in my wife's hometown of Reading in an attempt to save money, but some work needed to be done to move in to help with that, and combined with moving costs, it exhausted our savings, but we figured once we got moved in, we could quickly rebuild that with the cost savings we would have.
Enter the vehicle situation. We've been operating with two vehicles that are both from the late 90's, but fully owned and paid off, for the last couple of years. Another cost savings attempt. It had honestly gone fairly well, that is until one of them developed a major problem that would cost more than it was worth to fix. That put us down to one. Not really a big deal when it happened, because I don't work regularly with my disability, so I could get everyone where they needed to go. And, we knew we were moving soon, so we figured once the move was completed and we started rebuilding our savings, we could get another car. Easy-peasy, right? Welp, no. The other car got us through the move, then the transmission decided it was through. Literally the day after. I guess it held on just long enough. Again, cost is going to be beyond what the car is worth to fix.
So over the last few days since I posted about that, we've been trying to find an option, because Christina has to get to work, kids need to be taken places, etc. Family has been able to help get us around temporarily, but that's not going to work long term. Looking at what's available out there right now, it is definitely looking like our best option is to finance something newer and more reliable that will last, but as of now, we can't without a down payment, which will take us awhile to come up with, time we presently don't have. Even if we decide to go the "beater" route, we'd likely need at least Two Grand to get something fairly reliable. With our current pay rates, that's gonna be a little bit.
This is the part where I'm feeling really humbled, because I really hate asking for help. I seriously always try to solve every problem on my own if I can, because I feel like that's my job as a husband and a father. But right now, options are practically non-existent, and I've hit every brick wall I have found in trying to come up with a solution. But they're just not coming, and we have to be able to get around. Even our fledgling photography business we've tried to get rolling can't get anywhere without wheels. So I'm asking for help. I know how rough it is out there, but it you have a couple of dollars to spare, we would be eternally grateful. I absolutely hate having to do one of these again, but with our situation presently, I don't know what else to do. All I ask is that if you can help, please do. If you can't, I completely understand.
If you made it through all that, thank you for your time and attention. I hope I never have to do one of these again. But God Bless You if you can possibly help, and share if you can.
Thank You and God Bless You!
Organizer

David Rohdenburg
Organizer
Cincinnati, OH