Relief & Support For Our Magnificent Melanie Couch
Donation protected
Hello Everyone. I’m Angela Glaze. I’m organizing this fundraiser to help our soul sister, Melanie Couch, as she attempts to cope with the devastating loss of her life partner, Chris Van Doren, while also recovering from physical injuries she sustained in the vehicular accident that took Chris’s life on October, 13, 2020.
In Melanie’s own words,
“He saved me. His last effort to avoid the oncoming truck was to drive into the ditch and that probably saved my life. He did everything he possibly could have done to save us. It’s too much. He was too good to be gone. I don’t understand how I create my future… everything is such a mess. Every time I think I’ve survived… and am progressing… the bottom just drops. I love life, wildly… but living feels really scary from here. I will figure it out. It just seems impossible right now… the financial hole of the last several years has been devastating and the seizures that refuse to stop randomly happening make working dangerous and driving impossible. I just feel stuck. A month from now I was supposed to be in a camper with my guy… decompressing, enjoying life, and reassessing our options while on a great adventure. I was hoping the change of scenery / lifestyle would help me get these seizures under control. The meds alone just aren’t doing the trick. Now I think the camper will be sold. My brain just spins for a solution… and I just can’t find one. I will keep trying. I will press on. I’m just lost.”
Chris was not just Melanie’s life partner, he was also her primary caregiver, her “road dawg” chauffeur, and selfless financial support. Mel has undergone extensive surgeries and physical rehabilitation since her run-in with that big old oak tree in 2016. Knowing that her seizures may lead to brain surgery if they get worse and/or they cannot be kept under control, Mel and Chris revamped an old camper and planned to have their tiny home on their tiny land in the hopes of living a calmer life with less stressors that could trigger Mel’s seizures.
I would love it if we could come together to rally around Mel to help her during this time in her life that I am sure feels impossible on so many levels.
Mel has a backlog of medical bills along with future, life-long medical needs. This fundraiser will hopefully lighten that burden so that she can concentrate on healing both physically and emotionally in the present, while also trying to determine what her new future will look like. I’m starting the fundraiser goal at $50,000 which seems like a lot, but it is only a small portion of Mel’s actual medical bills.
Mel said she is not financially responsible for all of Chris’s expenses, but the Jeep is totaled and she originally had to borrow money to buy it and still owes that money since it was a personal loan. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, they did not have collision insurance. Mel cannot work due to her seizures, but she has been denied disability. Mel and Chris were surviving together, frugally, on Chris’s disability check, but now that he’s passed away, that income is gone. Mel has zero income now. With stress being the main trigger for her seizures, we need to do all we can to relieve as much stress as possible for our Mel.
I remember something Melanie said on the four year “annivers-a-tree” of the wreck that seemed to be both the cause and effect of itself, “I am a giant fan of life… even though it’s not always so kind to me. As always, thanks to everyone who helped make this journey a little easier. You’re so appreciated.”
That’s our Mel. She somehow always seems to persevere with grace and elegance when the universe is treating her with anything but.
Remember to hold your loved ones tight and never let an opportunity pass to tell them you love them.
Please continue to hold Mel and Chris, and all those devastated by his loss, in your hearts.
Mel will be the direct beneficiary to this GoFundMe Fundraiser and will be withdrawing the funds directly, as needed. Again, I am Angela Glaze, and I have set up this fundraiser on behalf of Melanie Couch, as her friend. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about the fundraiser.
I know not everyone is in a position to donate financially. But what everyone hopefully can and will do is share this fundraiser. Please help spread the word for magnificent Mel!
_____________
*Friday, June 18, 2021 - EDIT TO REMOVE DONOR GIVEAWAY!*
Even though I discussed a donor giveaway with two GoFundMe representatives and they helped me write the wording for the giveaway, I have now been told I must remove the giveaway and post the following quote in order to get this fundraiser reinstated, "No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe."
In Melanie’s own words,
“He saved me. His last effort to avoid the oncoming truck was to drive into the ditch and that probably saved my life. He did everything he possibly could have done to save us. It’s too much. He was too good to be gone. I don’t understand how I create my future… everything is such a mess. Every time I think I’ve survived… and am progressing… the bottom just drops. I love life, wildly… but living feels really scary from here. I will figure it out. It just seems impossible right now… the financial hole of the last several years has been devastating and the seizures that refuse to stop randomly happening make working dangerous and driving impossible. I just feel stuck. A month from now I was supposed to be in a camper with my guy… decompressing, enjoying life, and reassessing our options while on a great adventure. I was hoping the change of scenery / lifestyle would help me get these seizures under control. The meds alone just aren’t doing the trick. Now I think the camper will be sold. My brain just spins for a solution… and I just can’t find one. I will keep trying. I will press on. I’m just lost.”
Chris was not just Melanie’s life partner, he was also her primary caregiver, her “road dawg” chauffeur, and selfless financial support. Mel has undergone extensive surgeries and physical rehabilitation since her run-in with that big old oak tree in 2016. Knowing that her seizures may lead to brain surgery if they get worse and/or they cannot be kept under control, Mel and Chris revamped an old camper and planned to have their tiny home on their tiny land in the hopes of living a calmer life with less stressors that could trigger Mel’s seizures.
I would love it if we could come together to rally around Mel to help her during this time in her life that I am sure feels impossible on so many levels.
Mel has a backlog of medical bills along with future, life-long medical needs. This fundraiser will hopefully lighten that burden so that she can concentrate on healing both physically and emotionally in the present, while also trying to determine what her new future will look like. I’m starting the fundraiser goal at $50,000 which seems like a lot, but it is only a small portion of Mel’s actual medical bills.
Mel said she is not financially responsible for all of Chris’s expenses, but the Jeep is totaled and she originally had to borrow money to buy it and still owes that money since it was a personal loan. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, they did not have collision insurance. Mel cannot work due to her seizures, but she has been denied disability. Mel and Chris were surviving together, frugally, on Chris’s disability check, but now that he’s passed away, that income is gone. Mel has zero income now. With stress being the main trigger for her seizures, we need to do all we can to relieve as much stress as possible for our Mel.
I remember something Melanie said on the four year “annivers-a-tree” of the wreck that seemed to be both the cause and effect of itself, “I am a giant fan of life… even though it’s not always so kind to me. As always, thanks to everyone who helped make this journey a little easier. You’re so appreciated.”
That’s our Mel. She somehow always seems to persevere with grace and elegance when the universe is treating her with anything but.
Remember to hold your loved ones tight and never let an opportunity pass to tell them you love them.
Please continue to hold Mel and Chris, and all those devastated by his loss, in your hearts.
Mel will be the direct beneficiary to this GoFundMe Fundraiser and will be withdrawing the funds directly, as needed. Again, I am Angela Glaze, and I have set up this fundraiser on behalf of Melanie Couch, as her friend. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about the fundraiser.
I know not everyone is in a position to donate financially. But what everyone hopefully can and will do is share this fundraiser. Please help spread the word for magnificent Mel!
_____________
*Friday, June 18, 2021 - EDIT TO REMOVE DONOR GIVEAWAY!*
Even though I discussed a donor giveaway with two GoFundMe representatives and they helped me write the wording for the giveaway, I have now been told I must remove the giveaway and post the following quote in order to get this fundraiser reinstated, "No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe."
Organizer and beneficiary
Angela Glaze
Organizer
Sturgis, MI
Melanie Couch
Beneficiary