Support Anna's Arthritis Physical Therapy & Willow's Checkup

Dear friends,

I am asking for community support again, though it's the last thing that I want to continue being vulnerable in this way.

And yet I need help.

I need help keeping the health and function of my body from deteriorating due to arthritis via occupational therapy that, with insurance, costs $1200 for the 3-month treatment program. And I need help paying for Willow's $300 yearly checkup that includes vaccination.

Why I need this help:

In the last few months, as money has been very tight, I've been relying on myself to cook, clean, and take care of everything around the house. This is difficult because of arthritis-related pain and inflammation, but it's doable when I take NSAIDs and muscle relaxants daily.

Unfortunately, even with meticulous care to do my exercises, take walks, adjust my diet, and take medication (a self-administered injectable into the belly weekly to tamp down my immune system, in addition to the aforementioned muscle relaxants and NSAIDs) and anti-inflammatory supplements, the ongoing financial stress, in addition to the grim state of our country and so many people and places on fire around the world, my condition is acting up. It is causing inflammation -- notice "flame" is the center and root of the word -- a kind of inner burning that reflects the state of the world and its toll on this body and this nervous system.

The inflammation has made it difficult and painful to cook and wash dishes and impossible to carry my laundry to the basement and haul it back up -- a task I have to pay someone to do because of the state of my hands, elbows, shoulders, and the relevant neck and back muscles.

In order to be able to continue working and looking for work so that I can support myself fully, I need to go through the program of occupational therapy. My copay is $50 per session, and the course of treatment requires 24 sessions over 3 months.

In addition to help paying for my occupational therapy, I also need help covering Willow's yearly checkup this year. Earlier in the fall, I had to choose between getting her a checkup and buying her health insurance, and I chose insurance because she is (knock wood) doing great, but the insurance would protect us in case of emergency. But I need to get her a once-yearly vaccine, and it is also important to catch things early to do the checkup.

I am asking for help addressing problems which, if I didn't address, would put me in a position where I would need much, much more help than I do now. For example, if my hands and arms keep deteriorating and I can't care for myself or Willow. Or if, because we skipped Willow's checkup, there might be underlying issues that we won't be able to address until they become really obvious when treatment might be much more complex and costly than if caught early.

This is all to say, I continue doing my best to change my financial situation -- I had another job interview this past week and am working on a small business website providing writing coaching services. It's important to me that people I'm asking for help know that I am doing everything possible to change things for myself and that I am relying on them for things I, at this time, simply cannot offer myself and not for lack of trying.

So, that's the story. If you're able to help, that help will dramatically change things for me. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who's reached out with all varied forms of support over the last couple of tough years. Each kindness has meant a lot to my soul in addition to helping me keep body and soul together.

Sending much love to you,

Anna