Get Pete Back on His Feet!

Hey there, my name is Peter but most of you know me as Pete. For those that don't know me I'm a 31-year-old living in the small town of Sheboygan Falls, WI, where I've lived for most of my life. I am an employee at Sargento Foods and I volunteer for my local Fire Department as a Firefighter and First Responder as well as for Pink Heals, An organization that helps families battling cancer with support and financial aid during their battle. Those that do know me, know that I'm a fun-loving individual, who hates asking for help which makes this next part all the more difficult.

In November of 2022, I experienced a cardiac episode which I later learned was caused by a clot. Unbeknownst to me a clot had formed in my leg and one night while at work broke loose and caused me to have an episode that made me leave work and go to the emergency room. After many tests and scans, they determined the cause of the event was this clot and that the remnants of it had caused several blockages in my lungs, or pulmonary emboli. These blockages made it incredibly difficult to breathe at times and made returning to work an impossibility at the time as my current position required me to be active and lift significant quantities of product in the span of a shift, two things that would quickly cause my oxygen levels to drop. I would remain at home on home oxygen for the time being until the doctors believed I was in a better position to return to work. During this time, they also discovered several other issues that I have undergone treatment for. While I am beginning to feel healthier and the tests are returning in my favor, my current return-to-work plan has me not returning for another month or more and could still be affected due to the nature of my current position.

As an employee of Sargento, I have access to a short-term disability plan which pays me 60% of my wage while off. They do have long-term disability plans as well but I am not eligible as you must be employed for one year. Originally what little savings I had combined with the payments allowed me to keep up with bills but as someone who lives alone and supports himself on one income, one by one they have been falling by the wayside and I have hit a critical low in funding that has me falling behind on almost every bill I have in addition to not being able to pay any of the new medical debt I have incurred in the past couple months.

My car is already a couple of months past due, as are my Gas bill, utilities, and sole credit card. I have been using the disability payments to stay current on my house but the other bills have now gone unpaid because of this. Additionally, with a month left before my return to work, the next month has me falling thousands of dollars behind before the end of the month without even accounting for food or any other essentials in the meantime. I had tried to look for other work where I could return sooner but no employers have contacted me following my applications. Additionally, I had looked into some financial assistance offerings but most of them I didn't qualify for one reason or another. This is where you come in. I hate asking for anything, Especially knowing that even as I sit here today, I am far better off than others in this world who could also use help. However, I also accept that if I don't meet my goal set and pay off these bills I will be at risk of losing my car, or my house or even just digging a hole that is too deep to climb out of alone.

Anything you can give will help and I won't forget a single bit of your generosity. Your generous donation will be used to pay bills that keep a roof over my head, and keep the lights on inside and a car in my driveway while also allowing me to purchase food and gas for my car. I also then get to work to pay off my new medical debt and continue to see the doctors to live the healthiest life possible. Finally, it also allows me to continue to live and work in this small town I've called home for the majority of my life. Thank you.