Help Michael get back on his feet

I have never asked for help like this before— but without organized assistance I fear that I will not be able to make it much longer.

Over the last six months, I have been in nearly constant, often excruciating pain due to three slow-healing, open wounds on my left foot that developed as a complication of lymphedema. I have been unable to work or earn income due to the pain, which at times is completely incapacitating and at worst leaves me unable to concentrate, remember deadlines and appointments or retain basic information.

I am receiving treatment from a wound care specialist but there is no way to predict how long it will ultimately take. I have applied for disability but that takes significant time including the possibility of having to appeal a negative decision.

I am single and live alone without any relatives or friends nearby so must handle every daily task by myself. The constant stress of not knowing how I’m going to cover basic bills, pay for food beyond what my SNAP (food stamps) benefits will cover and keep the lights, water and heat on has kept me very tense and not in the ideal frame of mind to focus on my recovery. This stress was magnified just days ago when my SNAP benefits were unexpectedly cut by 30 percent effective immediately.

Since my first episode of lymphedema nearly 4 years ago, I have struggled with the effects of this condition, with very painful flare ups every few months that require powerful dosages of antibiotics to resolve and twice required a week of inpatient hospitalization to receive intravenous antibiotics.

 I was employed full-time for nearly 23 consecutive years—the first nine in print journalism and the rest in nonprofit communications. After losing a job for  the first time ever three years ago, lymphedema severely hindered my ability to search for and find employment because of flare ups that besides being incredibly painful were close to incapacitating, with extreme swelling, leaking lymphatic fluid, major cellulitis and large scabs erupting on my skin.   

 Ultimately, after depleting my savings,  I was obliged to prematurely access my 401 (k) retirement funds, which were exhausted in July 2020—shortly after the open wounds first appeared. I found a temporary full-time job to try and make ends meet but due to the steadily increasing pain from the foot, I was only able to work part-time and had to leave the position early.

 Thankfully, I currently have health care coverage through my state’s Medicaid expansion. I also am fortunate that my home mortgage is currently in forbearance by the bank, because I haven’t been able to make my house payment in nearly 9 months; the forbearance limit is apparently 12 months.

Other than selling the few valuable possessions I had, there has been zero income coming in the last 6 months and I’ve constantly struggled to pay basic expenses such as utilities to avoid disconnection, gas for my car (which is in imminent danger of being repossessed) and everyday needs as basic as toilet paper, antibacterial soap (vital to keep my hands clean when changing my wounds dressing every day), laundry detergent to wash my clothes and garbage bags.

Through the kindness and generosity of extended family and friends, I have just managed to scrape by but mostly everyone I know is struggling somehow due to the effects of COVID.

Ultimately I have hope that the wounds will fully heal, my pain will recede and I’ll be able to get back on my feet and work full-time again. But after being almost entirely self-sufficient since graduating college 26 years ago, I sincerely need a hand up to avoid some very negative consequences.

I am seeking $6,000 for the following needs, listed in approximate order of priority. This total doesn’t include the cost of replacing my unrepairable home air conditioning unit, which stopped working during the hottest part of last summer—or credit card debt accrued before tapping my retirement funds.

Immediate avoid disconnection needs:

Week of March 22-27: $206 (payment agreement extended cell phone +water/sewer +  natural gas bills) — included in bill totals listed below

$1,591 Car registration renewal

My car license tags expire March 31, 2021. To renew before the deadline, I face the following costs:
- $126 to pay my 2019 personal property tax including late payment penalty (due last October)
 - $100 penalty for lapse in insurance coverage
 - $1,285 (including $275 upfront) for 6 months’ car insurance coverage (cheapest I could find via insurance broker). The cost (which reflects a $1,000 deductible) is so high partly due to a lapse in coverage because I could not afford to keep paying the premiums, plus at-fault accidents in 2018 and 2019—before those claims it cost just $538 for 6 months. Because I am still making car payments, I am required to have full coverage. After 6 months, my prior auto insurer can re-enroll me at hopefully more reasonable rates.
- $30 tags renewal fee
- $50 to purchase/have installed a replacement drivers side headlight.

$800 Save my car from repossession by paying off my past due car payments balance & make the next 2 payments ($155.31 a month)  to stop immediate possibility of repossession.

$1,200  Best guess utilities coverage for the next 6 months. I have applied for LIHEAP funds to help cover electricity & natural gas utility costs but have not heard back yet. If I do receive assistance the balance will be used to keep my car payments current.
- Natural gas: $275
- Electricity: $700 If I am unable to replace my unrepairable air conditioner by the heat of the summer, the bill will be $200 less.
- Water/sewer/garbage pickup : $210

$450 1 year of contact lenses/eye examination by optometrist + monthly contact lens multipurpose solution replacement costs   I lost vision insurance in January 2020 when due to cost, I discontinued COBRA extension of my last full-time employer’s group insurance. I have one pair of contact lenses left from the supply I purchased at my appointment last year. I wear disposable one month wear contacts for significant nearsightedness & due to an unexplained neurological issue, wearing full strength glasses rather than contacts causes dizziness and headaches, so I only wear glasses at home using a very out of date Rx that is ok for familiar spaces but not safe to use to drive, especially at night. Disposable contacts are necessary because of significant protein buildup on my eyes when using long-term contact lenses. It is ultimately much more cost-effective to order a year of lenses rather than 6 months.

$492 Cover next 6 months of cell phone service. The monthly cost of $82 includes paying off the deductible for a replacement phone after I lost my prior phone last September while working as a U.S. Census enumerator

$500 Pay for home repairs necessary for my homeowners insurance to be reinstated. I was financially unable to pay for the repairs so the underwriter declined to renew the policy in September 2020. In the meantime the bank/mortgage holder took out a policy to cover the property but at a much higher cost with less coverage and it will be assessed as a surcharge on my house payment until I can afford to get the repairs made & submit the evidence to my old insurance co.

$250 Replace/potentially have to pay someone to install (2) toilet seats... one of which  has detached from the bowl, and is not very safe (I’ve nearly fallen off many times) & the other in the master bedroom is made of wood & has split in several places. I tried patching it with duct tape but it’s too unstable to support full body weight. Each seat is at least 21 years old (how long I’ve owned the house) & likely older, as neither looked brand new when I bought the house.

 $300 Replace blower motor in my car AC/heater. I had to drive across town and go door to door for my temporary job last summer in 90 to 100 degree/sweltering humidity weather without functioning air conditioning in my car. The blower motor started working intermittently toward the end of September & seemed to be working again so I had heat during the recent much colder weather. But the blower motor stopped working again last week  & none of the tricks that sometimes brought it back to “life” worked. There still may be cold weather ahead plus starting in May, it gets hot again.

$1,500 Regain access to my bank account by paying off courtesy overdrafts incurred during extended wait for SNAP recertification in November 2020 when I had no other way to pay for food + multiple creditors auto withdrew from checking despite my having turned off auto pay. Bank account was closed in December b/c I couldn’t pay off the balance.

$1,105 Pay off past due Internet balance so I can regain home WiFi coverage —this is vital to an eventual job search as I currently can’t send scanned documents via email from my computer and my iPhone is an older model with limited file transfer capability.