Spoonie, Land Seal, & Sweet and Sour Kitty's Homeward Bound

A spoonie, a land seal, and a sweet and sour kitty walk into a bar...

(Except the spoonie is a teetotaler, the land seal is a couch potato, and sweet and sour kitty wrecks havoc wherever she walks. So maybe not.)

After eight years, my (current) family of misfits is moving home. We will be moving from Indianapolis to Kalamazoo, Michigan. It may not be my hometown, nor are we moving in with family, but Kalamazoo was the very last place I felt I belonged.

It's been a rough eight years. My wife and high school sweetheart suddenly passed away after she fought through open heart surgery. Our pittie, Bowser, was diagnosed with late-stage lymphoma and passed a year later. Multiple close family members passed away in the subsequent years. In that year I became so ill and in such severe pain that I had to step away from a career a decade and college degree in the making. I re-invented myself as an author, and have had that pried out from my fingers by inches. I had no choice but to apply for SSDI—and while it keeps a roof over my head, I struggle with living on a fixed income. My health has been declining even further in the past two years, and in November a medication knocked me back so badly I spent several weeks in a Hemiplegic Migraine and am still recovering.

All that to say: I need to be in a place I can rebuild my foundations.

I had been living with family the past several years as I went through the process of applying (and waiting) for disability. Now with that approved, and my parent retiring and moving in with my sister in Boston, it's time for me to return home. It is likely this will be my last move—most definitely my last move across state lines.

As much as I joke and put up a front in person... I'm tired. I often feel like my body is decomposing as I breathe. Along with the emotional wellness, being in Michigan will allow me access to more appropriate medical care. There is a Chiari specialist I am going to pursue getting a second opinion from, and the University of Michigan is on top of the game in medical breakthroughs.

This is where I need help. We've managed to get help with the cost of moving itself, and I've put part of the security deposit down already. All I have left is move in costs, including the rest of the security deposit and pro-rated rent.

I still have to pay part of the pro-rated rent in my current apartment, and between unexpected vet bills for my senior land seal (bless her heart) and my own medical costs accumulating, I'm behind where I need to be.

My total (remaining) move-in cost $1,375.10. I can pay part of that, but the rest will be very difficult to manage. I've been attempting to sell originals and prints of my art and books, but am not making much of a dent. I will link to those pages, however, if you'd rather support that way.

Whether it's a share, a dollar here or there, or more, every little bit helps. The tentative move-in date is June 8th, though it may move slightly as the complex figures out exactly when the apartment will be ready.

Thank you everyone for any interaction!

(The land seal and sweet and sour kitty would say thank you too, but they don't know English. Or any language, really. I don't know if I'm relieved or mad about that tbh.)

You can also support me through my Art & Fiction Shop

UPDATE:

Wow, it’s been a rough few weeks! I’ll go into more detail in an update, but my original apartment fell through and I got scheduled for a spine fusion so my plans got all twisted around.

I found a new (and frankly wonderful) place to move, BUT I do need to get further help renting a car one way in order to get all of us (and my own car) up to Michigan. I’m physically unable to drive myself post surgery and I need to be out on the 13th.

A friend will be driving me up, but we will need to rent a car one way for him to get back.

More details in update post!