I'm adding a description from Tiffany Dieringer herself. For the sake of keeping everything in the open the the original story will stay at the bottom so people know what was originally here.
From Tiffany:
First and foremost, I cannot thank my friends, family, and complete strangers for their kindness and support during this very hard time in my life.
I wanted to start at the beginning and explain pretty much everything that is going on and what this GoFundMe is going towards, as it was fairly vague originally.
To start at the beginning, a few months ago, I needed to get myself and my animals out of an unsafe situation. In order to afford my own place to live (without leaving my animals and rescues behind), I needed to start pinching pennies. One of the steps I took was lowering the insurance on my only vehicle from full coverage to liability only. I would save a couple hundred a month, and when I got back on my feet, I could return to full coverage.
I never got that chance. On February 19th, I was involved in a pretty significant car accident.
While merging onto a state highway, the vehicle in front of me came to a complete stop while I was looking over my shoulder to be able to merge with the speed of the highway traffic safely. By the time I realized they had stopped, I had no time to react.
My two dogs hit the dash and windshield, and I slammed into my airbag. My windshield broke, airbags deployed, and I couldn't get out of my truck due to the 'crunch'. In the state of Texas, I am automatically at fault for this accident, regardless of the actions of the car in front of me who stopped in the middle of merging. With liability only, this means my vehicle is not covered...at all.
My dogs were taken home (they were stressed, but not injured) and I was taken to the hospital, despite having no health insurance. I simply could not breathe. It was similar to breathing through a straw or snorkel when you're already panicked.
I spent 12 hours in the hospital that night with a possible broken sternum and an extremely hard time breathing. X-rays came back looking mostly normal, so was discharged on heavy pain meds. For three days, I could not breathe well, could not really move, and was in excruciating pain.
During this time, my most amazing and supportive boyfriend (he did not pay me to write that) has been in contact with the collision place where my truck was towed the night of the accident. The manager offered to waive storage fees for us and call some salvage yards to purchase my truck for parts as it was totaled.
In a few days, the collision place, thankfully, said they found a salvage yard to buy my truck. We were now waiting on them to stop by and drop off the money with the manager. We would use these few hundred dollars to help purchase a replacement vehicle for me.
On the 3rd or 4th day, I started bleeding...erm, from an area one does not normally bleed from. It was a significant amount and warranted another ER visit.
We went to an urgent care facility, who we thought we be more efficient and better suited for this than spending another day in a major hospital (remember, I don't have health insurance). They explained that I had nothing obvious on exam and wanted to do an ultrasound to check for where this internal bleeding could be coming from.
While waiting on ultrasound, they ran blood and urine tests. They returned to the room and told me that I was pregnant and being discharged.
Now, pause a minute...I have been told my entire life that with my list of chronic reproductive problems that this would not be possible, and hearing this news was a complete shock to both of us. We had no idea nor were we prepared for something like this. Not to mention it was presented to us like it was a pain to them. Like, they were disappointed to hear I was, in fact, pregnant.
The urgent care facility would no longer help me and sent us out the door with a diagnosis of something he specifically said I did not have on his original exam. I did not fill his prescription.
We were furious. I was treated extremely rudely by the RN who 'could not believe I didn't know I was pregnant' and we will NEVER step foot in that place again. It was horrible.
We left the urgent care, who basically made us feel that they didn't want to deal with us as my case just got a lot more complicated, and we ended up back at the hospital ER.
After a few hours, they confirmed that I was five weeks and a few days pregnant. The baby had no heartbeat, either by slow growth or due to a non-viable fetus, but surprisingly was where it should be given my reproductive history.
The bleeding was a definite concern, but due to the pregnancy they were limited, legally (I was told), what tests they could perform. They referred me to another doctor, who I have not yet seen, though the bleeding has stopped for now.
Since the car accident, I had been having horrible pain and cramping (I thought due to the accident jarring my body so badly) and on Monday, February 29, ten days after the accident, I lost the baby.
Today, March 2, the super amazing supportive boyfriend (again, he didn't pay me for saying that one either) went to the collision center, despite the emotional trauma of this past week, and told them to give us the promised payment for my truck or the truck and the title. They had been giving us the 'run around' for nearly a week regarding payment to purchase my truck. It was always something with them.
They no longer were playing nice. The tow truck driver was paid $250 by the manager, who was now charging us $325 for it, as well as daily storage fees that he said he would not originally charge. So, in addition to not having the payment for the truck being sold, we had to pay nearly $500 to get it back and tow it home.
The original GoFundMe mentioned one of my dogs (The Abandoned Dog) being recently diagnosed with a form of skin cancer, and his devoted friends and Facebook fans, his surgery to remove the tumors has been covered. The money donated here now will help cover the multiple hospital visits and ability to purchase a new vehicle to continue working, saving animals, and running Tad's Toys (a charity I operate that donates toys to animal shelters and rescues around Houston).
I don't ask for handouts. I don't ask for help. Call it stubborn, call it pride....I'll give all I have before I ask for anything in return. A few friends knew about the struggles I am going through, and they set this up for me. I cannot thank them enough or those who have donated, sent well wishes, and prayed.
We have been through so much emotional and physical trauma this week...and I feel that the original post to this GFM was rather vague, and those opening their wallets to me deserved to know what they were helping with and how.
I am a friend of Tiffany's who just wants to help. Tiffany Dieringer was in an accident just a few days ago in which her truck was totalled and she had to seak medical treatment. On top of that one of her beloved dogs TAD (aka The Abandoned Dog) was discovered to have cancer.
Tiffany is a helper who has saved countless animals over the years and runs the organization Tad's Toys. Through Tad's Toys, Tiffany has helped countless rescue animals have fun and stimulating play while they wait on their forever home. Now is our time to help Tiffany. Any funds will go directly to her and will be used to help in any way with medical costs and a new vehicle. I have set the goal pretty low but I know we can go above that.
Thank you all who donate or share this. Let's all band together and help Tiffany.
From Tiffany:
First and foremost, I cannot thank my friends, family, and complete strangers for their kindness and support during this very hard time in my life.
I wanted to start at the beginning and explain pretty much everything that is going on and what this GoFundMe is going towards, as it was fairly vague originally.
To start at the beginning, a few months ago, I needed to get myself and my animals out of an unsafe situation. In order to afford my own place to live (without leaving my animals and rescues behind), I needed to start pinching pennies. One of the steps I took was lowering the insurance on my only vehicle from full coverage to liability only. I would save a couple hundred a month, and when I got back on my feet, I could return to full coverage.
I never got that chance. On February 19th, I was involved in a pretty significant car accident.
While merging onto a state highway, the vehicle in front of me came to a complete stop while I was looking over my shoulder to be able to merge with the speed of the highway traffic safely. By the time I realized they had stopped, I had no time to react.
My two dogs hit the dash and windshield, and I slammed into my airbag. My windshield broke, airbags deployed, and I couldn't get out of my truck due to the 'crunch'. In the state of Texas, I am automatically at fault for this accident, regardless of the actions of the car in front of me who stopped in the middle of merging. With liability only, this means my vehicle is not covered...at all.
My dogs were taken home (they were stressed, but not injured) and I was taken to the hospital, despite having no health insurance. I simply could not breathe. It was similar to breathing through a straw or snorkel when you're already panicked.
I spent 12 hours in the hospital that night with a possible broken sternum and an extremely hard time breathing. X-rays came back looking mostly normal, so was discharged on heavy pain meds. For three days, I could not breathe well, could not really move, and was in excruciating pain.
During this time, my most amazing and supportive boyfriend (he did not pay me to write that) has been in contact with the collision place where my truck was towed the night of the accident. The manager offered to waive storage fees for us and call some salvage yards to purchase my truck for parts as it was totaled.
In a few days, the collision place, thankfully, said they found a salvage yard to buy my truck. We were now waiting on them to stop by and drop off the money with the manager. We would use these few hundred dollars to help purchase a replacement vehicle for me.
On the 3rd or 4th day, I started bleeding...erm, from an area one does not normally bleed from. It was a significant amount and warranted another ER visit.
We went to an urgent care facility, who we thought we be more efficient and better suited for this than spending another day in a major hospital (remember, I don't have health insurance). They explained that I had nothing obvious on exam and wanted to do an ultrasound to check for where this internal bleeding could be coming from.
While waiting on ultrasound, they ran blood and urine tests. They returned to the room and told me that I was pregnant and being discharged.
Now, pause a minute...I have been told my entire life that with my list of chronic reproductive problems that this would not be possible, and hearing this news was a complete shock to both of us. We had no idea nor were we prepared for something like this. Not to mention it was presented to us like it was a pain to them. Like, they were disappointed to hear I was, in fact, pregnant.
The urgent care facility would no longer help me and sent us out the door with a diagnosis of something he specifically said I did not have on his original exam. I did not fill his prescription.
We were furious. I was treated extremely rudely by the RN who 'could not believe I didn't know I was pregnant' and we will NEVER step foot in that place again. It was horrible.
We left the urgent care, who basically made us feel that they didn't want to deal with us as my case just got a lot more complicated, and we ended up back at the hospital ER.
After a few hours, they confirmed that I was five weeks and a few days pregnant. The baby had no heartbeat, either by slow growth or due to a non-viable fetus, but surprisingly was where it should be given my reproductive history.
The bleeding was a definite concern, but due to the pregnancy they were limited, legally (I was told), what tests they could perform. They referred me to another doctor, who I have not yet seen, though the bleeding has stopped for now.
Since the car accident, I had been having horrible pain and cramping (I thought due to the accident jarring my body so badly) and on Monday, February 29, ten days after the accident, I lost the baby.
Today, March 2, the super amazing supportive boyfriend (again, he didn't pay me for saying that one either) went to the collision center, despite the emotional trauma of this past week, and told them to give us the promised payment for my truck or the truck and the title. They had been giving us the 'run around' for nearly a week regarding payment to purchase my truck. It was always something with them.
They no longer were playing nice. The tow truck driver was paid $250 by the manager, who was now charging us $325 for it, as well as daily storage fees that he said he would not originally charge. So, in addition to not having the payment for the truck being sold, we had to pay nearly $500 to get it back and tow it home.
The original GoFundMe mentioned one of my dogs (The Abandoned Dog) being recently diagnosed with a form of skin cancer, and his devoted friends and Facebook fans, his surgery to remove the tumors has been covered. The money donated here now will help cover the multiple hospital visits and ability to purchase a new vehicle to continue working, saving animals, and running Tad's Toys (a charity I operate that donates toys to animal shelters and rescues around Houston).
I don't ask for handouts. I don't ask for help. Call it stubborn, call it pride....I'll give all I have before I ask for anything in return. A few friends knew about the struggles I am going through, and they set this up for me. I cannot thank them enough or those who have donated, sent well wishes, and prayed.
We have been through so much emotional and physical trauma this week...and I feel that the original post to this GFM was rather vague, and those opening their wallets to me deserved to know what they were helping with and how.
I am a friend of Tiffany's who just wants to help. Tiffany Dieringer was in an accident just a few days ago in which her truck was totalled and she had to seak medical treatment. On top of that one of her beloved dogs TAD (aka The Abandoned Dog) was discovered to have cancer.
Tiffany is a helper who has saved countless animals over the years and runs the organization Tad's Toys. Through Tad's Toys, Tiffany has helped countless rescue animals have fun and stimulating play while they wait on their forever home. Now is our time to help Tiffany. Any funds will go directly to her and will be used to help in any way with medical costs and a new vehicle. I have set the goal pretty low but I know we can go above that.
Thank you all who donate or share this. Let's all band together and help Tiffany.
Organizer and beneficiary
Tiffany McKinley
Beneficiary