Crawling From the Wreckage Fund
Donation protected
Well, here I am. The place I swore I'd never be. Asking friends, acquaintances, and strangers, for a little helping hand. I've been debating setting up this GoFundMe campaign for some time now, mostly because some I've seen, have seemed so frivolous, but desperate times, call for desperate measures, and I've come to realize we all need a little helping hand once in awhile. To make my campaign different, and to set it apart from the typical "just donating" campaign, I will send a collectible of some kind, to any person who donates to me as a thank you, unless they choose not to want anything. More on that later...
Anyone who knows me, already knows where my story begins. Approx 6-1/2 years ago, in July 2009, I had an unexpected liver transplant, after never drinking, smoking or doing drugs. I woke up one morning, completely yellow, and got a full transplant approx 2 weeks later, and my life has been turned upside down ever since. If you want to read a little more about my initial experience, I started a very occasional blog here...
Http://everybodyneedsahammer.blogspot.com
The years following my surgery have been plagued with other personal health issues mostly attributed to the effects the transplant meds and steroids have had on me....hearing loss that forced me to get hearing aids, mood swings, wounds that wont't heal, sleep deprivation, borderline diabetes from the steroids raiding blood sugar, loss of bone density leading to tears in both shoulders, consistent joint pain, and more.
In the middle of all of that, Superstorm Sandy ripped through our home, destroying at least 70% of the collectibles I was buying, selling, and collecting over the years. Close to $150,000 in retail collectibles all destroyed....comics, toys, movie/music/tv memorabilia, autographs, records, vintage photos, and more, all destroyed. A lot survived, but much more didn't, and I think it was finally the stress of the damage that Sandy did to our home, and the chaos surrounding my surgery, that took its toll on my mom, who passed away unexpectedly, a year after Sandy...
While there has been a lot of tragedy and sadness over the last 6-1/2 years, there have been some great times for me as well. I have taken up photography again, I've discovered some incredible new music, and I've met some of the most amazing people, because of my love of that music. People I never would have met, had my liver not failed, and that makes me realize even more, just how truly fortunate and lucky I was to receive a transplant, let alone, getting it so quickly.
Realizing how lucky I was, I've tried my best to help my friends, and others whenever I could. Whether it was to lend a needed ear for them to vent about something, help raise funds for a cause they were involved with, or maybe donate to another crowdfunding campaign they set up. Whatever I could do to help. I think, and hope, my friends knew I would do whatever I could for them.
After all this time, I'm now at the stage, where I need to ask for a little help myself., and believe me, this is the last thing I wanted to do. While I've been doing my best to help others, I've fallen behind on some bills, and have some other medical expenses that Medicare and Medicaid won't cover. When I was feeling better, I started to dig a hole for myself running back and forth to New Jersey and New York City, paying to get into music events to take photos. I did this not only because I enjoyed it, but also because my friends loved the photos. I didn't get paid for any of it, and I paid for my own tix and tolls, and all of that continued to add up, and put me deeper into the hole I currently find myself in. Now that my health issues are worse, it's even more difficult for me to think about any real work yet, but hopefully that will change soon.
In the meantime, Its the start of a new year, and I am still stuck in this hole, hoping to finally scratch and claw myself out with your help. But I'm not just asking you for your hard-earned money....well, I am, but I'm offering something in return if anyone wants it. As I mentioned earlier, I've bought, sold, and collected memorabilia all my life...baseball cards, non-sports cards, in-person autographs, movie posters, photos, promotional items, buttons, t-shirts, toys, music'/tv memorabilia, CDs, DVDs, etc....I also have a ton of e-books, and digital music I can offer if you'd like. With any donation, I will send a gift of my choosing from what I still have here. The size of the donation, will determine what I send or hand-deliver to you. I don't want handouts, never did, and sending a gift would make me feel like I'm not standing here with hat in hand, just begging for money, and would also help to unclutter my life, and hopefully start anew.
I know times are difficult for all of us, so any donation would be greatly appreciated, and if you can't donate, just passing along my link to someone else, would make me grateful as well. Thanks for reading this, and thanks for even considering tossing me a few $$$. I can't tell you how much it would mean to me, to be able to get out of this hole, and get my life back on track ❤️
Anyone who knows me, already knows where my story begins. Approx 6-1/2 years ago, in July 2009, I had an unexpected liver transplant, after never drinking, smoking or doing drugs. I woke up one morning, completely yellow, and got a full transplant approx 2 weeks later, and my life has been turned upside down ever since. If you want to read a little more about my initial experience, I started a very occasional blog here...
Http://everybodyneedsahammer.blogspot.com
The years following my surgery have been plagued with other personal health issues mostly attributed to the effects the transplant meds and steroids have had on me....hearing loss that forced me to get hearing aids, mood swings, wounds that wont't heal, sleep deprivation, borderline diabetes from the steroids raiding blood sugar, loss of bone density leading to tears in both shoulders, consistent joint pain, and more.
In the middle of all of that, Superstorm Sandy ripped through our home, destroying at least 70% of the collectibles I was buying, selling, and collecting over the years. Close to $150,000 in retail collectibles all destroyed....comics, toys, movie/music/tv memorabilia, autographs, records, vintage photos, and more, all destroyed. A lot survived, but much more didn't, and I think it was finally the stress of the damage that Sandy did to our home, and the chaos surrounding my surgery, that took its toll on my mom, who passed away unexpectedly, a year after Sandy...
While there has been a lot of tragedy and sadness over the last 6-1/2 years, there have been some great times for me as well. I have taken up photography again, I've discovered some incredible new music, and I've met some of the most amazing people, because of my love of that music. People I never would have met, had my liver not failed, and that makes me realize even more, just how truly fortunate and lucky I was to receive a transplant, let alone, getting it so quickly.
Realizing how lucky I was, I've tried my best to help my friends, and others whenever I could. Whether it was to lend a needed ear for them to vent about something, help raise funds for a cause they were involved with, or maybe donate to another crowdfunding campaign they set up. Whatever I could do to help. I think, and hope, my friends knew I would do whatever I could for them.
After all this time, I'm now at the stage, where I need to ask for a little help myself., and believe me, this is the last thing I wanted to do. While I've been doing my best to help others, I've fallen behind on some bills, and have some other medical expenses that Medicare and Medicaid won't cover. When I was feeling better, I started to dig a hole for myself running back and forth to New Jersey and New York City, paying to get into music events to take photos. I did this not only because I enjoyed it, but also because my friends loved the photos. I didn't get paid for any of it, and I paid for my own tix and tolls, and all of that continued to add up, and put me deeper into the hole I currently find myself in. Now that my health issues are worse, it's even more difficult for me to think about any real work yet, but hopefully that will change soon.
In the meantime, Its the start of a new year, and I am still stuck in this hole, hoping to finally scratch and claw myself out with your help. But I'm not just asking you for your hard-earned money....well, I am, but I'm offering something in return if anyone wants it. As I mentioned earlier, I've bought, sold, and collected memorabilia all my life...baseball cards, non-sports cards, in-person autographs, movie posters, photos, promotional items, buttons, t-shirts, toys, music'/tv memorabilia, CDs, DVDs, etc....I also have a ton of e-books, and digital music I can offer if you'd like. With any donation, I will send a gift of my choosing from what I still have here. The size of the donation, will determine what I send or hand-deliver to you. I don't want handouts, never did, and sending a gift would make me feel like I'm not standing here with hat in hand, just begging for money, and would also help to unclutter my life, and hopefully start anew.
I know times are difficult for all of us, so any donation would be greatly appreciated, and if you can't donate, just passing along my link to someone else, would make me grateful as well. Thanks for reading this, and thanks for even considering tossing me a few $$$. I can't tell you how much it would mean to me, to be able to get out of this hole, and get my life back on track ❤️
Organizer
Mitchell Bilus
Organizer
Long Beach, NY