Emergency Housing, Wheelchair Fix, & Surgery Fund

UPDATE:

hello everyone! it's been so long since i updated this that i'm not sure anyone's gonna see this but here goes... while i raised enough w/ y'all's help to move back in dec '21/jan '22, w/o benefits or a job i was still unable to get any applications approved, unfortunately had to stay in extended stays since, and it was so demoralizing i couldn't rly bring myself to update. also, since 2022 been going thru testing for what my doctors think is likely IBD/Crohn's disease on top of my pre-existing disabling chronic illnesses, and this has been such a distraction and so energy-sapping i couldn't focus on trying to fundraise further beyond week to week survival.

however, i've finally found safer and much more affordable housing with a covid safe acquaintance with a room opening up in their house. i'm both still working on appealing for benefits and waiting on probate to settle a possible small inheritence from a family member who died earlier this year that both mean i will be able to support myself very soon, but until one or both of those finally are settled, i still need help to raise the funds to move, buy a bed, and pay the first month rent and utilities in my new situation. all together, i need about $3k for the move, and i have adjusted the goal of this fund accordingly. if you've donated before please don't feel obligated to again, but any help or boosting is much appreciated!

ORIGINAL:

Hi y’all! I’m a disabled non-binary queer from Arkansas who lost disability benefits (RSDI - like SSDI, but paid out based on my deceased father’s work record due to qualifying as disabled before the age of 20) during the height of COVID. Despite how egregious this is - I’ve not only had a string of school drop-outs and lost jobs going back as long as I’ve received benefits that should be great proof I can’t work currently, but I’m become so much more disabled in the last 10 years I rely on a feeding tube, IV hydration, a motor-assisted wheelchair, and haven’t gone a year without ending up in the ICU since 2018 - but already being temporarily unhoused due to COVID with no mailing address when I lost my benefits meant I didn’t even know it was happening until it did, and wasn’t able to fight it at the time either. Now, without income or familial support while I fight to get SSDI back, and with my credit tanked from medical debt, I’m living day to day in extended stay motels/similar, still with no mailing address to get documents or to coordinate any legal efforts for SSDI from, can’t secure housing without paying several months rent in advance, and I can’t secure transportation without outright buying a car in cash.

Due to my disabilities and treatments, I need a ground floor home big enough to wheel my wheelchair around, to store my medical equipment in, and cannot live with roommates (dangerous for me on immunosuppressant steroids, potentially rude to them with all my medical equipment, home IV therapy/needles, a retired medical alert dog and needing to get and train another alert dog soon, etc). This means realistically, I need a 1-2 bedroom ground floor unit with in-unit laundry, which within transit or wheeling distance of my university, which will be $1000-1200+ per month in rent.

I’m trying to raise 3 months of rent at once at that amount, plus deposit, plus 3 months of rx and OTC medication (including meds for my heart conditions and to help prevent the internal bleeding that has continually landed me in the ICU), 3 months of data/utilities, paying off my storage unit and late fees and 3 months of that bill, 3 months of pet food/supplies, and $2500 for a very cheap car but one big enough to fit my wheelchair in the cargo area (SUV or crossover).

The last things I’m trying to fundraise for, which unfortunately would still be an issue even if my disability benefits magically came back tomorrow, are sinus surgery and repairing/replacing my wheelchair’s motor assist device. The sinus surgery is $13,000-$19,000 (low end is quote for surgery with previous dental insurance, high end quote is for surgery with no dental insurance, which is the current situation for me) has been needed since 2014-2016 (pictured quote is from 2016), to fix/augment “collapsed” sinuses as a result of my intractable stomach paralysis and other Ehlers Danlos syndrome complications. My insurance has denied coverage for it since it was quoted since it would require dental implants to keep the bone augmentation from failing in the future, which is considered a cosmetic dental procedure despite the fact it was caused by a systemic genetic condition. I don’t currently have my X-rays to “prove” the need for this surgery, my only documents are the treatment plan quote I have inset above, but as soon as I’m able to afford to go get an updated surgical consult I’ll update this fundraiser.

As for my wheelchair motor, it’s has been broken in a way that prevents it from working at all (the wheel part that “drives” is broken in multiple places or falling entirely out of the unit) and that the manufacturer tells me falls outside the warranty (it happened while the device was still under warranty, but the part that broken was not included in the warranty), and the repair is so extensive it might cost up to the cost of the unit, which is $5500-7000 (I’ve included it as $6399 as the first google result and also closest amount to what it originally cost my insurance). Insurance will not cover repairs or replacements of durable medical equipment that I got on a different insurance plan or insurance company originally, and I’ve had different plans every year since, so I have no choice but to pay for this out of pocket and will not be able to return to finish my undergrad degree until it’s fixed due to how severe my autonomic/heart condition/joint issues from EDS are that prevent me from being able to self-propel my manual wheelchair around campus.

If you can donate to this, thank you so much, and if you can signal boost and share it around, that’s equally valuable. I’m going to moderate comments due to previous instances of harassment, but will be saving everything to send out thank yous when possible. Thank y’all in advance, and stay healthy