Work Injury Struggles and Recovery

Hey, my name is Elizabeth, I was injured while working on March 2, 2023. Due to the legality of workers comp, I am unable to receive medical treatment without approval. The red tape of workers comp has delayed needed medical treatment for five months. Receiving only a portion of my wages during this time has brought me one month away from being homeless. I am terrified of being homeless while injured and not even having my car to sleep in. I am worried if I need knee surgery how I will recover if living on the streets. Below is part of my story and an explanation as to why I have been unable to work or get needed medical treatment to return to work. I would not ask for financial support if I was physically capable of returning to work. For four months I have not been able to walk without a cane and still cannot walk far. I take prescription strength ibuprofen and use topical prescription strength numbing gel on my knee yet still have to give myself a pep talk to do small household chores like laundry because it hurts so badly.

Because I was injured at work I am legally unable to receive any medical treatment not approved by the worker's comp agency. The agency has denied medical treatment with an orthopedic specialist and continues to only approve physical therapy. After five months of not missing a single physical therapy appointment, being on bed rest, and all follow-up visits with my primary care doctor I am still in constant pain. The orthopedic specialist I have been blocked from receiving further care saw me once before further care was denied. The orthopedic specialist that I saw in mid-May said it looks like my meniscus is torn and started requesting for next steps. I have had to hire an attorney that has started filing legal appeals for the next steps after workers comp denied them.

During this time I have been paid only a portion of my wages and have done my best to manage my finances. I have had to call my car payment and utilities company to ask for extensions. I am out of extensions next month and still battling the red tape created by worker's comp to receive much-needed medical treatment with the orthopedic specialist. If I wasn't in constant pain even while lying in bed at night I would have given up and returned to work. I am 31 years old and barely able to walk much less function normally due to the constant knee pain.

Considering I do not have family there isn't support I can lean on financially or for housing. I created this gofundme to ask for support for my rent, car payments, and utilities in hopes of not ending up on the streets. The amount I am asking for is to cover two months' rent, car payments, and utilities. I do not know how much longer I will be advocating to receive medical treatment and after July I won't have enough money or extensions to keep my apartment or car. Beyond that there aren't really words to the deep pain I feel at the thought of losing my apartment. This apartment is the first apartment I built safety for myself in. After escaping my violent and abusive family it took me years to recover and build a life for myself. Now I am watching as I get closer and closer to losing it all due to circumstances outside of my control.

Since being injured not only have I made all approved physical therapy but during times while waiting for additional appointments I did what exercises I could. I have looked into different avenues of financial support and found one that would pay rent but only if my landlord filled out paperwork to let the organization directly pay them, which my landlord did not want to do. I hired an attorney when I didn't know how to navigate the obstacles worker's comp continued to put in my way. There were weeks when I was sending emails and making phone calls that my worker's comp agent ignored before I hired the attorney. I have done everything within my control to regain my mobility and return to work. Still, I am injured having to wait on the legal circumstances for medical treatment. I am desperate for support. Whether you are able to donate or share both are deeply appreciated and meaningful to me. I am not on social media so my family cannot find me, if you are able to share regularly on multiple platforms it would be extremely helpful. Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for your support.