At 54, I found myself at the intersection of crisis and exhaustion because I’d unknowingly been exposed to carbon monoxide for four months. The invisible gas took its toll on my health & took my dog of seventeen years. Losing him felt like the final straw but then, barely hanging on emotionally, my landlord evicted me.

As I packed up my life during an emergency move, a friend called, desperate for help. Their elderly mother needed more personal care & was displaying dementia. Despite my chaos & being homeless, I took what little I had left of my energy and went to care for her because I grew up around them.

For the last nine months, I put my problems, bills, and surgeries on hold to care for her. She passed away on Oct.1st & now I need to piece my life together & move from their house. To work I need bone fusion surgery & a shoulder replacement, which each carry three months of downtime for healing.  I have no support system to lean on. I’m limited to light delivery jobs I can barely manage, and I have an overwhelming sense of hopelessness.

I long to rebuild my life, find some peace, and achieve some stability. I think if I could find a small mobile home to live in I could retrain and  take a remote job while I recuperate from surgery. The surgery will give me back the ability to have a physical job.

I’ve always been resilient, and have a smile for everyone.  But I’m in over my head and now more than ever, I need help. Helping others is what brings me happiness but I can’t help others if I can’t help myself. The figure posted is rough but I think I’d be able to pull myself back up, catch up on the bills, and become independent again. Any contribution or help in other forms will be greatly appreciated and bring you a blessing threefold.