Update:

Thank you all for your contributions so far! She has been able to stay housed and receive some basic medical care. Renee and her doctors have come to the conclusion that long COVID is what is responsible for her symptoms.

Long COVID is complex, chronic, and understudied. Renee can expect to battle it for an undefined amount of time. She has lost a life-threatening amount of weight and is too weak to leave the house. She alternates between sleeping 18 hours to recover from doing dishes and going days without sleep because of her chronic pain. She continues to have new symptoms that present new medical challenges.

Although Renee is working toward receiving disability, SSDI is notoriously difficult to get. People wait for years and are usually rejected, even with clear medical paper trails and diagnoses. There is also a long backlog due to COVID. You can read more about that here: https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/social-security-disability-claims-wait-record-high-how-to-avoid-delays/#:~:text=ln%20August%2C%20the%20backlog%20%of,billion%20increase%20from%20last%20year

For the time being, Renee needs monetary support to stay housed, seek continued medical care, and receive necessary treatment. She truly appreciates all that you have given, and hopes that more positive updates are on the way.

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(Previous statement)

This statement was written by Renee's girlfriend.

"Renee is the love of my life. There's not enough room to write how I feel about her, about the way she pays attention to the life around her, about her dedication to what is right, about her endless fascination with the prehistoric, about her corny jokes. I can't put in a paragraph what it is like to be with someone so loyal and loving and dependable. I can't show you the way her eyes crinkle when she's laughing or feed you the shortbread she makes or show you her art. But I have to try to convey who she is, because she needs our help.

Renee is the love of my life, and she is suffering. She has always struggled with body pain and fatigue, but after she caught COVID in June, things took a turn for the worse. Even though she works hard to force herself to eat, she is losing weight. She spends most of her time sleeping and can't even leave our apartment to get the mail. Though she had a job that was mostly accommodating and that she enjoyed, she has grown too sick to work.

After several doctor visits and lab panels, we are now seeking to ensure that Renee doesn't have cancer. It is a scary time for her, especially because she does not have insurance or a job. Despite being a fiercely private person, she has helped put together this fundraiser because she needs help to stay housed and get answers for the long COVID and/or other illnesses with which she is suffering. Anyone in crisis deserves to be with the people they love, and unafraid of losing what little they have left. All money will go to providing that for Renee."