Death by 1000 cuts

Hi, my name is Dr. Mitch, and I am fundraising for Julie. I have chosen the title because not everyone who needs help suffers a huge calamity. A huge event can leave one traumatized, which can be hard to recover from. Complex trauma is more like death by 1000 cuts, and this is often more difficult to recover from because it hardens negative and often self-destructive views of life.

I am writing to ask for monetary assistance for Julie, a young woman living in a one-bedroom apartment in Lantana, FL. She has shown herself to be tenacious, principled, and resilient. The picture shows her with her cat, King.

Julie nevertheless graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She worked several jobs in the loss prevention field and suffered physical injuries that left her with chronic pain. Most recently, she has required back surgery following a car accident caused by a driver failing to stop at a stop sign and t-boning Julie’s car. Her car was totaled, and the other driver was uninsured. Her insurance only partially covered the replacement of her car. Her injuries in that accident compounded prior injuries and necessitated treatment for which she had to pay out of pocket, including the cost of back surgery.

During these years, she also suffered the loss of two friends, one from suicide and one from an overdose. Her physical injuries have required her to deal with the loss of her ability to be physically active, which had been a healthy outlet.

Her back surgery, the car accident, vet bills for King, visits to urgent care centers and the emergency room, and unexpected bills for things like an exterminator to spray for bugs have left Julie some thousands in debt. Whenever she makes progress financially, something else happens and sets her back. Through this appeal, I hope to help her with her financial problems. Also, I hope to show her that there are caring and supportive people in the world. In psychology, we call this an emotionally corrective experience.

The funds will be used first to pay her bills that she cannot cover even from working two jobs. Any remainder will be used to give her a modest rainy-day fund.