Help us get out of here

Writing this is painful. We've been doing everything we can to keep our own heads above water but we need help. 

Let's start with our story. I'm a good example of how someone can turn their life around with the right support. That support has been mostly in the form of Christie.
In 2011 when we met, I was recently out of a relationship that ended badly and carrying a lot of shame from past traumas. I also was well on my way to being an alcoholic like my father, with no intent of changing.

Within three months, we were married. Within a year, we were both back in school. Last fall I graduated from Belmont Abbey with my teaching degree, and she is 3 classes away from her funeral services degree. It's through the support we give each other that we're able to do this.


Most of you know we live in a rental owned by Christie’s family. She has a difficult relationship with her mother and step father who own the property. Moving in here was meant to save us money, but has not due to the ill health effects from mold/dust/smoke residues in the home.

There is also significant water damage inside the house, to the point that drywall exterior walls are soft, there are multiple soft spots in the floor, and several electrical circuits don't even work.

The house where we live is now unsafe for habitation. Between the mold, structural, and electrical issues, it's only a matter of time before one of us is seriously injured or ill.

The mold is also now what we suspect is making Binkie ill. Her vet bills have totaled over $1200 in the past 6 months alone.  She is sick still with chronic Bronchitis in addition to her normal allergies. The vet is  sure a move is in her best interest as they have tried so many things to help her; nothing is working long term. She cannot be put under while sick so we are all at our wits end. She gets snotty, shakes, and is occasionally unable to breathe. It's disturbing, and yet the veterinarians don't have any answers.



In addition to this the poor relationship with Christie’s family has severely deteriorated recently. Per Christie’s request I am not posting details about that, but feel free to reach out and ask me personally. She just does not want drama aired, because it doesn't help. We need help. 

The family drama - especially recent events - severely impacts Christie’s mental health. That, coupled with hercubital tunnel syndrome , has made full time work for her impossible over the summer.

My first teaching job was a nightmare. Those of you who heard my stories understand what was happening. In addition to that, payroll was nearly impossible to work with. I didn't get paid at all for the first six weeks, and then was paid as a substitute.

When I finally was able to get a teacher's paycheck, all of that went to our overdue bills. I was also unable to sign up for summer pay due to entering in the middle of the school year. 

My last monthly paycheck was short by $2700 due to the fact that HR never took the proper amounts out for benefits. In their fine form, CMS decided to take literally everything out of my final paycheck.

To add to that stress, I found out a week before the end of school that my summer job fell through. A teacher's salary isn't great to begin with, but not having any income for the summer made things incredibly stressful. I scrambled to find a summer job, and hustled any way I could while doing all I could to help Christie.

I still work part-time in a bar and tutor occasionally, but I even delivered sandwiches and donated plasma to keep the lights on.

Christie requires medication, and like so many others we had to ration her insulin. She went without several other important meds just to make sure we could pay bills. It's only in the past week that she's been able to get her medication as she needs it.



We've also put our dreams on hold, again. Christie has dropped all classes this semester and got a full time job working from home starting in October.

I have delayed starting grad school until spring and have my teaching job and 2 part time jobs(Door man at a bar, and caregiver for a 14-year-old boy with special needs.)

Even with all this we are still catching up from the summer and fighting to keep Binkie’s appointments and medications. I am going to list the cost for our move below as we want people to understand the expense and that is not a fund for frivolous things. The new place is a one bedroom and we have sold all we can to help pay vet bills and moving cost. We have already paid part of the deposit ($695) so this reflects the remainder:

Binkie is on monthly meds - steroids, cough meds, and antibiotics. Also they want to do another X-ray - this time of her skull. We have the Banfield plan to help with the cost, but it will not cover the X-rays and possible CT scan they want to do, Nor does that cover the emergency vet visits she has been to when she is having issues breathing.

Here are the moving and veterinary expenses we're facing by the 19th of this month:

Remaining Rental Deposits and Fees: $650
First Month's rent plus pro-rata partial month: $950
Cranial X-ray and medication: $500
Utility deposits: $300
Fees for moving current utilities: $200
Other miscellaneous expenses: $400

I will get a paycheck from my part time jobs on the 20th, (Under $400) and another teacher paycheck on the 27th. After benefits and taxes, however, my teacher pay will amount to about $1500.

We are not the kind to ask for help but we are not sure where to turn. If you have any ideas on how we can get the funds otherwise,  please let us know.  

Within a few months, we will be back on our feet and will be able to start repaying all of you whose generosity helped us. 

Thank you so much.