Cross-post “Please help”
If you follow this blog regularly, some of this information is redundant. Please bear with me as I need a place to give a full explanation of our current situation.
My husband has had Chronic Kidney Disease since childhood. He was born premature and the tube from bladders to kidneys was not fully formed. This was not discovered until he was about ten, and by that time his kidneys had been irrevocably damaged.
Many people would have just laid down and whimpered and expected the world to take care of them from then on. Not my husband.
He has worked hard all of his life. He devotes himself 100% to whatever job he is doing. We put him through college and he got a great job. That great job was with one of those companies that was so naughty in the 90s and he was laid off without any benefits for the many years he worked long hours and days off on salary to “help us make it and we’ll take care of you”. Despite that, we made the best of it. Moved to New Mexico and eventually to this ranch we love so much and he took another job – a hard physically demanding job in spite of his physical condition and his age (40) and gave his best to them working many hours of overtime and during times when they were extremely busy and short handed.
In January his body finally gave out. He was diagnosed with ESRD – End Stage Renal Disease. He still forced himself to work part-time until March, when surgery to install a fistula for dialysis (which failed) made him unable to use one arm. We applied then for SS Disability.
I began seeking a job outside the home. It is because of the wonderful support and caring of this man that I have been able to pursue my own dream of making a living with my art and writing through the Internet. I’ve never come close, but he’s never complained or recriminated at me for my endeavors – instead always encouraging me to continue to seek out new avenues to create an income from my work – or tell me just to do it for the sake of it, never mind making any money.
It is because of him that all of you have had my writing, my free public domain clipart, my free printable coloring pages to use and enjoy.
In May his kidneys finally completely gave out and he was hospitalized for kidney failure, as well as a heart condition caused by the kidney failure. They finally began dialysis with a catheter since a fistula will not take and now he is not healthy enough for the surgery to attempt another.
We are now taking him 100 miles to the nearest dialysis center three times a week. Most weeks he also has two or three doctors appointments so that we are driving that distance almost daily. He suffers from mental confusion – a symptom of ESRD – and exhaustion – a symptom of anema caused by the ESRD – and is not able to drive, thus I am needed to drive him to dialysis and doctors.
Although we applied for his disability in March, SSD says they are still “considering it”. Until they make a decision, either to grant or refuse it, we cannot even have a lawyer dispute it.
Mind you – the dialysis center applied about a month ago for his medical insurance to pay for dialysis through SSD – and THAT has been approved. And believe me, I am grateful for that – since they were already asking how we intended to pay for dialysis.
We are receiving food stamps. Last month we were approved for a minimal assistance payment from the state – about enough to take him to dialysis for a week.
I have had three jobs. I’ve been let go from every one of them for the same reason – I need three to five days off a week to take him to doctors and dialysis.
We are still on the ranch, on the sufferance of our friend/landlord/roommate who has not received a penny from us for bills or rent in months. Thank goodness, for it is the one place of peace and serenity we have. I think without it, my husband probably would have given up months ago.
And just when I really needed it the most, my tiny little Internet income has completely tanked. My Google income for May was $23 – and since you have to build up $100 to get paid I won’t even get that.
It costs about $20 in gas per trip. Our poor little car desperately needs brakes, the tags are expired, and our insurance will expire the end of this month. We currently have $24 and 3/4 tank of gas. That will get him to dialysis three more times if I am real careful.
My husband will die within a few days of missing a dialysis treatment.
We have no income and no prospects of any income until the first of next month.
I can create artwork – either “real” artwork such as portraits in pastel, acrylic, colored pencil – or any kind of digital artwork such as clipart for a website or a line art for a crafts or sewing pattern. I can write an article on any subject you need. I will sell you any of my art or websites or Squidoo lenses. I am looking to sell my sewing machine and my precious beloved kayak.
The domain for Color-Your-Own.com expires the end of this month. I can use that $12 to either take my husband to dialysis one more time (almost) or to renew that website that is currently only making $20 a month despite the fact it gets about 30,000 visitors monthly. I don’t plan on renewing it. In fact, it is quite likely that I will not pay the $9.95 for hosting the end of this month. I simply cannot justify paying to give my work away at this point in our lives.
If you have used and/or enjoyed any of my writing, my clipart, my line art, perhaps you can make a donation to help us. I will endeavor to pay you back when/if he gets his Disability.
Thank you
Summer Fey Foovay
