Setting aside my pride to ask for help...

Hi, my name is Julie and if you know me, you know I hate to be doing anything like this, or asking for help in any way but it's reached the point where I don't know what else to do, I feel like I'm drowning and acknowledge that I may actually need help. I apologize, but this is going to be a long one.

TLDR: Husband has a seizure disorder, which prevents him from working, denied disability twice (working on appeal). I, after 2 shoulder surgeries in the last 3 years (resulting in the loss of a great job), am trying to apply for bankruptcy.

My husband, John and I have know each other for about 16 years and been married for 4.5 years. He is my best friend and my whole world.

John had brain surgery in 2017 to remove a tumor that was causing seizures. He was seizure free but they returned about 6 months later (no tumor regrowth thankfully). He has since been diagnosed with PNES (pyschogenic non-epileptic seizures). Due to the seizures he is unable to drive and mostly unable to work. He did work for a while at 3 different jobs for months or years each, but with no steady transportation, the danger of having a seizure in a work environment, and having to call off when he had seizures, it is very difficult for him to be able to hold down a job. He has already been denied disability twice and we're trying to find a lawyer to help us in the appeal process.

On my side of this, I had an ectopic pregnancy in December 2017 which had me out of work for about a month, and rotator cuff surgery on my right arm, twice (June 2020 & May 2021), keeping me out of work for about 5 months each time. I lost a really good job that I'd had while I was out on recovery for my second shoulder surgery because they "could no longer accommodate my absence". It's been a struggle since that and covid as once I was cleared to go back to work, many people were looking for jobs and not many were hiring.

John and I have moved out to West Virginia to be near better doctors and hospitals to try and figure out his condition and for more job opportunities for myself with the cost of living being much cheaper than in PA or NJ. In fact, John is scheduled for a stay in the Cleveland Clinic EMU (Epilepsy Monitoring Unit) this coming weekend (10/13-10/16, possibly longer) to try and capture one of his seizures on EEG, and to hopefully achieve a distinct diagnosis and possible treatment options as it has been unresponsive to multiple medications.

It's hard to admit but during all of these struggles, I ran up my credit cards quite a bit trying to make sure we were taken care of the best I could. I feel like I'm drowning right now, I haven't been able to make payments for the last 2 months and the only thing I have been able to keep current is my car payment (which is non-negotiable as we need to be able to get to and from Dr's appointments and I need to get to and from work. I've only got a part time job until the end of this month, with a much better job lined up, starting in November.

I'm in the process of trying to file for bankruptcy but that's going to cost about $1,800.

There are also going to be significant costs moving forward as the Medicaid we currently have will not cover the stay at The Cleveland Clinic EMU, as well as any expenses for the little over 2 hour drive each way. We are working with their financial assistance office to see what can be done but are unsure of what the outcome from that may be as of right now.

I know it may be a lot to ask, but anything will help... Thank you ❤️