Candice Hale

September 18, 2026 Update: One Year Later — And I Still Need You One year ago this week, I stood up for myself. I used my voice against two institutions that had discarded me, rendered me disposable, and told me I no longer mattered. I knew it would cost me. I did not know it would cost me everything — and then keep costing me more. This update is hard to write. But you deserve the truth. Since the car accident on August 22nd, my life has been turned inside out in ways I am still trying to process. After my initial ER visit in Gadsden, I had to travel to UAB Highlands in Birmingham to use my Charity Care so I wouldn't be buried under even more medical bills. I was there in the ER until 2:30 in the afternoon, and by the time I was discharged, no same-day appointment was available at the UAB Walk-In Orthopedic Clinic. I went back the following Wednesday and learned I have a deep sprain in the third knuckle of my left pinky from the airbag impact, soft tissue damage in my left knee, and I am still managing the effects of a concussion. My occupational therapist has added my pinky to my existing thumb therapy. I have been waiting in physical agony for nearly three weeks just to begin therapy for my knee and post-concussion symptoms because the clinic is understaffed and the earliest available appointment wasn't until September 21st. StateFarm, the other driver's insurance company, had not accepted liability for weeks, which meant no rental car and no way to see doctors for my injuries. Progressive paid for nine days of a rental; I paid the remaining two days out of pocket. They also issued me a settlement check for $5,100 for my totaled car, but after paying off the remaining loan balance and a $500 collision deductible, what was left barely covered the surface of what I have lost. And I live in Gadsden, where there are no Ubers or Lyfts. Without a car, I have no way to get to Birmingham for my rehabilitation appointments, no way to get to job interviews, no way to simply exist as a functioning person in this community. Yesterday, I received a letter from Workforce Alabama informing me that my unemployment benefits were exhausted and ended on September 5th. I cried. I am not ashamed to say that. I have applied to nearly 200 jobs since October, and I am effectively blackballed from both the UA and AU systems across Alabama. I'm enrolled in a five-week training program to extend benefits temporarily, but I hold a terminal degree. I don't know what they intend to train me on. And in five weeks, it will end, and I will be right back here. This week marks one year since I stood up. One year of job loss, legal battles, mounting medical bills, a hand surgery, a car accident, a totaled vehicle, exhausted unemployment, lost insurance, and a body that is carrying it all, whether I give it permission to or not. I also want to be transparent about something. This GoFundMe has been open for nearly a year. The $9,400 raised did not come in September—it came in slowly, over twelve months, from October 2025 to now. That is not a windfall. That is survival, stretched thin across a year of compounding crises. I say this because I know what happens. I know some of you scroll past. I know some of you delete the email. I know some of you think: not this again. I understand. I do. But I want to ask you something and ask you to sit with it. What if it were you? What if you had done everything right — earned the degree, put in the years, spoken the truth — and still found yourself here? One day, it could be you. And on that day, I hope someone stops scrolling. Do I matter? I am asking you directly. Because if the answer is yes, then I need you to show me. Here is what I need right now, specifically and urgently: A rental car from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Gadsden (313 W Grand Ave, Gadsden, AL 35906, [phone redacted]) for approximately two weeks so I can get to my medical appointments in Birmingham and begin figuring out my next steps toward a used vehicle. October rent of $950. A past due light bill of $150 that was due September 5th. Out-of-pocket medication expenses that my Charity Care does not cover. If you know of job opportunities or know someone who might, please email me at the address available through my Linktree. And if you can help in any way at all, here is where to find me: ❤️ GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-dr-candice-hale-a-voice-for-justice-silenced Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1TR27IZHGTDWC?ref_=wl_share Linktree (CashApp, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, Pangobooks & more): https://linktr.ee/drcandicenhale I am still here. I am still standing. Ten toes down, even when the ground keeps shifting beneath me. Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for not looking away. With love, exhaustion, and an unbroken spirit, Candice

August 23, 2026 Update: I Almost Didn't Make It Home Yesterday I need to take a moment before I say anything else: I am alive. And after yesterday, I do not take that lightly. Yesterday, August 22nd, at 12:51 p.m., another driver ran a red light and struck my vehicle. My car spun 3-4 times before it finally stopped. I was locked inside and couldn't get out. I had to force the driver's side door open with my body and fall onto the ground. A witness on the scene told the police that the other driver blew through the red light. My iPhone automatically alerted my family. I was rushed to the ER and treated for a concussion, injuries to my left knee, bruising, and scrapes across my arms and legs. I am sore. I am shaken. But I am still here. I want you to know the full picture of what yesterday looked like. I had my windshield replaced at 10 a.m. that morning, the same windshield damaged by the falling tree branch I told you about in my last update. The accident happened less than three hours later. And the car that is now totaled? Y'all, I only had two payments left. I know how that sounds. I know how all of it sounds together: the job loss, the legal battle, the hand surgery, the hairline fracture, the denied unemployment claim, the lost insurance, and now this. Yesterday I admitted out loud that I felt like I must be one of God's least favorite people. But I also know that God did not let me die yesterday. That car could have flipped. It didn't. I am still here, and that is not nothing. What I need right now is urgent and real. My car is totaled, which means my transportation is gone. No medical appointments. No job interviews. No occupational therapy. No grocery store. I have no income outside of SNAP benefits. My unemployment appeal is still pending. My legal cases are still active. And I still need to cover September rent, medication, and basic living expenses. If there was ever a moment to help, if you have been waiting or thinking about it or meaning to reach out, this is that moment. Please donate what you can. Please share this with someone who can. Please don't let me disappear under the weight of all of this. I refused to be silent when it cost me everything. I am still refusing. I just need this community to hold me up a little longer. With love, exhaustion, and an unbroken spirit, Candice ❤️ GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-dr-candice-hale-a-voice-for-justice-silenced Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1QKAR5B8N19YX More ways to help: https://linktr.ee/drcandicenhale