Save Frances, Help Eddie, Pay Med Bills
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So this is a story about the horrible year of 2019. Everything seemed to be going okay until late May.
Then, the first thing that happened was that I (Rach) was severely injured. Both of my wrists were badly hurt, but the right one more so.
Of course this led to me being unable to draw and complete art commissions. But even worse, I was uninsured. Multiple x-rays for fractures, checkups and PT for nerve damage led to thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills. THEN I kept reinjuring my wrists because I have to type for 10-12 hours a day for my job.
Me and Al in happier times:
After this, we were in debt but thought we would be okay. Then August came, and one of our older cats got severely ill.
Let me tell you a little about our kitties. Two of three are old ones: Eddie and Frances. Laika is only eight and she is a ball of energy.
I've had Mr. Ed since I was a teenager, and Eddie has pretty intense digestive issues that, as he has gotten older, require him to get therapy and eat special foods. This is expensive on a month-to-month basis, but again, I had a decently-paying job (that I got through lots of effort, since I have no college degree and had never studied in the field) and we managed to keep afloat while paying off our debts.
Eddie with my wife <3:
Then Frances got sick. Her pic is in the header, but here is one of her beautiful self in healthier times:
She is perhaps literally the nicest and most loving (and dumbest) cat in the world. We saved her from where she had been abandoned on the street and was begging for food 14 years ago, when she was a tiny starving kitten. But she is in even worse shape now that she was then.
In August I noticed Frances seemed kind of...off. Now cats try to hide when they are sick, but eventually she could barely drink and wouldn't eat at all. It was awful to watch her hold her head over the water fountain and try to lap up water but be unable to force herself to do it. The worst feeling of my life. We spent a scary night bottle feeding her until the vet opened.
Then came veterinary hell. Frances was misdiagnosed with renal failure at first and got worse. THEN we got a second opinion and found out she had a UTI. Then rounds one and two of antibiotics failed to work and made her UTI stronger. She needed a workup to be sent to a lab, new antibiotics to treat the correct strain, ongoing appts. for IV fluids from the vet because she is too nauseous to drink, appetite stimulant meds, special foods that were tempting, probiotics....everything. My wife was working all the time and I was working 70-80 hours a week at salary, so no extra money, never logging my overtime per an (unethical) agreement with my CEO, just... exhausted. We wracked up 400+ per visit for 20 vet visits and trying to find the most competent staff to treat her, not counting all the meds. She is still not totally out of the woods and could really use more care, we're still bottle feeding her formula. She has lost so much weight that she feels like a paper doll.
We live in an expensive area and I had to open up several new credit cards and max them out to keep her from dying. I destroyed my credit- it dropped from excellent to poor very fast. We have tens of thousands in debt at this point, but were still able to feed ourselves and get the cats what they needed.
Then, I lost my job. Legal issues prevent me from getting into why here. Suffice it to say it was a very very bad situation that other hardworking women may be familiar with. We were too small for HR and I had zero money left to take it to court. After years of being integral to this company...I wound up unemployed. It was my own fault, because I quit in fear and left like you would leave an abusive relationship...completely ghosting them. Of course this means I now don't qualify for unemployment. Or if I do, I have no money left to fight.
I'm going back to retail but the years at this white-collar company with no references have left a black mark on my resume. For the first time ever I have no idea how we are going to eat and live.
We want to keep Frances safe and healthy. We want Eddie to have a good life. We want to be able to pay rent. We don't want to have to choose between our lives and their lives and living in a homeless shelter or our car. I hate asking for help, but this is the most desperate we've ever been.
Our goal covers our current medical/vet debt only. I am trying to keep creditors from harassing us. Any more for rent and living would be great, but asking for help like this is already crazy hard. I have always been so proud of how we pulled ourselves out of poverty as a young gay couple when the odds were so stacked against us. To be adults and slipping into poverty again is humiliating and terrifying.
If you can help at all, thank you so much. I'll post updates and Frances progress pics here. Thank you. We love you guys so much.
Wanted to end it on a happier note so here is a pic where we recreated a famous shot of Frances' namesake:
thank you <3
Then, the first thing that happened was that I (Rach) was severely injured. Both of my wrists were badly hurt, but the right one more so.
Of course this led to me being unable to draw and complete art commissions. But even worse, I was uninsured. Multiple x-rays for fractures, checkups and PT for nerve damage led to thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills. THEN I kept reinjuring my wrists because I have to type for 10-12 hours a day for my job.
Me and Al in happier times:
After this, we were in debt but thought we would be okay. Then August came, and one of our older cats got severely ill.
Let me tell you a little about our kitties. Two of three are old ones: Eddie and Frances. Laika is only eight and she is a ball of energy.
I've had Mr. Ed since I was a teenager, and Eddie has pretty intense digestive issues that, as he has gotten older, require him to get therapy and eat special foods. This is expensive on a month-to-month basis, but again, I had a decently-paying job (that I got through lots of effort, since I have no college degree and had never studied in the field) and we managed to keep afloat while paying off our debts.
Eddie with my wife <3:
Then Frances got sick. Her pic is in the header, but here is one of her beautiful self in healthier times:
She is perhaps literally the nicest and most loving (and dumbest) cat in the world. We saved her from where she had been abandoned on the street and was begging for food 14 years ago, when she was a tiny starving kitten. But she is in even worse shape now that she was then.
In August I noticed Frances seemed kind of...off. Now cats try to hide when they are sick, but eventually she could barely drink and wouldn't eat at all. It was awful to watch her hold her head over the water fountain and try to lap up water but be unable to force herself to do it. The worst feeling of my life. We spent a scary night bottle feeding her until the vet opened.
Then came veterinary hell. Frances was misdiagnosed with renal failure at first and got worse. THEN we got a second opinion and found out she had a UTI. Then rounds one and two of antibiotics failed to work and made her UTI stronger. She needed a workup to be sent to a lab, new antibiotics to treat the correct strain, ongoing appts. for IV fluids from the vet because she is too nauseous to drink, appetite stimulant meds, special foods that were tempting, probiotics....everything. My wife was working all the time and I was working 70-80 hours a week at salary, so no extra money, never logging my overtime per an (unethical) agreement with my CEO, just... exhausted. We wracked up 400+ per visit for 20 vet visits and trying to find the most competent staff to treat her, not counting all the meds. She is still not totally out of the woods and could really use more care, we're still bottle feeding her formula. She has lost so much weight that she feels like a paper doll.
We live in an expensive area and I had to open up several new credit cards and max them out to keep her from dying. I destroyed my credit- it dropped from excellent to poor very fast. We have tens of thousands in debt at this point, but were still able to feed ourselves and get the cats what they needed.
Then, I lost my job. Legal issues prevent me from getting into why here. Suffice it to say it was a very very bad situation that other hardworking women may be familiar with. We were too small for HR and I had zero money left to take it to court. After years of being integral to this company...I wound up unemployed. It was my own fault, because I quit in fear and left like you would leave an abusive relationship...completely ghosting them. Of course this means I now don't qualify for unemployment. Or if I do, I have no money left to fight.
I'm going back to retail but the years at this white-collar company with no references have left a black mark on my resume. For the first time ever I have no idea how we are going to eat and live.
We want to keep Frances safe and healthy. We want Eddie to have a good life. We want to be able to pay rent. We don't want to have to choose between our lives and their lives and living in a homeless shelter or our car. I hate asking for help, but this is the most desperate we've ever been.
Our goal covers our current medical/vet debt only. I am trying to keep creditors from harassing us. Any more for rent and living would be great, but asking for help like this is already crazy hard. I have always been so proud of how we pulled ourselves out of poverty as a young gay couple when the odds were so stacked against us. To be adults and slipping into poverty again is humiliating and terrifying.
If you can help at all, thank you so much. I'll post updates and Frances progress pics here. Thank you. We love you guys so much.
Wanted to end it on a happier note so here is a pic where we recreated a famous shot of Frances' namesake:
thank you <3
Organizer
Alexandra Russell
Organizer
Salem, MA
