Help Denise during ongoing Health Crisis

Hi, my name is Lauren and I'm raising money to help one of my best friends, Denise, cover some living expenses while she deals with a health crisis. I’m trying to raise $5,500 to help cover 4 months of Denise’s expenses (roughly $1300 a month), while she waits on long term disability.

Denise is an Air Force Veteran and has been a Nurse for nearly 30 years - mostly working bedside to care for patients in the ICU. When the covid pandemic began, Denise worked as an ICU travel nurse.

In December of 2022, Denise starting having strange health problems that doctors couldn’t figure out. She fell multiple times at work – including in patients’ rooms while trying to provide care. She started having tremors that prevented her from putting in an IV line or drawing blood. And she would suddenly become very ill and require hospitalization.

Because she was working as a travel nurse (a contract worker with basically no employee rights), her nursing contract was abruptly cancelled. In fact, her manager came to the ER where she was receiving treatment to tell her they needed someone more reliable and fired her, right in the ER! After yet another hospitalization and tons of medical tests, she learned that her travel nurse contractor had retroactively cancelled her health insurance without notifying her.

Denise has spent the last year living off her entire life savings trying to figure out her health issues (multiple hospitalizations, surgeries, tests, and appointments) and just trying to survive while not being employed.

Denise had to move into a VA Homeless Shelter, where she at least has a warm place to sleep and get her meals. She is unable to stay with family members due to accessibility issues (stairs, etc.) in their homes, and her mom lives in HUD housing which doesn’t allow guests for more than a few nights a year.

Doctors are still trying to figure out what all is going on with Denise’s health, but so far she has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Renal Disease, Neuropathy, Diabetes and Hypertension. She is also – unsurprisingly – struggling with depression and anxiety, both of which are being exacerbated by her current situation. Her nephrologist told Densie she needs a kidney transplant – but they will NOT put her on the transplant wait list until she is no longer homeless!

She recently (finally!) got her VA benefits approved (after racking up tens of thousands in medical bills that are just not able to be paid right now), but she is still waiting on long-term disability benefits. She is being told that it will likely be another 4-5 months until they are approved.

In the meantime, I am trying to help Denise cover her monthly survival expenses which include her:

- Car payment, car insurance, gas (critical for her mobility and because she lives in an area with few public transportation options)

- Cell phone (critical for communicating with her doctors and caseworker, accessing the internet, connecting with her support network, etc.)

- Storage unit (contains important personal items for when she eventually is able to get her own place)

- Incidentals (personal care items, medicines not covered by VA, etc.)

The $5,500 I am trying to raise will cover these expenses for about 4 months.

Anything raised beyond this goal will go towards future living expenses, including – hopefully – moving Denise into her own living space so that she can get on the transplant wait list.

I've known Denise for 13 years, and she is one of the kindest, most generous people I know. In the past she has supported so many mutual aid requests and I hope now that others will help support her, too.