EMERGENCY SHELTER
AUGUST 22 UPDATE: I got on the social security website just before 6 this morning and I saw my account had finished processing. THEY DENIED MY CLAIM!! I was in shock, heartbroken, wanted to cry and felt sick when I saw this. After the library opened up I came and got back on the social security website to file an appeal. All I can do now is sit and wait and pray that it's approved. Anyone who knows me, seen me in person or knows everything I've been through knows that I need this disability. It's literally a matter of life and death for me. Without it I'm still stuck on the streets and I'll never get better. Please share this and pray for my disability to come through.
AUGUST 11 UPDATE: I had an appointment with a nurse practitioner on August 1 to have a medical exam done for disability. I'm now waiting to hear from disability. In the appointment we went over all my hospital stays and my medical records. I have stage 3 congestive heart failure, stage 4 chronic kidney disease, edema, anemia, fatigue, neuropathy, constant pain all over my body, constant headaches, lightheadedness, nausea and on top of all that I'm still homeless facing the brutal weather of summer in the Mid-South. I don't know when this disability is coming or even if it will come. Shares are appreciated if you can't donate.
JUNE 15 UPDATE: It has gotten to be that time of year when it's too hot to be outside and if you have health problems it can be dangerous. As some of you know I'm disabled and homeless so this can be very bad for me. I have congestive heart failure and have been getting really short of breath and have had wheezing. This comes from such hot weather. There's not a lot I can do for it but a little relief from the heat would be good. I don't even have air conditioning in this van. I sit all day in the sun unable to breathe. I don't even have any money to go in somewhere to eat and get out of the sun for a while. Anything right now goes a long way
SEPTEMBER 16 UPDATE
For the last few months I have been in and out of a few hospitals due to nausea, vomiting, stomach and side pain. I found out I have a cyst in my left kidney. I'm not sure if it's ok, will cause me problems or was the cause of pain in my left side. No doctor could come to a consensus on what was causing my right side pain. Methodist couldn't figure anything out, the doctors at Baptist DeSoto tried saying it was just muscle pain but I got a surprise at Baptist East last month. I originally went there on August 9 because I was worried about my amputated foot and the infection in it. I was admitted and was given weeks of IV antibiotics. The doctor took me to surgery 2 days after I was admitted to see what needed to be done for it. While I was there I started having my right side pain again. I told the hospitalist when they came in. They ordered an ultrasound on me. A different doctor came in and said they couldn't tell much from the ultrasound so they ordered a hida scan on me. The same day the same doctor came in and told me it did look like there could be some concern on my gallbladder so she consulted with a surgeon. The very next day the surgeon came in, talked to me and 5 hours later I was having very unexpected gallbladder surgery. I was in the OR twice within two weeks. Right now I'm fortunate to be off the streets but it's only temporary and will end in less than one week. For the last 3 weeks I have been very nauseous and throwing up everyday. I'm still waiting for my disability to be approved. I wish I knew when or if it will be approved. Until then I have less than $20 to my name and won't have a roof. I've been trying to find any kind of roof but haven't been having any luck. Thankfully I spent most of the summer off the streets and in the hospital when we had dangerous temperatures. Right now the temperature is dropping and will be cold again soon. When I have been on the streets I have been sleeping on the concrete hiding behind some dumpsters scared someone would find me and hurt me. I can't get up quick or even get away quick. If something was to happen to me I can't defend myself right now. I really need to be off the streets right now even if it's temporarily in another motel. I need something until I can get my disability. I no longer believe I can work. I have trouble standing and walking. I have to use a cane right now to help with my balance. I believe I will always need this cane now since I'm missing half of my foot. Any and all help or shares is appreciated.
JUNE 7 UPDATE:
On April 30 I went into surgery to have more of my right foot removed. The doctor found out on the MRI there was still some infection and the only way to try and get rid of it was to cut more. Right now I'm left with about half a foot. I'm able to stand and kinda get around but I have balance problems and I will start to fall backwards sometimes. I was discharged from Baptist East on May 5 and the very next morning I was admitted to Methodist University. I had bad nausea, vomiting, feelings of being lightheaded and dizzy with a little bit of chest pain. After being admitted I was put through so many different kinds of tests. After doing an endoscopy I started to develop stomach and side pain in addition to my nausea and vomiting. Doctors started to believe my gallbladder was the cause and needed to come out. They decided not to do gallbladder surgery on me due to my heart. They decided to attach a drain to my gallbladder. Possibly within days it came unattached so there's no way of knowing what it was doing or rubbing up against inside of me. This was only found out after I went to a different hospital after being discharged on June 1. I went to Baptist DeSoto and after not seeing anyone for 9 hours I left and went to Baptist East. They did a CT and an ultrasound. The doctor there wouldn't touch me because Methodist did the drain. Without telling me they called to have me transferred by ambulance back to Methodist. I arrived Friday afternoon and finally got a room Saturday. A doctor took the drain out Saturday and did a CT scan Monday to see about putting the drain back in. They found out my gallbladder is shrinking and they wouldn't be able to do the drain. Because of this the doctor tried to discharge me Monday and Tuesday. I told him no because I was still nauseous, vomiting and had stomach and side pain. I needed to know what was causing this and to have it fixed. About two hours ago I got back from having another endoscopy. Afterwards the doctor came up to me but I was so out from the anesthesia that I have no idea what he said to me. I don't know what's going to happen from here. I really need help getting off the streets. I can't even afford my phone right now. I need to keep my phone on because of social security and to try and get a job. I need it in case of emergencies.
April 25 UPDATE:
From March 7 to March 28 I was back in the hospital at Baptist East. I went there with chest pain, shortness of breath and to get my foot checked out again. It has gotten infected again while I was on the streets. They cleaned it up, started me on antibiotics through IV around the clock and admitted me to a room the same day. A few days later on March 10 I was taken to pre-op and surgery to have an angiogram done. They did it to check the blood flow in my leg to see how well the circulation was going to my foot. 4 days later they had me back in surgery again. This time it was too clean up my foot and possibly do a partial amputation of the toe beside where the big one used to be. Unknown to me the doctor took all the rest of my toes on my right foot. I didn't find this out until I saw him the day after my surgery. He told me the infection had gotten so bad it was the only choice he had. I still have an open wound on the bottom of my foot that has been working on healing. When I was discharged from the hospital on March 28 I was put in a hotel near the hospital. I was told I would be there for 30 days while receiving wound care. I have not received any would care since April 5 and instead of 30 days they put me in there for only 28 and I checked out today. I have no way of receiving wound care right now or making sure that my foot is healing properly and not getting reinfected. I am going online today to apply for jobs around the Missouri Street area that I can walk to. I have been wanting to rent a car through Uber and deliver for their Uber eats and door dash while getting a part time security job but that requires paying money up front for the security deposit for the car. I am in need of some help trying to get this started. Right now it would be of a huge help because I could look for more jobs that I couldn't walk to and it would also provide shelter for me for the moment so I wouldn't have to literally sleep on the streets at night. Anything right now is appreciated even if it's only $1.
I was in the hospital from January 21 to February 22. I initially went to the hospital due to extreme nausea and vomiting since December 27. In the emergency room I found out I had a really bad bone infection in my right foot. Within hours of being in the emergency room they had me surgery for an amputation. They took off my big toe and the infected bone. 3 days after surgery they put a wound vac on my foot which limited how far I could walk in my hospital room. I had the wound vac on my foot for 3 weeks before the surgeon decided my open wound was healing well enough to not need it anymore. I still have the open wound and it's still healing. While it's healing I am supposed to wear this off loading shoe but it makes my balance worse and makes me fall. Due to this I am watching how I walk and not putting any weight or pressure on the left side of my right foot. While I was in the hospital my balance has gotten a little better but I still struggle with walking some. A lot of swelling is in my legs and stomach right now due to all the fluids, antibiotics and medicine they were giving me. This has caused my legs to become big and really heavy. It hurts to move and then lift sometimes and is also very difficult a lot of times. If I fall then I am not able to pick myself up due to a loss of leg strength. Last night and tonight I was able to pay for a cheap room at the Extend A Suites here in West Memphis. One night cost $52 while a week cost 280 I was told. Unfortunately right now I cannot afford a week. Once it gets to be tomorrow morning I will be out on the streets and homeless. I am unable to lay down on the ground and will be stuck there. I do not know of anywhere that has any benches that I could lay down on at night to rest. I am trying to stay here in this motel even temporarily. I have a phone interview with disability on Monday morning. I don't know if they will approve me or not and if they do approve me I don't know how long it will be until I would start receiving it. I really need to stay here with a safe roof over my head and a bed I can sleep on. Anything right now will help whether it be $1, 5, 10 just any small amount. I am currently online looking for and applying for jobs that are close enough for me to walk to. Please help me stay here just for the moment until I can take care of myself.