Hello there, I'm Chelsi, a struggling mother of two amazing girls, Katherine (9) and Gracilynn (3). I'm asking for help with trying to make ends meet, as I have hit wall after wall with different hardships throughout the months, and with the holidays right around the corner, it's starting to take a toll on my mental health as well. I have never been the type to ask for help in any situation, call it pride or just not wanting to have my kids see me struggle, whatever the term. I've always been the one to help others with things they needed. Do unto others as you would want done to you philosophy. But as times get harder and the hole gets deeper, I'm here asking for the community to help me relieve some stress and worry, give my babies a Christmas they always deserve and get back on the right track of living.

The struggles started with a car purchase in June 2023. I wanted to upgrade from a small car to a family car. Long story short, I traded my old car in for a $10,000 problem. I got the extended warranty to help with any issues that the car would potentially have to save in the long run. I was reassured by words that if anything went wrong, it would be covered. Well, that wasn't the case. After a week, I noticed some play in the RPM, a noise in the engine, and issues with the transmission. I took the car back, and they did a transmission fluid exchange; the problem was still there. They wanted one place to do the transmission, and then they would tear down the engine to find that problem. I had to call the extended warranty company to figure all of this out. It was a lot of back-and-forth calls and a lot of unclear results. The extended warranty company told me that because of the miles and the year of the car, they would only cover $5,200 in total cost for the car repairs. Anything further, I was on my own, which it never stated any of that in the paperwork that I received. The transmission got replaced, and the extended warranty was gone. I had the car taken to a shop for the engine issues and kept getting the same answer: we won't know anything unless we pull the whole thing apart. After being pulled apart, it was determined that something was wrong in the pistons of the internal engine; an engine swap was needed. I posted on Facebook to get options and had a "friend" reach out to replace the engine. I took my car there in May 2024, paid him $2,500 for the engine repair. After months of going back and forth with hardly any communication and anything possible that would interfere with getting the job done on his end, three different deadlines to get this done, I went to retrieve my car after he said that it was ready and sounded good in November 2024, after having my car for almost six months. He had stated that he still wanted to get an alignment and hook a code reader to it and clear codes. I said I would take it to get an alignment and get the codes taken care of. I go to get my car, and two minutes of driving it, the check engine light comes on and is flashing. I returned home and had a friend come over to hook it up to a code reader: misfire on cylinder, inside and outside light flickering, the same problems the car was having from the start of it all. So now, I am still without a running vehicle to get my kids to and from, out $3,000-$4,000 between shop visits, parts, etc., and nothing has been fixed.

In October 2024, I was trying to rescue a stray cat in the neighborhood that was missing his tail, looked sick, limping, and had bleeding on his legs. I ended up getting bit, and because of his condition, when I went to the ER to get medical attention, they recommended the series of rabies shots. The bite was deep enough to mess with the tendon in the finger. The series of shots brought on side effects that kept me off work for nearly two weeks. I was able to stay afloat on bills by getting a loan on my 401k through my job.

In the middle of October 2024, my oldest daughter had to go see a specialist for a consult for cataract surgery. Appointments were made for November 18, 19, and 26, December 2, 3, and 10. Multiple trips two hours away from home, having to rent a car, rent a room, travel expenses, etc. I'm missing more and more work. FMLA is handling my leave of absence, but it is all unpaid leave, so I can be with my child to give her the eye drops and proper care she needs while she is healing.

After all of this, I feel defeated and am having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't like feeling this helpless. I don't like putting my business out there for the world to see my struggles. But my babies deserve the best, and right now, mama can't do that on her own.

Thank you to anyone that can help us in our current situation! And happy holidays to everyone!