Help Shannah Save Her House
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Shannah was urged by a loving family member to get a seasonal flu vaccine in the late summer of 2018. Something she had never done before. Weeks later she started losing feeling in her legs, then arms, and then her face as the sensation crept up her body. She couldn’t walk without assistance. Fearful of the costs of treatment and dreading a diagnosis she waited until a friend offered to pay her medicals then called to ask to be checked out. It was January and she was immediately admitted to the hospital. Several trips to the hospital, and as weeks dragged by without any clear-cut diagnosis, she became more and more fearful. The tests were extensive, including 3 spinal taps, and eventually she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome - a rare immune system disorder caused by immune cells attacking her nerves. It is very rare (less than 20,00 cases per year in the US), and treatment is lengthy, with uncertain outcomes. Patients recover their ability to walk, others do not. She struggles today. Unable to walk or help herself, she faced uncertain days ahead.
While in the hospital her father in law died of cancer. Always feeling he was like her own father; his death was devastating. Two days later, after his funeral she could not attend, her husband, a veteran, and who had just watched his dad die of cancer, visited her in the hospital. He informed her he couldn't take more suffering in his life, and that their marriage was over. There she was with no job, declining and an uncertain health condition, facing the loss of her independence, and her husband was bailing out. She was crushed.
When she was released home after 2 months in a very fragile state, she discovered her husband had moved out of the house, and shortly afterwards found out he had stopped paying the mortgage, as well as the utilities. She and her two basset hounds were abandoned, and without anything to live on but her savings. She fell into depression and began to drink. Her husband, inexplicably, and without remorse, began delivering boxes of wine. Maybe to relief his guilt, maybe something more sinister, but the supply was ample, and she began continued to drink heavily. She became malnourished, unstable, and slowly sank into depression. Her world became unglued.
She broke her foot and went back to the hospital. After a year of anger, despair, and self-loathing, she realized she was killing herself. She checked into a detox program and stopped drinking. As she returned a sober person, her confidence and self-esteem restored, she received the devastating news her Mom -Mom had died. She continues to live life as someone her grandmother would be proud of and looks for ways to give back to those who have helped her.
She applied for Medicaid and they covered her medical bills. But she has been unable to qualify for disability. And she now owes over $45,000 in mortgage payments, and the bank is threating to foreclose. She has a remarkably positive outlook now and has remained sober for over a year, but the loss of her house will be tragic, and devastating.
She wants to rent a room through Airbnb but doubts it will be enough. It is incredibly urgent to help her save her house by catching her up on her mortgage. She needs dental work and hearing aids, but that will wait until she knows her house is safe.
Will you please help her by sending whatever you can spare. She is really doesn't want to ask for help, but we can't see her out on the street while she recovers from the heavy loss of health, independence, and optimism.
While in the hospital her father in law died of cancer. Always feeling he was like her own father; his death was devastating. Two days later, after his funeral she could not attend, her husband, a veteran, and who had just watched his dad die of cancer, visited her in the hospital. He informed her he couldn't take more suffering in his life, and that their marriage was over. There she was with no job, declining and an uncertain health condition, facing the loss of her independence, and her husband was bailing out. She was crushed.
When she was released home after 2 months in a very fragile state, she discovered her husband had moved out of the house, and shortly afterwards found out he had stopped paying the mortgage, as well as the utilities. She and her two basset hounds were abandoned, and without anything to live on but her savings. She fell into depression and began to drink. Her husband, inexplicably, and without remorse, began delivering boxes of wine. Maybe to relief his guilt, maybe something more sinister, but the supply was ample, and she began continued to drink heavily. She became malnourished, unstable, and slowly sank into depression. Her world became unglued.
She broke her foot and went back to the hospital. After a year of anger, despair, and self-loathing, she realized she was killing herself. She checked into a detox program and stopped drinking. As she returned a sober person, her confidence and self-esteem restored, she received the devastating news her Mom -Mom had died. She continues to live life as someone her grandmother would be proud of and looks for ways to give back to those who have helped her.
She applied for Medicaid and they covered her medical bills. But she has been unable to qualify for disability. And she now owes over $45,000 in mortgage payments, and the bank is threating to foreclose. She has a remarkably positive outlook now and has remained sober for over a year, but the loss of her house will be tragic, and devastating.
She wants to rent a room through Airbnb but doubts it will be enough. It is incredibly urgent to help her save her house by catching her up on her mortgage. She needs dental work and hearing aids, but that will wait until she knows her house is safe.
Will you please help her by sending whatever you can spare. She is really doesn't want to ask for help, but we can't see her out on the street while she recovers from the heavy loss of health, independence, and optimism.
Fundraising team (2)
Rob Gano
Organizer
Frankford, DE
Shannah Grant
Beneficiary
Donella Gano
Team member