HOLY CRAP!

We need to replace our septic system & desperately need your help!

My name is Shannon McCoy, and I’m reaching out to the community for HELP! My wife Jennifer and I are self-employed insurance restoration consultants. My wife handles the day-to-day administrative duties, while I typically perform on site property inspections after someone has filed an insurance claim. I’ve been doing this since 2002 because of the joy and fulfillment it brings me when I can help someone make lemonade with the lemons that life just gave them.

In late Spring 2024, it was discovered that I had 2 very large kidney stones that had to be surgically removed. The outpatient procedure was performed in mid-July 2024, and that’s when my $1.1 million(!) medical nightmare started. The complications from the bilateral cystoscopy caused a chronic, acute upper GI bleed which sent me to 3 different ER’s the following week. Between July and September 2024, I experienced a total of 4 ER visits, 2 separate ambulance rides, a combined total of 21 days in the hospital (16 in the Cardiac ICU), countless procedures, received 19 units of blood transfusions & 2 near death experiences. In November of 2024, a follow up endoscopy led to my GI doctor performing another cauterization on the ulcer during the procedure. Afterwards, he informed us that I was a “ticking time bomb” and needed to have a major surgery to fix the problem. The corrective surgery happened at the end of February 2025. My surgeon, a highly renowned and respected specialist, later told me that she had kind of dreaded my surgery due to its complexity and added “I was the most difficult surgery she has ever performed.”

During all of this mess, we drained our reserve funds, bank accounts, and even had to take out a personal loan to pay what debts we could in an attempt to weather the financial storm. Our business suffered massively during my medical nightmares, and the hits just keep on coming. Due the current insurance crisis here in California, myself and almost every company in the restoration industry has seen an unprecedented drop in business. I’m guessing that most homeowners are reluctant to file an insurance claim for fear of non-renewal by their insurance carrier. Currently, we’re struggling to rebuild our lives, our company, and have even added (independent) claims adjusting to our business services. The biggest and most immediate hurdle we’re facing is that our septic system has now failed and desperately needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, we are stuck due to the decline in business and the inability to qualify for any more loans. So far, the cheapest septic pumping that we’ve found here is $650. We’ve have already had to do this 4 times since January 2025. We’ve been living with not being able to take a normal shower, washing our dishes in a bucket, flushing the toilet ONLY when absolutely necessary, and taking our clothes to a laundromat. We keep moving forward the best we can, but the strain is becoming a bit overwhelming. That’s why we are asking for financial help from you and the same communities that we’ve been so blessed to help for so many years.

We’re currently working on getting plumbing bids to replace our septic system, but we can’t afford it on our own. Anything you can donate is ABSOLUTELY and GREATLY APPRECIATED. Based upon my own near-death experiences, I can tell you that God returns those blessings. Thank you for your time and consideration.