Our family is facing the most difficult chapter of our lives. My girlfriend, Anita Shae Porter, has just been placed on hospice care due to a terminal heart condition and liver failure. After a year of paperwork, ER visits, and unbearable pain, her Social Security disability claim was denied the very same day she was placed on hospice, with an explanation citing her condition not considered a disability, or life threatening. The news was devastating since they undoubtedly know she is unlikely to survive the appeals process, and we have exhausted every penny of our savings and investments on medical care and medications.

We relocated to Texas and now reside on a property which Shae puchased selflessly last year for my autistic daughter and her mother, to insure they would never have to worry about a place to live. We live in a one-room workshop, converted into a makeshift home, with only a garden hose for running water and a portable toilet. Our refrigerator is nearly always empty, and our only vehicle has become unreliable.

I left a good job to care for Shae when she was diagnosed, moving over 700 miles to be by her side in Florida. She had just lost her mother, whom she cared for until her passing, and was left alone to face her own illness. With Shae’s health declining and my own challenges, we are struggling to get by.

All Shae wants in her last few months is to travel back to Florida and the Midwest to see her family and friends—her children and grandchildren—one last time. The funds raised here will go toward daily living expenses, travel costs for these final visits, and, if possible, help with expenses left to our family after her passing. We know times are tough for everyone. Even the smallest donations can add up to so much. We have absolutely nothing, so every bit of support feels like a lifeline. If you can’t help financially, please consider sharing our story. I want nothing more than for Shae to feel cared for and comfortable in her final days. She has shown me unconditional love, and I don’t want her to struggle until her last breath. I would give her the world if I had it to give.