Bringing David & Miriam through a rough patch!

My cousins David and Miriam, and their sons Michael and Kaleo, are going through a rough patch and on their behalf I'm asking for friends and family to pitch in to bring them through this time. [My mom, Beverly Butrin McCoy, has been a big part of putting together this fundraiser too!]

David has worked for decades as a professional house painter--including beautiful interior mural work--a physically arduous job. Tragically, he was recently the victim of gross negligence on the part of several construction companies, and as a result severely injured 7 discs in his back and very badly injured his feet--amongst other injuries. The injuries are long-term and prevent David from ever returning to his lifelong career. The injuries also left him with long-term sleep problems and an anxiety disorder.

David had been expected to take over the painting company in the next few years, which made this an especially painful blow. And while he can re-train in another field, the pain and suffering he has endured have postponed that possibility. And besides that, any unexpected/unwanted career switch in middle age takes a tremendous emotional and financial toll.

 

Meanwhile, because she is a recent immigrant to the States, Miriam has not been able to continue the career she worked for 13 years as an endodontist, and so has been supporting a family of four as a part-time dental assistant. When their pandemic-related unemployment ended, they found themselves in dire straits. Their rent has doubled in the last two years, and the straw that finally broke the proverbial camel’s back was their landlord announced that he’s selling their apartment. Rent all over the city has tripled in the last few years, and they can not longer afford to live there.

 

David’s father has room for them to live with him, but this means moving from Colorado to the East Coast, which they will be doing next week.

 

This sort of snowballing of events can so easily happen to any of us~and maybe some of you have found yourself in tough situations before and now want to help others the way you were helped. Several in our family who know about this emergency have already sent cash to David, but we’d like to get the word out to people who don’t know the recent updates.

 

If you’d like to give through Venmo or PayPal, where no administrative percentage is taken out of your donation, you can do so through Zelle or PayPal, at drboricua101 at gmail dot com. Otherwise, go ahead and donate here on GoFundMe.

 

Thank you so much for reaching out to David and Miriam and their family at this time.