You've got to be kidneying me

Oh boy oh boy oh boy...

I'm Chris Gaudreau in the real world, but online and on Twitter (@HyatteLives) I go by Chris Hyatte.  It's a long story that's roughly 20 years old and involves pro wrestling. 

Hello!

I'm 49 years old and after a lifetime of peaceful health, things started crashing on me in a hurry. 

Well, that's not true, but it kind of is. 

I've got 4 issues, 2 of which did a subtle sneak up on me, and the other 2 are directly due to the first 2.  All 4 changed my life and my future forever.  Which is why I'm here.

So look, I'm here to ask for money, which isn't something I'm thrilled about. The picture I'm using, which is my new reality of thrice weekly, 4:45 dialysis, treatments is light and semi-cheerful.  To put on a sad, pathetic face feels too contrived for me.

But trust me, I'm in a bad place and need a bit of help.

Let's get started, shall we?

1) Diabetes:  Learned about this one in 2014 after a toe wound got infected.  So I'm down a toe, which isn't a huge deal at all... HOWEVER...

About 18 months later, my pinkie toe on the other foot caught an infection.  This time the infection was more spread out.  So, not only did the toe go, but a lot, a LOT of bone with it.  This deformed my foot a bit, and leads to....

2) Charcot.  Charcot is a realigning of the foot after partial amputation.  Basically, my foot bones all shoved themselves to the right, practically against each other.  And because you can't have Charcot without Neuropathy, which is no feelings in the foot - like being paralyzed but with full movement - every step I take means bones are rubbing together, and eventually breaking.  So far, I've broken my foot 6 times.  I wear a special boot along with heavy bandages for support and have a perma-limp.  



But you know what?  That is manageable.  The Diabetes is under control (A1C currently at 5.6) and the charcot is annoying but doable.  But now we get into the big 'uns

3) Renal Kidney failure.  This pleasant little situation has been unknowingly with me since birth.  Apparently, they came with a condition where proteins tend to leak out of the kidneys rather than passing through.  This slowly, SLOWLY wore down the organs until they became useless.  This came to a head last Christmas.  It took 48 years.

So, because I never make life changing decisions on the spot, I initially refused  dialysis, let the reaper come and get on with things.  I started making some light final arrangements.  

Then the bloating began.  The legs, the torso, the damn SCROTUM all bloated out to the point where it took an hour to get out of bed.  Hell, the act of getting off the couch and on my feet was an adventure.  I was a day away from being permanently bed ridden.  I went back to the hospital and they asked "You refused dialysis, exactly what do you want us to do here?"

Then they told me my kidneys were at 3%.  I had a day or two left.

Not going to go all Jesus here, but something told me to take the dialysis.
This time, I didn't argue.

So, I had to quit my job and apply for disability (TDI) and social security benefits (SSI), not to mention Medicare.  My new job is being hooked up to a machine almost 5 hours a day 3 days a week, with some support from my small, tiny family (an Aunt and Uncle.  My mom passed in '94 and my father has his own medical drama.  No siblings.  No wife, no kids.)

Can I go back to work?  Not really.  Why, you ask?  Well that brings us to...

4) Congestive Heart Failure.  This goes hand in hand with my kidney issues.  Because I've been going on for a while, I'll make this succinct.

I can't F#$&ing breathe.  Something as simple as walking (limping) across a room leaves me sucking wind.  Oh, I can BREATHE, breathe, but filling my lungs with deep, oxygen-rich air is a chore, especially when I try to sleep.

There's more to it, but you get the point.
_________________ _____________________________

So why am I doing this?  Because I'm terrified.  I have no doubt that I'm golden for disability, but approval takes months, and I have no idea how much I'll be getting, although I know it's not a lot.

My savings was burned through just with the last few years of medical drama.  My tiny family base have gone above and beyond with financial help.  Meanwhile, my light overhead are still bills that need to be paid every month.  Food needs to be purchased.  Meds need to be refilled.

So, what I'm hoping for is just a little assistance before the Government starts kicking in.  Enough to cover my ass AND to provide a little foundation to help in the years to come. 

I am asking for 4k, but don't expect that much.  I'm not sure what to expect here, there are plenty of people in worse shape than me, but I'm in a bad situation and I'm not seeing a great future.  Oh, things will improve, for sure, but with the tag team of a bad heart AND trashed kidneys, I'm not the ideal candidate for an organ transplant.

Plus, you know, although my diabetes is currently laying low, I'm one stray infection away from losing a leg or two.  

45 years of decent health, then whammo. All at once.  Jesus.

So, the name Chris Gaudreau won't inspire long lost friends to come help, but maybe my story inspired you to help this brother out.

But like I said, the name Chris Hyatte will ring some online alarms.  See, Chris Hyatte provided several years of very, very beloved content from 1997-2007... And back then, the Internet was the untamed wild West.  Nobody knew how to make money off their work back then.

So, I provided must read content every week, completely free.  I never asked anyone for a dime and was oddly proud of this.

But... Well... I'm out of options and now am asking for some help.  

Your buddy Hyatte is hurting.  A guy named Gaudreau is hurting.  Anyone feeling charitable?  

Thanks for reading.