Mari needs help
Donation protected
So, I've run out of options and need help.. Every bit of savings, every plan, every back up plan and every back up for those back ups have failed me and i am asking for help.. Very soon i will be in desperate need of help.. So I will be grateful for every dollar and any help anyone can send me.
The story is long but familiar... I've spent that last few years battling an illness, a long, painful, incurable illness that is destroying my bones and causing often untreatable pain, stiffness and fatigue.. Ive been lucky in many ways. I have great doctors, I've had good medical insurance and i've had the support of family and friends.. Ive even kept a small flexible part time job that made many accommodations to keep me there and working :).. and for whome ive made many adjustments as well.. It has helped me weather many storms.. .
Over the last few years things have changed a lot.. Iv'e lost a few friends and support people.. This happens a lot when you have a chronic condition.. People help when they can but they move on .. You cant fault them for that.. just wish them well .. and find other ways to cope.. My treatments stopped working . . Another thing that happens a lot.. We've had to add others treatments and allow them time to work.. often three to six months or more and often with a whole new host of side effects and some limitations.
And then came complication after complication .. a partially torn meniscus in my right knee.. (which took months to heal.. but never really did) a mysterious depletion of my Iron levels which led to needing months of iron infusions and a return to a heart rate that can top 200 beats per minute without warning.. . And now a second depletion of my iron for which i will soon be tested to see if it is being held in my bone marrow and not being used as it should (yet another common complication of inflammatory illnesses). To add insult to serious injury lol, One of the treatments (methotrexate ) caused an erosion of my esophagus, stomach and small intestines, the pills, though tiny, are so caustic, and im possibly so inflammed that they went through my system burning my throat, stomach and upper intestines on the way down .. Which landed me a short stint in the hospital for diagnosis and testing .. then more time at home trying to recover. (Months again sadly). My private disability insurance failed me in the most spectacular way at that time, as they insisted on so much documentation from every doctor that my payments (already only 60% of my earnings) were held up so long that i exhausted what little i had saved, and still fell behind so drastically that i had to beg them to do anything as i had no money to keep up with all the doctors visits they insisted that i keep.. sigh.. There are now.. new complications... My right shoulder is getting increasingly worse, and my right hip seems to have redeveloped some type of painful spur or tendon problem. I see my Doctor November 1st.. We will look at my latest bone scans.. :/
The last really huge setback has been my old stand by.. The local part time job that has always been a quick way to begin catching up and getting back on my feet.. It wasnt a glamorous job .. but it was flexible and available and willing to work with me and my medical visits and complications.. However.. a little over a week ago.. it sort of .. blew up.. It was a small local branch of a large restaurant chain.. and the explosion was so deep it could be felt a half a mile away.. The damage was extensive.. but they are rebuilding.. However.. i am now instantly without a safety net, they have offered us jobs at other locations which seemed like a great offer.. until we discovered the other locations are expensive to reach, smaller and almost fully staffed (no transportation costs have been offered.) The other locations do not have space or volume to absorb the 110 people who worked at my location.. so not only has the travel increased but they cannot offer us the hours .. and the company has not paid us anything from the day of the accident on.. the offer of employment at other locations was the sum total of their help..
They have made no announcements within the company.. They are not doing anything else on our behalf.. If i am reading the unemployment site correctly that eliminates our ability to apply for unemployment benefits.. especially since they keep scheduling us, making it seem as if we have options we arent taking.. Our company also has an emergency program to help employees in need.. to which we all donate (well most of us).. I called them, and was told there was nothing they could do for us.. I have sent a second email to my regional manager.. Im waiting for a reply... I dont expect a good one.. It looks as though we have been left on our own.. Im sort of devastated by this latest move as i've been with that company for almost 15 years off and on.. and so have many of the other 100 + people who work there.. Im told that even those who were hit by debris in the explosion are being denied workers compensation.. I will keep exploring this avenue.. but it looks like not only have they refused to even pay out the time for which they had us scheduled.. but they are using the offers of employment to keep us from getting any help while we wait the 2 months for repairs.. I dont think i am returning .. i need to get better and find another way to make money .. another saftey net..
So, Here i am .. no savings, no insurance, and needing another possible increase in the medication for my new treatment plan.. as well as a lot more testing .. I cant travel to the new locations, even if i can, they wont have room for me .. and it will take time to find a new job that will be close, flexible and able to work within my range of abilities ..
The newer complications mean i need more doctors visits and more testing.. My insurance has not only increased but so have the deductibles and copays.. I have undifferentiated spondylitis .. which is what they call Ankylosing Spondylitis before they have enough imaging, blood work and changes to make the full diagnosis (diagnosis takes an average of 10 years).. Disability is certainly in my future.. but so far not yet, so i need help.. lots of help.. i need to be able to pay for my living expenses, my medical treatments and keep working towards a possible remission while i find a new flexible position with a better company.. Maybe one that cares a bit more this time .. $6000 is enough to keep me a float for about two months.. If by some miracle i get more than this goal i will pay it forward as best i can to those other 109 people who instantly lost their jobs and are trying to feed their families too.. Any amount helps.. small steps help.. Even if you cant help.. send some prayers and well wishes my way :) at this time.. it cant hurt us.. and we need every bit of help we can get..
Thanks for listening everyone, even if you cant help.. i know many of you are with me ..
Thanks again,
Mari
The story is long but familiar... I've spent that last few years battling an illness, a long, painful, incurable illness that is destroying my bones and causing often untreatable pain, stiffness and fatigue.. Ive been lucky in many ways. I have great doctors, I've had good medical insurance and i've had the support of family and friends.. Ive even kept a small flexible part time job that made many accommodations to keep me there and working :).. and for whome ive made many adjustments as well.. It has helped me weather many storms.. .
Over the last few years things have changed a lot.. Iv'e lost a few friends and support people.. This happens a lot when you have a chronic condition.. People help when they can but they move on .. You cant fault them for that.. just wish them well .. and find other ways to cope.. My treatments stopped working . . Another thing that happens a lot.. We've had to add others treatments and allow them time to work.. often three to six months or more and often with a whole new host of side effects and some limitations.
And then came complication after complication .. a partially torn meniscus in my right knee.. (which took months to heal.. but never really did) a mysterious depletion of my Iron levels which led to needing months of iron infusions and a return to a heart rate that can top 200 beats per minute without warning.. . And now a second depletion of my iron for which i will soon be tested to see if it is being held in my bone marrow and not being used as it should (yet another common complication of inflammatory illnesses). To add insult to serious injury lol, One of the treatments (methotrexate ) caused an erosion of my esophagus, stomach and small intestines, the pills, though tiny, are so caustic, and im possibly so inflammed that they went through my system burning my throat, stomach and upper intestines on the way down .. Which landed me a short stint in the hospital for diagnosis and testing .. then more time at home trying to recover. (Months again sadly). My private disability insurance failed me in the most spectacular way at that time, as they insisted on so much documentation from every doctor that my payments (already only 60% of my earnings) were held up so long that i exhausted what little i had saved, and still fell behind so drastically that i had to beg them to do anything as i had no money to keep up with all the doctors visits they insisted that i keep.. sigh.. There are now.. new complications... My right shoulder is getting increasingly worse, and my right hip seems to have redeveloped some type of painful spur or tendon problem. I see my Doctor November 1st.. We will look at my latest bone scans.. :/
The last really huge setback has been my old stand by.. The local part time job that has always been a quick way to begin catching up and getting back on my feet.. It wasnt a glamorous job .. but it was flexible and available and willing to work with me and my medical visits and complications.. However.. a little over a week ago.. it sort of .. blew up.. It was a small local branch of a large restaurant chain.. and the explosion was so deep it could be felt a half a mile away.. The damage was extensive.. but they are rebuilding.. However.. i am now instantly without a safety net, they have offered us jobs at other locations which seemed like a great offer.. until we discovered the other locations are expensive to reach, smaller and almost fully staffed (no transportation costs have been offered.) The other locations do not have space or volume to absorb the 110 people who worked at my location.. so not only has the travel increased but they cannot offer us the hours .. and the company has not paid us anything from the day of the accident on.. the offer of employment at other locations was the sum total of their help..
They have made no announcements within the company.. They are not doing anything else on our behalf.. If i am reading the unemployment site correctly that eliminates our ability to apply for unemployment benefits.. especially since they keep scheduling us, making it seem as if we have options we arent taking.. Our company also has an emergency program to help employees in need.. to which we all donate (well most of us).. I called them, and was told there was nothing they could do for us.. I have sent a second email to my regional manager.. Im waiting for a reply... I dont expect a good one.. It looks as though we have been left on our own.. Im sort of devastated by this latest move as i've been with that company for almost 15 years off and on.. and so have many of the other 100 + people who work there.. Im told that even those who were hit by debris in the explosion are being denied workers compensation.. I will keep exploring this avenue.. but it looks like not only have they refused to even pay out the time for which they had us scheduled.. but they are using the offers of employment to keep us from getting any help while we wait the 2 months for repairs.. I dont think i am returning .. i need to get better and find another way to make money .. another saftey net..
So, Here i am .. no savings, no insurance, and needing another possible increase in the medication for my new treatment plan.. as well as a lot more testing .. I cant travel to the new locations, even if i can, they wont have room for me .. and it will take time to find a new job that will be close, flexible and able to work within my range of abilities ..
The newer complications mean i need more doctors visits and more testing.. My insurance has not only increased but so have the deductibles and copays.. I have undifferentiated spondylitis .. which is what they call Ankylosing Spondylitis before they have enough imaging, blood work and changes to make the full diagnosis (diagnosis takes an average of 10 years).. Disability is certainly in my future.. but so far not yet, so i need help.. lots of help.. i need to be able to pay for my living expenses, my medical treatments and keep working towards a possible remission while i find a new flexible position with a better company.. Maybe one that cares a bit more this time .. $6000 is enough to keep me a float for about two months.. If by some miracle i get more than this goal i will pay it forward as best i can to those other 109 people who instantly lost their jobs and are trying to feed their families too.. Any amount helps.. small steps help.. Even if you cant help.. send some prayers and well wishes my way :) at this time.. it cant hurt us.. and we need every bit of help we can get..
Thanks for listening everyone, even if you cant help.. i know many of you are with me ..
Thanks again,
Mari
Organizer
Mariama Thomas
Organizer
Laurel, MD
