On Monday the 19th at 1:00am, I had to rush to the emergency room because I was bleeding internally. For about three hours, I tried to tough it out at home, hoping the bleeding would stop, but it only got worse. When I started feeling lightheaded from blood loss, I woke my wife and she took me to the ER as quickly as possible. It was a frightening experience, and I ended up spending three days in the hospital undergoing a procedure to stabilize my condition.

While in the hospital, I had to undergo an emergency colonoscopy and endoscopy at the same time so the doctors could figure out where I was bleeding from. They found and removed two polyps from my colon and sent them in for testing to see if they are cancerous. They also discovered that my upper GI tract was swollen by 1.6 cm, and they are still trying to determine the cause. Right now, I am waiting for my results to come back so I can find out the next steps in getting better.

This emergency has turned my life upside down. I am the main breadwinner for my family of four, and I do not qualify for unemployment or family medical leave. Missing work for a week has put us in a very difficult position. We are now facing the possibility of eviction because I won’t be able to catch up on rent, and I’m struggling to put food on the table for my family. On top of that, we are facing medical costs from my hospital stay and ongoing care. I am still dealing with health issues and am unsure when I’ll be able to return to work.

It would mean everything to my family and I if anybody could help with anything. Any kind of help will get us that much closer to being ok.