Help to survive and stabilize health

Imagine being so allergic to the world that spending just ten minutes in a building causes your face to swell, forcing you to leave before getting basic necessities. Just take some antihistamines you say? Imagine that medication doesn't work, and that your doctor's only advice is to find a way to live in a van. But you don't have the money to retrofit your current vehicle, forcing you to spend what little money you have on campgrounds that also tend to make you sick thanks to pesticide spraying, mold or algae outbreaks.

Now imagine living that life with not only no support, but family actively sabotaging your efforts to care for yourself.

This is the life my friends (single mom and teenaged kid) have been living this year as they desperately try to give their bodies a break from the world so they can heal. If you've never heard of this, welcome to the complicated world of MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome), chemical sensitivities, and an immune system that overreacts to everything. (In the picture above, the image on the right is what happens when it flares up. The swelling is visible, but what isn't is the pain, the brain fog, the exhaustion. It's incredibly difficult.)

Their situation is far more complicated than I will go into here, but I will say that I've seen how awful it is when your immune system overreacts. My wife struggled with this for months. It took massive doses of multiple medications and a lot of cleaning to settle things down and that still took months. If we hadn't seen the right allergist when we had, healing would have taken much longer.

That's where my friends are right now. And they are in desperate need of help just to survive, especially before the weather grows colder.

I've organized this list in order of priority as best I could. If you live in Northeast Wisconsin or the UP and can assist with labor, please contact me privately. Also, if you'd prefer to offer gift cards for Walmart, contact me.

Needs (Immediate)

• Food - They are receiving some aid from food banks, but without a proper stove to cook on, it's difficult to prepare many meals. Especially when sick.
• A good cooler that will hold ice for more than one day, as they can't always buy ice and it eats into their small income. $75-100 from Walmart. Or for an electric one, $200.
• Campsite fees - the campgrounds close soon in the area, but until then, sites are around $22 a night, or $154 a week which goes very quickly with only SSI as income.
• Dental care - As if this wasn't challenging enough, add an abscess and no dental insurance or money for the dentist and the situation is even worse. Teeth need to be removed.
• Clothes - Due to chemical sensitivities and no accessibility to safe laundry that isn't contaminated with allergens, they are in need of new clothing. They are not picky and don't need expensive clothes. But buying anything besides food, ice, firewood and gas is impossible without help.

Slightly less urgent (but still needed very soon)

Since campgrounds are expensive and closing soon, they need to get their camper ready enough to sleep in. That requires a few things.

• Cargo carrier for the roof ($200)
• lumber to build a sleeping platform ($150)
• portable laundry facilities ($50-200)
• portable shower tent ($110)
• portable toilet ($30-90)
• air purifier ($50-100)
• solar power/heater ($500)
• Supplements and medications to support their bodies and immune systems.

Needed eventually

A new van or a very clean place without history of water problems. But these will cost significantly more and take more time. Therefore, the priorities are as listed above.

For information about MCAS, you can read about it on this website: https://www.jillcarnahan.com/2016/10/31/mast-cell-activation-syndrome-mcas-when-histamine-goes-haywire/

Note: Yes, there is treatment and they've tried it. But things got too bad so at this point this is their only safe option for true healing.

Thank you for reading!

This is a challenging situation that we're actively trying to resolve in both the long and short term. Any assistance is appreciated and will go toward basic necessities. They are both completely sober (Mom has been sober for decades) and doing everything they can to make their life better. I'm not posting their names to avoid issues with internet searches from family members. If you have questions, message me privately. Thank you.