USAF Veteran trying to not end up homeless

Hello, I'm a 7 Year USAF Veteran, who has run into too many issues over the last 10 years and it's reached the point where I need some help. We’ve gotten a lot of help and it helped tremendously but my health hasn’t improved much despite a lot of doctor visits, trying to eat healthy, taking a lot of supplements and more. But I work 7 days a week trying to solve our financial issues, but could use a little more help.

 Here is why we decided to launch this Gofundme, because it was NOT an easy decision as I prefer to solve my own issues, and was working on it, but then something happened we didn't see coming that changed everything. 

ABOUT US

First, my name is Guy Purcella and my wife is Carla and we live in Grand Junction, CO.  I graduated from nearby Fruita CO in 1979 and my wife is from Wyoming.  I am 62, she is 70 and we have a wonderful marriage.  We are very happy and have been through some struggles before, and always come out on top.  And we will again, but may need your help this time due to health issues. 

I'm a 7 year USAF veteran having been an Electronic Warfare Technician from 1984 - 1991.  I graduated with honors from that 9 month class.  I've also written a book about Biodiesel called 'The Do it Yourself Guide to Biodiesel' which is available on Amazon etc.  I have been in drywall the majority of my life, over 35 years, with the last 17 running my own business of Mr Patch Drywall LLC.  I was also part owner in a pawnshop for 4 years, and manufactured biodiesel making equipment for 6 years selling one to the USAF Academy, shipping to locations like Tanzania, etc.

LOSING OUR HOME (from 4 years ago)

Here's what's going on.  The final straw in our saga if you will is that just days ago we got a text from our landlord that they have sold the house and we have until the end of October to be moved completely out of the house.  Well, we actually were planning on looking for a home next summer, with the possibility of closing and moving in by the later part of the year.  We planned on accomplishing this by continuing to work my Youtube channel hard, including putting out more videos, writing and selling ebooks, and training courses, through affiliate links on Amazon and others, a Patreon page and other methods.  And, it was happening nicely considering my health issues. 

My wife and I met in 2008, and I was living on 20 acres my dad and I were buying and planned to split up.  I put about $15,000 into the property upgrades, then he died suddenly in December of 2007, shortly before I met my wife.  So I lost the property to foreclosure since it was still in my dads name.  The next house we rented, on 4 acres, got foreclosed and we had to move again.  We've moved over 9 times now in 12 years and planned to move one more time, into our dream home.

HEALTH ISSUES

Ok, I'll explain these health issues below, but my main issues are

I think that's the main ones, lol.  I'm going to try and give you the shortest version I can.

See, I've always felt nearly bulletproof as there wasnt much I couldn't do.  I could work harder than most people, I'm very intelligent and can figure out stuff that baffles some, and I just was hardly ever really sick. 

Then in September of 2018 I got hit with severe vertigo as I stood up off a toilet in the morning.  I fell, and could not even crawl without falling over, so I couldn't reach my phone for help.  I finally used Siri to summon my wife with one word, 'Help'.  I spent 4 days in the VA hospital, and was sent home and told I had some kind of virus in my inner ear.  4 months later a test confirmed that I had 40% nerve damage from that virus and I had 2 options, brain surgery to go in and sever the nerves to that side of the inner ear, or hope my brain would retrain.  I chose to retrain my brain and about 1 1/2 years later, I was doing much better.  I had lost 70% of my income during this time though, and now was very deep in debt.  The repo guy was being called to come get my work truck even, but we managed to get a new repayment schedule instead. 

So I was making progress on things and then another virus got me.  This time is was a virus like the Covid Virus.  I woke up with a fever, and threw up 12 times in one day, which left me badly dehydrated, so I went to the VA ER, (my wife had to drive).  They admitted me and I stayed in the hospital for 4 more days in March of 2020.  During that time I had extreme shivering & body aches, a fever over 103, chills and food tasted terrible, so I lost 12 lbs in 10 days.  They tested me for every virus and other things they could think of, including the Covid 19, and it came back negative.  They sent me home and told me to monitor it.

I slowly started back to work, and thought I just needed to take it easy and soon I'd be back to normal.  Now, it's September and I'm having classic Long Haul Covid symptoms including bad brain fog and extreme fatigue, Severe RLS and my neuropathy in my feet is flaring up badly, keeping me from sleeping well.  So I can only work about 3-5 hours a day, and only a few days a week. 

But, I will tell you the reason I've gotten by is my Youtube Channel has been able to pay about 60-70% of the bills, along with my wifes full disability income.  (She's had her knees replaced 3 times and can barely walk and distances at all).

I've also had this Neuropathy in my feet since 2008 which is nerve damage that causes pain in the ball of my feet ranging from annoying to very painful.  I've been fighting bad restless legs for years also, and that's usually just at night, but now it's all day, which drains my legs of energy.  RLS and Neuropathy are often associated.

About 2 1/2 years ago I went to Mexico for extensive dental including 4 extractions and several crowns.  It cost me $2,000 but the local price was $8,000 so it was worth it.  Then a little over a year ago, I had 4 more teeth removed, so I know only have 2 molars to eat with, but planned on inserts when my channel was doing well.  Now, I have about 4 more teeth in bad shape, including 2 front teeth, so I'm once again having tooth pain.

Then there's the C word, Cancer.  I got diagnosed with low grade Prostate cancer about 3 1/2 years ago, then this January another biopsy showed it had spread to a mid grade cancer and now requires radiation and testosterone blocking.  That will most likely make it so I can't work at all for awhile, so I postponed treatment (as my doctor told me it's not like the house is on fire, but we need to get on it before it is).  I postponed as I couldn't lose the income again, and this time lose everything.  So I've tried to work hard to build my youtube channel so it could support us during this time, and it was working.  I planned on doing the radiation in January, as I figured we'd have enough bills paid down by then (partly thanks to 1 stimulus check and having our storage unit burglarized and using the insurance money for bills instead).

BUYING A NEW HOME

Update: 2.2024- We are applying for a home loan for a very modest home, but we have maxed out all our credit to survive and not have any late payments, which would destroy our chances of buying a home. So we just need to lower that Debt to Income ratio and we can qualify, according to Veterans United Home Loans.

THE FUTURE

Once we get over this hurdle, I will be back to building a Highly successful Youtube based business teaching millions how to save money and take pride in doing their own drywall repairs and small jobs, as well as teaching those wishing to make a career of this. I have started an ONLINE Drywall training course called The Drywall Academy. But I can't work on building it because I spend nearly every minute of the day trying to pay the next bill.

Thank you for your time, and for considering our fundraiser.