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Keep the Sheldons Afloat

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Thank you for clicking through! I'm sad to be updating this, but I want to share what I can right away.

John and I have hit another major setback: John's become unemployed. This puts us down to my blog income and my freelance income, which is meager.

Right now our expenses are high: I'm recovering from a brain injury, doing therapy, and John has a minor dental surgery next week. I also have many regular medications that we'll need to figure out how to afford, and we'll also need insurance once John's runs out at the end of the month to cover my therapy (physical and psych) and regular doctor appointments (like the ones that monitor my thyroid, lithium levels, and insulin). This isn't a cheap experience.

We have no potential wins on the horizon. We will work as hard as we can, but we don't know how long this will last or how hard it will get. I am reopening this because the impact financially is going to be rough to start and could be unrecoverable. We love you all and appreciate any and all support, including shares and kind words.


(Picture is Siggy and Bragi awkwardly cuddling.)


Best,

Brie & John ---


P.S. The previous funds earned were used to pay for the surgery for Bragi, repair for our CR-V, the expenses after my car accident, the pest control, and the plumbing repairs. We could not afford the $6k to fully repair the plumbing but we were able to get a working solution.

John and I have been, over the past few years, experiencing a lot of financial setbacks because of my mental and physical health as well as general struggles & bad luck. This week, however, we've been hit especially hard.  Our budget has already been tight from my car accident and some illness keeping me out of work, but then last night our Honda CR-V, Majel, broke a serpentine belt and broke down, along with some other issues. Repairs will be around $1500, not accounting for the cost of lost work hours. 

On top of this, we're still fighting mysterious invaders (critters) into our walls that we've had handled by exterminators twice, and the biggest issue of all: our basement has been getting flooded with sewage from backflow. We aren't sure the extent of the damage in the actual plumbing, and right now we've just locked up the basement until we can afford a plumber. It could cost a couple thousand to get a backflow valve put in, if that is the only issue - and it could be more than that since we have a house that's over 100 years old.

We're also still recovering from the expense of the surgery for our kitten Bragi, who had a blocked tear duct and cost over $1500 for surgery to repair. I know having pets is a luxury, but we love them and caring for them is important to us.  (above, Bragi before surgery, below, Bragi after surgery)  We're both in hard places at work with no likelihood of increased pay, and I can't take on more freelance work than I already have with grad school.

Our budget is in rough shape and our savings are reserved for "if we can't afford the mortgage" and not for long. I am very reluctant to ask for help, but I don't know what else we can do. If you can support us, we would truly appreciate it, and if you can't, please share considerately to see if anyone else can. I know that we will do our best to survive, but we can only do so much. Love, Brie & John Sheldon
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Donations 

  • Daniel Swensen
    • $50
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Brie Sheldon
Organizer
Pittsburgh, PA

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