I need help. That is the hardest sentence for me to say. I am a very strong willed, independent, hardworking, and some may even say stubborn woman. My whole life I have taken pride in being able to overcome anything life has put in my path. I'm struggling and unsure how I'm going to get past my current challenges.

For the last 5 years I have been dealing with bilateral knee problems. A rough life, multiple injuries, car wreck, and genetics have all accumulated into me no longer having functioning knees. The medical diagnosis has been Severe Osteoarthritis with bone on bone and bone spurs. There has also been countless tissue damage including a torn PCL. Every 3 months for 5 years, I have received injections in both knees. It would keep me moving, and I could push through the limping and pain. Over time the pain has become unbearable. I can't put into words the amount of determination it takes to get through a shift in severe pain. Legs shaking, fighting tears, mentally drained, while still having to smile and perform at my absolute best. Beginning of August, I injured my left knee and it collapsed. I'm tough as nails and tried to convince myself it would heal. Every day it got worse. The tissue damage causes my knee to buckle every couple steps. I have now seen my orthopedic 5 times since then.

Bottom line, I need 2 complete knee replacements. I don't qualify for multiple reasons and risk factors. The main reason is my age. Before you jump in and say, "You just need a different doctor!" I have been to 5 different orthopedic clinics. My current providers are by far the best team and have offered me more treatment options and support than all the others combined. I'm 37 years old, and that's too young for complete knee replacements. I have been put on a 4 week medical leave from work to heal the tissue damage. Sadly, my 4 week leave is unpaid. I have completed a series of 3 Gell injections to try to provide a layer between my joints, have a prosthetic knee brace on my left knee, use a cane and walker to try to get around, and have been recommended by my orthopedic to get a completely sedentary job. He says that my treatments are to keep the pain at a minimum, and that they will not fix the problem.

My husband and I are basic and have always made a point to make due with our income. We both have strong work ethic and take pride in our accomplishments. We don't have credit cards, no fancy vacations, no getting hair and nails done, no extravagant spending. If we can't afford something we don't buy it. This last year has been brutal! I paid for our entire wedding out of my savings, then in January tragedy struck and was very costly, March had a lot of vet bills when we had to say goodbye to our 2 cats, and my husband's car has been broken down since April. I have had a lot of medical issues with emergency room visits, x-rays, imaging, biopsies, injections, colonoscopy/EGD, specialist visits. Medical debt is piling up.

All of our money is gone. I don't know if I can return to my old job. I don't know how I'm going to be able to find a sedentary job that I can do from home. I don't know how we are going to make it through 2025. There are a lot of unknown at this time. Anyone who knows me can tell you, I don't like having to ask for help. But right now isn't the time for pride. We need help. Please share this with your family, friends, coworkers, church members, or anyone you know. Any and all donations will be used to pay rent, truck payment, power bill, insurance, phone bill, groceries, gas, and medical debt. Thank you for your help! I appreciate any help you can provide ❤