Music Teacher Beset by Disease and Car Crash

I'm writing on behalf of Keira Knecht, a gracious and devout woman in her 50s whose natural ebullience is being challenged by the financial burden of a car accident and having to live with an increasingly painful medical condition that could be cured by a operation she cannot afford.

Keira was the partner of my late brother, James, for more than 20 years. She is a trained classical singer who makes a living teaching for a music school, singing in a Catholic church of which she is also a member, and working various odd jobs such as house-sitting. Despite some disappointments, including not being able to marry since James could not get an annulment for his first marriage and having her portion of her father's legacy inadvertently spent by her siblings, she tends to be a positive person with a joyous outlook on life. Lately, however, a series of difficult events is challenging her natural ebullience.

None of her jobs offers health insurance, and Keira has been dealing with a large uterine cyst that has left her with severe menorrhagia, depleting her iron levels and causing chronic exhaustion and pain as well as thinning hair. Her doctor says she should have a hysterectomy, but she cannot afford the operation, nor can she borrow money to cover it as described below. She has been paying out-of-pocket for her medical visits to a clinic.

In 2022, two years after James' untimely death at the age of 57, his then 24-year-old son found himself facing homelessness, so Keira invited the son to live with her in her one-bedroom apartment. Since then he has been able to hold a retail job and start saving money. In December of last year, she loaned him her car for the first time. He had an accident in a moment of inattention which resulted in the car being totaled. The lien exceeded the value, leaving Keira with a $10,000 debt that she is required to pay in a lump sum. This effectively prevents her from getting another car loan, or a loan of any kind.

She has been able to borrow a car from a delivery service in exchange for 20 hours of otherwise-unpaid delivery work each week, in addition to her other jobs. My nephew, who has been helping with rent, is now giving her additional money each month toward the car, but he cannot give very much, even though he has been working 12-hour shifts and foregoing personal items such as clothing.

Keira is the type of person who prefers to solve her own problems. In addition to all her jobs, she has received some temporary rent assistance from a Texas state program and is using a financial counseling service free of charge to help her figure out what she is able to afford. She is planning to find an even smaller apartment when her lease is up in five months. She is also currently seeking a job with higher wages and benefits.

Keira is keeping herself going despite pain, rising bills, overwhelming debt, and uncharacteristic depression. She has always done so, but this time I feel the odds of success are lower and that she might succumb to despair. A donation of any size would not only bring her closer to resolution, it would also inspire her with the priceless gift of Hope.