Hi, my name is Don, and I never thought I’d be in this position. I’ve worked my whole life, and I’ve never asked anyone for help — not once. But right now, I don’t have any other choice.

I recently underwent my 16th and 17th back surgeries at Duke Hospital — major reconstruction with rods, screws, and two surgeries just weeks apart. My doctors have been very clear:

I am not medically cleared to return to work.

I can’t sit, stand, walk, or focus for normal periods of time, and pain medication is required every four hours just to get through the day.

Despite all of this — and despite my surgeon’s written statement saying I am unable to return to work of any kind — MetLife abruptly stopped my disability payments, claiming I am somehow able to return to full-time employment. My doctors never released me. In fact, they documented the opposite.

Because of MetLife’s decision, my payments stopped immediately.

My savings have run out. I’m down to my last dollars.

I’m terrified of losing my home, and I’m fighting my appeal as hard as I can.

I’m not someone who ever thought he’d need help like this, but I’m scared. Truly scared. I’ve done everything right — the surgeries, the therapy, the paperwork, the appeals — and yet I’m in a position where I can’t work, can’t get paid, and can’t support myself while waiting for a decision.

If you can help me through this storm while I fight to get my disability benefits reinstated, it would mean more to me than I can put into words. Every donation, no matter how small, will go directly toward keeping a roof over my head, keeping the lights on, and buying groceries while I wait for MetLife to do the right thing.

Thank you for reading this, thank you for sharing it, and thank you for helping me keep going during one of the hardest moments of my life.

sincerely,

Don Mennona