Help Mom Survive Rare Disease & Keep Home

My dear friend has been on an incredibly difficult journey, but she needs your urgent help to keep her housing and access direly needed medical treatments. She's so close to reclaiming her health, and has a plan for stability starting this fall. For her safety, she remains anonymous as she escaped an abusive situation so I'm hosting this fundraiser on her behalf. Every contribution will provide support to help her survive. Her words follow:

❤️ Help Me Reclaim My Life: A Journey Towards Health & Stability ❤️

I urgently need financial support by early April in order for my son & I to keep our housing. I also urgently need funds to access necessary medical treatments, and I'm growing more ill without them. It's not hyperbole to say that if we lose this housing (June 1st) and I can't access treatments, I won't survive much longer. Relatively speaking it won't cost much to help me access treatments, but if I can survive the summer, then I have a means to access resources and work towards real stability starting this fall. I just need your help right now. Even if it needs to be a loan. The situation is complex, but you can read the story below to understand why.

Early Struggles

From childhood until I was 30, I battled debilitating narcolepsy - chronic hallucinations, sleep paralysis and blackouts derailed my ability to work or attend college. I collapsed in random places and woke up not knowing how I got there. I worked at several places, but my sleep disorder always interfered and I kept having to find new work until one day, my health was so bad that I was passing out daily. Dietary changes in 2005 helped, but over the years a confluence of underlying issues have revealed themselves - chronic nutrient deficiencies, an autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia, and more. In 2022, doctors finally discovered that I have an extremely rare jejunal diverticular disease which has been impairing my ability to absorb nutrients from food.

Impact Without Treatment

Without treatment, I experience weakness, fatigue, muscle spasms, pain, brain fog, heart issues, frequent infections and other complications which have hospitalized me numerous times. Back in 2005, when I thought my health had improved, my partner and I had a son. But they became abusive and sabotaged my efforts to leave and get help. In 2017, fearing for my life, I fled with my son - we lost everything and moved 24 times over 4 years. We suffered that because we are perrnially denied shelter and access to transitional housing due to my numerous food allergies and my medical issues.

Glimmer of Hope

Recently, dedicated doctors have identified a combination of life-changing treatments - compounded low-dose naltrexone, infrared saunas, clinical massage, acupuncture, chiropractic care, physical therapy and specific supplements to address my nutrient deficiencies. I was regaining my health last fall until my funding ran out, leaving me unable to access these vital treatments. I'm now spiraling, deficient in nutrients, fighting a serious infection, and struggling to care for my teenage son. He lives part-time with my parents, but I need to access my health treatments so I can have my health to be his mom.

Unique Housing Needs

While the full picture of my medical diagnoses is too complex to detail here, it's important to understand the additional complication my severe environmental allergies and multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) present as they *drastically* limit my housing options. My food allergies pose an additional obstacle. I have been to EVERY SINGLE relevant gov't & non-profit agency in the entire Twin Cities seeking help. I have pursued countless venues and met with numerous elected officials. I've contacted disability lawyers.

Access to housing in Hennepin & Ramsey counties are one-size-fits-all, entering through Coordinated Entry, and even though after a few years I finally qualified for Coordinated Entry, they still do not have ANY housing that I can even enter to visit, much less live.

I am certified disabled with a CADI waiver; despite this, I've received no homemaking, personal care assistance or IHS (Individualized Home Supports) for 2 years. (Despite constant efforts to seek this support.)

I am allergic to synthetic fragrances, common cleaning products like Dawn and Tide, personal care products, chemicals in carpeting, cigarette smoke, cats, mold and more. It took 4 painstaking years to find this particular safe housing that meets all my needs - a place with laundry, a dishwasher to clean up after constant cooking, no carpeting, and zero exposure triggers, with a bedroom for my son. Because of these multiple constraints, I cannot access low-income housing I'd otherwise qualify for.

My current residence accommodates my disabilities, but I urgently need funds to renew the lease in April and maintain this rare, lifeline of a safe living environment. With your support, I can keep my only viable housing and focus on regaining my health and to work my way to self-sufficiency. My benefactor will co-sign a renewed lease if I can fundraise enough to pay rent after June 1st. (These funds could be in a trust as well.)

With your Support

With your support, I can stay housed, access treatments to regain my health, re-enroll in school, and create a stable future before my son leaves home.

Funds are needed for:

I have just started the process to return to school part-time this fall to earn a degree. I am not physically able to attend as of now, but with your help to access 3 months worth of treatments I should be well enough to start. And I will be eligible for the maximum student loans, grants, and scholarships so that I can pay for treatments to keep getting better while I work my way to a degree. Once I have a degree, I'll be able to work part-time and with the degree I'm seeking, I'll be able to earn a sufficient income to support myself and my son going forward. Your contributions will TRULY bring me closer to reclaiming my health and independence, and to better care for my son.

Thank You

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity. Your kindness and support mean the world to me and my son.