Gregory Smith

My name is Gregory Smith., I I am diagnosed with a Rare Autoimmune Disease called Cardiac Sarcoidosis. At this time, there is no cure. It is a rare inflammatory condition where groups of cells form granulomas in different areas of the heart which can cause issues with arrhythmia to heart failure.I was diagnosed with Cardiac Sarcoidosis in 2020. After six months of treatment, it went into remission and returned again in December 2022. Only it came back worse than ever. At this time I am continuing treatment. I also suffer from congestive heart failure, A-Fib, cardiovascular disease, acute coronary syndrome and disorder of the cardiovascular system. Because of these heart diseases, I have constant chest pains, severe fatigue, joint pains, shortness of breath, palpitations, fluid buildup, confusion and fainting. Some days I can hardly get out of bed and have begun needing assistance with everyday tasks. I am currently a 10% disabled Veteran, a single father raising my eight-year-old daughter, with a bank account pushing 2,000 dollars in overdraft debt, utilities at risk of being cut off, vehicle on the list for repossession and not sure how I'm going to meet my obligations for me and my child in the days to come. Two weeks ago, I was terminated from my job as a Social Worker/T-CADC, because I ran out of FMLA, due to reoccurring absences from work, hospital stays, and doctor's appointments. I am a single dad raising my eight-year-old daughter. She continues to be my number one motivation to keep pushing myself to do all that I can to fight and find a cure for this disease. I have raised her since the day she was born. I couldn't imagine my life without her.

The reason this fundraiser is so important to me is that I want to be able to continue raising my daughter, remain as independent as I can and to try an prevent my daughter from being affected by my illness. While waiting for my disability to be approved. I am told it could take months.

I will use these donations to pay on my medical bills, bring my bank account into the positive, service my vehicle (including buying new tires), pay for gas to get back and forth to doctors appts, pay my basic necessity bills, catch up on my truck payment, And also to get my daughter clothes and school supplies for the upcoming school year, which starts in two weeks. I will also need help paying for any type of assistance that I will need with

home healthcare.