Dear friends, family, colleagues, community members, and strangers,

I humbly reach out to you for urgent help. While I’ve struggled with chronic and sometimes severe health issues over the past decade, I’ve always been blessed by the ability to recover and persevere. However, at the beginning of 2025, I was diagnosed with a permanent and progressive mobility handicap that now limits both my life and my ability to support myself. Let me tell you about how I’ve come to live the life lesson that health truly is wealth, in all ways that “wealth” encompasses.

My story begins in July 2024, shortly after I began working at my new job in health care at a local hospital. I noticed pain and minor swelling in my right foot, especially when walking, enough to cause me to limp. After many doctor appointments and diagnostic imaging, I was diagnosed with Charcot foot, a progressively degenerative and rare condition, also known as neuropathic arthropathy. Charcot foot means that the bones in my right foot and ankle are degenerating, breaking, and deforming.

I can no longer walk without an assistive device such as a wheelchair, knee scooter, knee crutch, or crutches. This now limits where and how I can work, where I can go for fun (handicapped accessible), park, walk, travel, and entertainment I can enjoy. I remain positive in spirit, but part of this journey is also mentally accepting the alterations I need to make to my life. I have to make changes to my home, such as the shower seat and a handheld spray nozzle. I have had to skip out on certain social events due to lack of handicap accessibility or parking. I will need multiple surgeries in the future and will have to figure out who will help care for me during recovery. I have been unable to work since February 2nd of this year. My job is currently still in limbo pending whether accommodations can be made or be reassigned to another position. I am living on state temporary disability funds, but it's only a fraction of what I need to cover my monthly expenses. I can only hope that my employer will be able to make the disability accommodations requested or that I am able to find a remote job.

Without having been able to work for months, I have fallen extremely behind on all my financial obligations. I am at risk for my car being repossessed which would be detrimental. I owe my roommate money for rent which he has been covering for me. I also still have many medical bills I owe and have completely run out of my FSA funds for the year. With your help, the money I raise here will help me pay for: medical bills, a wheelchair, the co-insurance for the prosthetic custom shoe, rent, food, car payments, and other daily living expenses.

Having Charcot foot adversely impacts every part of my life including finances, mental health, the ability to support myself, enjoyment of physical activities and exercise, and most importantly my independence. Please help me to reach my financial goals so that I may eliminate one major stressor from my life. Your generous donation of any size, no matter how small or large, would greatly improve my current situation. I can realize a more positive outlook for my future with your help.