My Girl Gracie needs to see the veterinarian right away if her teeth are not pulled soon, infection may take her from me. My dog Gracie was gifted to me when she was a few weeks old and we have been constant companions for over 9 years. I have always done my best to provide for her needs, loving her is the easy part.
Now Gracie needs some serious dental surgery and my life situation has been desperate for several years now and I just lost my job because of my disability. I am in the long process of filing for disability, but that does not take care of my poor baby’s need to have 3 teeth extracted ASAP. I am struggling to keep my house and put food on the table, but getting relief for my Gracie is a priority. I don’t know what I would do without her love and companionship.
I received a quote from my Vet and it is going to cost almost $2,000. This includes removing 3 benign growths that are causing her discomfort and the medications she will need post-op. If I can raise that much money, or close to it, I can get her needs met and keep her healthy. I need my fur baby she gives this single senior citizen a reason to get up every day. If you have a few extra dollars, could you help me help Gracie?
https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.mayeaux.3
If you would like to know more about my situation, keep reading about my sad story.
I write this, not so much for sympathy, but in hopes that the reader is horrified and perhaps to bring some understanding.
This year I will turn 61 years old. I have gray hair, wrinkles, and I carry the extra weight that childbirth, menopause, and growing older brings. My hands are beginning to turn gnarly and misshapen from arthritis, as are my other joints and spinal column covered with arthritis. I can barely move about and function as any normal person does.
I started working when I was eleven years old. I babysat to earn money, to pay for my bicycles and some school clothes. I have always worked, never receiving welfare, food stamps, or other social services. I never even received Unemployment payments, because I took whatever jobs I could get.
I sent myself to college, always working full time and taking as many credit hours as possible, but, even after seven years straight of doing this I burnt out and did not complete my degree. But still I had good jobs and gave them my all.
Eventually I settled down and started a family. I had a good job with benefits and somewhat satisfying work. As with so many womyn, I ended up being a single mother. I received some child support, but always the onus of financially raising my son fell upon me. I didn’t party or neglect my responsibilities to my son. I provided healthcare, a roof and sustenance through my job. Many a time I wanted to quit my job because of the unfair practices of the corporate entity I worked for. My priorities were clear; I kept that job and worked through the tears, because this was what I was raised to believe. You worked for the “company”, and stuck with it through thick and thin, so that you could provide for your family and save for retirement. For 22 years I did this with the same company.
I stayed informed and active with my child’s life. Keeping up with his school work, and becoming a leader of Boy Scouts when no father’s would volunteer to lead. Music, vacations, social and citizen training, all these things I exposed my son to so he would become a good citizen of our nation. I wasn’t perfect, but I always kept my son’s well-being as my first priority.
I am just trying to build a picture of the type of person and life I have led. I am a good person. I took care of my own; I gave time and money to charity. I’m kind of an average person. I didn’t ask for more than I worked for, I didn’t expect others to take care of my responsibilities. I saved for retirement; I paid my bills, and provided for my son.
Then one Friday, in June of 2009, my job was eliminated and I was out the door. After 22 years, I was thrown to the curb. I did receive a severance package, but it was not going to sustain me for very long. For the first time in my life I began receiving Unemployment payments. Finding a job became my new full-time job. As anyone that has looked for a job in the past few years, it is not an easy task and takes a lot of time each and every day.
I searched long and hard for a decent job. I had been a highly paid sales rep., traveled the world, and was one of the top performers for my long time employer. I thought I would be able to find a good job. Boy was I wrong. I cannot tell you how many times my resume and phone interviews elicited high praise and hope. Then the face to face interview would show my gray hair, my aging body, and all the wrinkles, and suddenly I wasn’t the right candidate.
Eventually as my 401k and pension disappeared because the bills needed to be paid, I took a very low paying job. In less than a year, the health problems I was to see in my future began to rear its ugly head. I became ill and ended up in the hospital. I lost my job because I could not be there and be in the hospital at the same time. Again, the long search for a job resumed, I ended up having to take a minimum wage, part time job as a cashier. But, my health issues made standing extremely difficult; I could only stand for a maximum of 4 hours before I was paralyzed with pain. All during this time I struggled to keep the bank from foreclosing on my home, I only had 8 years left on my mortgage, and I didn’t want to lose it after all the hard work to pay for it.
Because of a chance meeting in a diner, I met a womyn that would become my boss. I finally had a nice job working in an office. The down side, I was not to become an employee, rather I had to accept 1099 contract worker status, at a low hourly wage. I struggled on a part time paycheck and even though I could never actually get current on my bills, I was able to pay everyone a little bit at a time. I did fall behind on my taxes, because having to pay all of the Federal Income Tax and SSI percentages that an employer normally pays made my hourly wage in effect below minimum wage.
After working for a year and a half, I became very concerned about the situation with my health, I was in more pain from arthritis, I was coughing all the time and always exhausted. My doctor diagnosed COPD and recommended that I file for disability, because working was going to become impossible. I am at that point now, because my illness caused my job performance to become unsatisfactory and I have been fired. I don’t know what my future will be at this point, I might lose my home.
I am so disillusioned with life, I had a plan, I did what I was supposed to do, and every time I turn around, I feel like I have been kicked in the gut and will never be able to catch my breath. I am embarrassed that I have to ask for help, as I know so many people are also suffering. I’m at the point that I have to ask for help, I need to save my dog’s life and my own.
Now Gracie needs some serious dental surgery and my life situation has been desperate for several years now and I just lost my job because of my disability. I am in the long process of filing for disability, but that does not take care of my poor baby’s need to have 3 teeth extracted ASAP. I am struggling to keep my house and put food on the table, but getting relief for my Gracie is a priority. I don’t know what I would do without her love and companionship.
I received a quote from my Vet and it is going to cost almost $2,000. This includes removing 3 benign growths that are causing her discomfort and the medications she will need post-op. If I can raise that much money, or close to it, I can get her needs met and keep her healthy. I need my fur baby she gives this single senior citizen a reason to get up every day. If you have a few extra dollars, could you help me help Gracie?
https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.mayeaux.3If you would like to know more about my situation, keep reading about my sad story.
I write this, not so much for sympathy, but in hopes that the reader is horrified and perhaps to bring some understanding.
This year I will turn 61 years old. I have gray hair, wrinkles, and I carry the extra weight that childbirth, menopause, and growing older brings. My hands are beginning to turn gnarly and misshapen from arthritis, as are my other joints and spinal column covered with arthritis. I can barely move about and function as any normal person does.
I started working when I was eleven years old. I babysat to earn money, to pay for my bicycles and some school clothes. I have always worked, never receiving welfare, food stamps, or other social services. I never even received Unemployment payments, because I took whatever jobs I could get.
I sent myself to college, always working full time and taking as many credit hours as possible, but, even after seven years straight of doing this I burnt out and did not complete my degree. But still I had good jobs and gave them my all.
Eventually I settled down and started a family. I had a good job with benefits and somewhat satisfying work. As with so many womyn, I ended up being a single mother. I received some child support, but always the onus of financially raising my son fell upon me. I didn’t party or neglect my responsibilities to my son. I provided healthcare, a roof and sustenance through my job. Many a time I wanted to quit my job because of the unfair practices of the corporate entity I worked for. My priorities were clear; I kept that job and worked through the tears, because this was what I was raised to believe. You worked for the “company”, and stuck with it through thick and thin, so that you could provide for your family and save for retirement. For 22 years I did this with the same company.
I stayed informed and active with my child’s life. Keeping up with his school work, and becoming a leader of Boy Scouts when no father’s would volunteer to lead. Music, vacations, social and citizen training, all these things I exposed my son to so he would become a good citizen of our nation. I wasn’t perfect, but I always kept my son’s well-being as my first priority.
I am just trying to build a picture of the type of person and life I have led. I am a good person. I took care of my own; I gave time and money to charity. I’m kind of an average person. I didn’t ask for more than I worked for, I didn’t expect others to take care of my responsibilities. I saved for retirement; I paid my bills, and provided for my son.
Then one Friday, in June of 2009, my job was eliminated and I was out the door. After 22 years, I was thrown to the curb. I did receive a severance package, but it was not going to sustain me for very long. For the first time in my life I began receiving Unemployment payments. Finding a job became my new full-time job. As anyone that has looked for a job in the past few years, it is not an easy task and takes a lot of time each and every day.
I searched long and hard for a decent job. I had been a highly paid sales rep., traveled the world, and was one of the top performers for my long time employer. I thought I would be able to find a good job. Boy was I wrong. I cannot tell you how many times my resume and phone interviews elicited high praise and hope. Then the face to face interview would show my gray hair, my aging body, and all the wrinkles, and suddenly I wasn’t the right candidate.
Eventually as my 401k and pension disappeared because the bills needed to be paid, I took a very low paying job. In less than a year, the health problems I was to see in my future began to rear its ugly head. I became ill and ended up in the hospital. I lost my job because I could not be there and be in the hospital at the same time. Again, the long search for a job resumed, I ended up having to take a minimum wage, part time job as a cashier. But, my health issues made standing extremely difficult; I could only stand for a maximum of 4 hours before I was paralyzed with pain. All during this time I struggled to keep the bank from foreclosing on my home, I only had 8 years left on my mortgage, and I didn’t want to lose it after all the hard work to pay for it.
Because of a chance meeting in a diner, I met a womyn that would become my boss. I finally had a nice job working in an office. The down side, I was not to become an employee, rather I had to accept 1099 contract worker status, at a low hourly wage. I struggled on a part time paycheck and even though I could never actually get current on my bills, I was able to pay everyone a little bit at a time. I did fall behind on my taxes, because having to pay all of the Federal Income Tax and SSI percentages that an employer normally pays made my hourly wage in effect below minimum wage.
After working for a year and a half, I became very concerned about the situation with my health, I was in more pain from arthritis, I was coughing all the time and always exhausted. My doctor diagnosed COPD and recommended that I file for disability, because working was going to become impossible. I am at that point now, because my illness caused my job performance to become unsatisfactory and I have been fired. I don’t know what my future will be at this point, I might lose my home.
I am so disillusioned with life, I had a plan, I did what I was supposed to do, and every time I turn around, I feel like I have been kicked in the gut and will never be able to catch my breath. I am embarrassed that I have to ask for help, as I know so many people are also suffering. I’m at the point that I have to ask for help, I need to save my dog’s life and my own.
Organizer
Cynthia Mayeaux
Organizer
Bates, MI