Get the Lee fam back on our feet after emergency!

Katrina Lee is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hi, I am (Alleen) Katrina Lee. I have never created a GoFundMe account before, so please bear with me. We have tried to do everything in our power to avoid this (asking the general public for help), but one insurance plan payment has completely taken what was left for us to work with before the next paycheck, which will only be for one day worked and not able to cover much since commuting alone now costs more than ever. Let me start from the beginning:

I am currently 35 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow, Wednesday, June 8th, with what has become a high-risk pregnancy within the last few weeks. At 32 weeks (and 2 days) pregnant, I was admitted to the hospital for preterm labor. I had reported leaking watery fluids to my doctor (to no avail) and had a high blood pressure reading two days before experiencing increasingly painful and regular contractions, dilating to 3.5 cm, and 70-80% effacement. I am also increasingly anemic, according to periodic lab results. I stayed in the hospital for five days from the early morning hours of May 20th until being discharged on May 25th under strict orders for bedrest and a medication regimen to prevent more contractions as well as to ease my body's functions to avoid straining and/or discomfort and causing more contractions that way. The hospital staff (with my OB's eventual input) was able to keep me stable enough to slow/stop the progression of preterm labor into premature birth. For this, I am so, so grateful.

By this point, my husband had already missed two full days of work to be with me in the hospital (where I also missed my own baby shower, which I had planned so carefully!). He had to go back to work mid-week, though, as he is our family's only source of income with me being a stay-at-home mom who homeschools my (very-soon-to-be) six year old.

Unfortunately, my six year old had already caught the flu by the 25th, while at home and I, in the hospital. His symptoms appeared the next day, after my husband had gone back to work, and I was now at home on bedrest. My son has Asthma, so this Flu (which was later confirmed to be the Flu by his doctor) really took - and is still taking - a toll on his little body. Needless to say, I easily and quickly contracted the same Flu, and by that Saturday, the 28th, was experiencing the same debilitating symptoms while already on bedrest and careful watch.

Of course, my husband, whom takes very good care of us, also quickly contracted that Flu. By the Memorial Day holiday (which he will not be getting paid for), his symptoms had begun. At this time, we had not gone to the doctor yet for these symptoms, as we were hoping, especially after just having left the hospital, that it was a passing cold. So, my husband went to work on that Tuesday, the 31st. Obviously, we soon realized that it was more serious, as he (with the healthy immune system) struggled greatly at work that day and decided to take the next day off (June 1st) to rest and recover. He tried again to work on Thursday, the 2nd, but ended up coming back home after five hours of struggling some more, the official word from my son's doctor that we, in fact, had the Flu, and me landing in the hospital again for proper treatment due to my condition. I was discharged that evening after some monitoring, clear chest x-rays, and with much needed Tamiflu, thankfully. I also had another infection, a UTI, so they did treat me for that as well, and I am monitoring those symptoms, too. On Friday, the 3rd, my husband also took the day off. None of these days off have been paid. He has missed five days and three hours of work and pay, all while taking care of us. My son and I are still battling a nasty cough and congestion (and my body still seems to be fighting a fever that doesn't want to stay away, apparently).

The ironic part (there's more?!) about all of this is that - on top of these already scary and debilitating hardships - we were planning a move for June 1st into our new apartment. We almost couldn't secure it due to lack of funds, considering how much recent events forced us to dip into the little bit of savings we had managed exactly for this move and related bills. By the grace of God, a family member was able to assist us with the difference we were missing for initial deposit and first month's rent. I am also so grateful for this, as we were very much needing our own space. My husband has gone back to work this week, pretty much recovered by now. We have tried our hardest to make do in the meantime, but moving while literally battling the Flu and without much of my help for obvious reasons has proven to be one of the biggest challenges of our lives together.

On this coming Friday, the paycheck will only be for one day worked. That's it - one day's pay. We are currently down to $11 in the bank. We have spent so much on bottles and bottles of medications, fast food while we were all down for the count and during my hospital stay, extra fluids like juice and water (we can't afford a new filter for the Brita pitcher yet), clothes for his overnight stays with me at the hospital to avoid the hour-long drive back home too many times, and gasoline (which is skyrocketing these days) for those hour-long trips back and forth. We had managed to get into our new home and buy a few cheap grocery items for this week, and had planned on being even more frugal than usual to make it until at least the next paycheck this Friday - but, as mentioned at the beginning of this story, an automatic life insurance payment forgotten about through all of this chaos has, in one fell swoop, wiped out what would have sustained us this week. This may very well be the worst off we have ever been as a family. I do not say this lightly, as I do not take asking people for financial help (or any, really) lightly. This is very awkward and anxiety-inducing for us (did I mention my doc recently abruptly took me off my antidepressant as well?!). However, we are in desperate need of more funds for essentials like medicine, utility bills, groceries (thankfully, some of which is covered by WIC), gas, car note, car insurance, phone bill, and a jumpstart on next month's rent. We also would like to be able to purchase some Goodwill furniture, appliances, and the rest of what is needed for our baby to be born in about a month, but are not considering those items as essential as making sure our listed debts are paid and we actually have a safe environment for the kids, first and foremost.

Using these funds for those essentials would allow us to (hopefully) save some money as it starts to come in again, at least enough to slowly acquire the other mentioned household items needed to comfortably occupy a home. We would also use the money saved to begin paying back people we owe for significantly helping us throughout this ordeal. One of my plans before all of this happened was to do a yard sale, but obviously my being on bedrest (or trying to) and being sick has put that plan on hold. I had already been taking advantage of community programs and resources assisting with my pregnancy and related supplies/contacts, other resources assisting with my son's developmental and behavioral needs, etc. I am currently in the process of trying to get approved for more community services like rides, financial assistance, and continued Medicaid coverage once I am no longer pregnant. We really are doing everything we possibly can to put ourselves back into a somewhat manageable position for success.

With this heavy load on my heart and immense amount of stress on my body, I am asking for anyone who feels called to please donate what you can to my little family at this very critical time in our lives. This is not easy for us to do, and we understand that everyone else has things they are going through as well. We humbly ask that, if you can and want to help, please do because we really need it. We are so very grateful to those who have already and those who (hopefully) will through this GoFundMe page.

If you got this far reading that novel of a description, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you got this far and decided to donate what you can, thank you dearly and eternally from the depths of my soul.

Wishing everyone peace, good health, and prosperity. Thank you so much for your time.

Pics of Expenses Breakdown: