paying off medical related debts

Cancer is expensive and even with some coverage, I could never catch up with the costs we incurred for my partner to get treated. they had leukemia and a bone marrow transplant; the VA did not offer what they needed so we had to stay at a "cancer motel" in Seattle for about 7 months, paying for everything but the transplant itself.

right now it's the living expenses I am paying off from the year and a half that I was not working but being a caregiver. I was able to get back to work for a few months in late 2019 but then again was out of work for all of 2020 into 2021 (my partner had no immune system at that time, as a bone marrow transplant patient, we couldn't risk them getting covid at all and had to wait for vaccines to be active in their system).

I have several chronic illnesses that make it hard for me to work more often/longer hours. during the year my partner was in treatment i wasn't able to work at all. i had to take loans and use credit cards to pay mortgage, bills, food and everything else involved in staying alive for both of us. that's part of this debt. we also had some ICU treatment denied but their insurance and that's in this pile too, though it's lower priority because there's less interest on that (those bills are over 10k and I don't really expect to raise enough to pay those too). I personally have no savings left at all, no 401k, nothing but what i earn at work or selling paintings and books. it was enough to stay afloat before but now it isn't.

just a pile of bills from the VA, denial letters

right now they are in remission, which is awesome. I'm working again, but it's not enough and never really can be. I was doing ok before they got sick, now I'm paying off the costs still. it was originally about 13k with interest, but I've got it down to 6,000 or so (and you guys helped!)

every bit is appreciated and every bit goes toward paying off the balance.

some parts of cancer end, one way or another. other aspects never end. ending the financial repercussions would take at least that off the table.

fuck cancer. I still raise funds when I can by doing flash days at the shop for @stupidcancer and the leukemia and lymphoma society. it's rare that I can do a day but people don't know how far cancer treatment can set you back, permanently.

my debt is down from about 7k, making progress little by little. I've been paying as much as I can ever since. plus what I've raised here! thank you so much!!