My story so far.

3 years ago I went into hospital to have a tumour removed from my colon. It was supposed to be a quick, simple operation, and I would be in hospital for 1 week. That was not the case.

Everything they did to me in hospital went wrong. I ended up having 6 operations in 10 days. I died, twice, on the operating table, but both times they brought me back.

My surgeon, George, was quite surprised that I survived, and said there must be a reason why I was still here. (I’m yet to discover what that is.)

3 1/2 months later I was released from hospital, having lost 50 lbs, and barely able to walk.

(My dog was looked after by some amazing friends, who only thought she would be with them for a week. 3 1/2 months later they were more than happy to bring her back to me. She was very confused when she saw me again. Her eyes crossed, she shook her head and lay down at the foot of the bed. An hour later she popped her head up and looked at me for a while and then, slowly, she put a paw on the bed. Next she wiggled herself up, right onto the bed and put her head under my arm, something she had never done before or since. At that moment I cried with joy as I knew she understood I was back with her.)

From that point onwards, now registered as fully disabled, my life was permanently changed. It has now been 3 years unable to work and my disability is slowly but steadily getting worse. I have a prolapsed stoma, (small intestine,) which is now disturbingly large and becoming difficult to deal with every 3 days, as I change my colostomy bag. Specialists have told me there is no operation available to stop it getting worse.

Due to the 6 abdominal surgeries, my stomach muscles have been destroyed, and my entire abdomen is like a Swiss cheese, with hernias that pop out every now and then, unexpectedly, leaving me in intense pain, until I manage to force the bowel back into place, almost passing out with pain sometimes. 3 visits to hospital have confirmed that there is nothing that can be done about it.

My daily routine now consists of walking my dog for a while and then resting so as not to caused yet more pain in the stoma, which I now have to support with one hand as I walk.

During these last 3 years I have been forced to supplement my monthly benefits by using my savings and investments, but now they have all gone. My rent alone takes almost 70% of my income. I have sold all my assets in order to pay for basic survival, to keep myself and my dog warm, safe and with enough food to keep us going. That has now ended, and starting this month I will be hundreds of dollars short of continuing along this path of survival.

I have spoken with all government bodies responsible for helping the disabled, and no additional help is available until I turn 65 in 5 years time. I am fairly certain that I won’t make it to 65, so that would seem to be a moot point right now.

I moved to a remote rural area after friends offered support. Sadly those friends had their own issues to deal with, and no support was forthcoming from them. However, other friends have been absolutely amazing in their generosity and help. I most certainly would not have survived this long, had it not been for those friends help.

I have recently managed to speak with a doctor at last, and received comprehensive blood work and other tests, and it appears that another round of tests will be required to see what’s happening with my health, as things are not quite working correctly and I’m in pain most of the time.

Here’s my situation :-

My old car is falling apart and needs quite a lot of repairs.

My trailer/home now has some worrying issues that need attention as the winter cold has damaged the pipes and plumbing under the floor.

Not only the car, and the trailer, but now I also seem to be falling apart, haha. Oh dear.

I need to repair my car so that I can get to all my medical appointments/tests.

I need to repair my trailer before it becomes unlivable.

financial support with the cost of dog food and vet bills.