Content Warnings for financial assistance, medical information, health and mental health issues, fundraising and probably negativity.
I will be reblogging this post occasionally until the situation resolves itself. Please feel free to blacklist ‘fundraiser cw’ if you don’t want to see it. Likewise, please feel free to share this post anywhere and reblog it even if you can’t help. Because it is help. It helps other people who might be able to help see this.
THERE IS NO REASON WE SHOULD BE GOING THROUGH THIS.
Let me preface with that. Hi, my name is Orion (he/they), I’m a 31 year old genderqueer trans immigrant. I’m chronically ill and disabled with POTS (a heart condition), Dysautonomia, Fibromyalgia, PTSD, Anxiety, Social Phobia, Depression, and a couple more MHI I don’t feel comfortable listing for my own protection.
I have not seen a specialist or been medicated in a year. Why? Because I immigrated. Because despite the fact that I’ve applied for Social Security Disability 4 times, and am chair-bound and in pain for a good portion of my time, Social Security has been giving us the runaround for over a year, leaving us on one person’s (my spouse’s) disability income. This is contradictory to 4 doctors, 2 intake professionals, 2 hospital attendants, a social worker and the unemployment offices being left baffled at the situation with Social Security as to them all of the paperwork’s been done correctly, the diagnoses made, and I clearly am unable to work.
Social Security has made us see several doctors, only to turn around and tell us that ‘we decide if you’re disabled, not the doctor or the statement’, despite the fact that they’ve never seen me and my disabilities have been visibly clear to every doctor who has.
As for seeing a specialist? October at the earliest. Thanks, public health care.
Meanwhile, our income is 835e a month. Our bills and living expenses (bare minimum) are currently 1212e a month. We’re in a monthly deficit of 377e. We’ve been skating by on the US stimulus payments (I’m a citizen of the US but living in Europe), Christmas and birthday money from my spouse’s parents, and kind donations from our friends.
We never wanted to be here. But we can’t afford our bills, or our groceries. Payments are made late. No one’s gotten new clothes and ours are old and worn out. I have to cook because ordering out and ready made meals are too expensive, and thereby I don’t get to have ‘take it easy’ days. Fun things like new books and movies and games are 100% out of the question, which of course makes us a little extra miserable with all the stress. I’ve struggled with my hobbies and goals in writing because I feel like it’s all I can do to keep figuratively keeping my head above the water. Add executive dysfunction and brain fog to that, and it’s a recipe for misery.
So, until this gets settled, I’m leaving this open as an option to help me and us if you’re happy to, willing to, and able to. I do not want anyone resenting me, I do not want anyone going without. This is not an obligation to you. It is not a test of friendship. It’s just a lifeline for me and for my spouse, cast out in case anyone’s in a good enough position to help. REBLOGS help even if you don’t want to or can’t help us financially, or if you’ve given to us before. Please understand that I am EXTREMELY grateful for the help we’ve recieved and will recieve. All of the money we’ve gotten has gone into moving us into a cheaper apartment, buying groceries, or paying our bills. Unfortunately, the money situation is so dire right now that even the big help has been eaten up in our attempts to stay afloat. It’s not that we don’t appreciate, we do so much. It’s just that right now it’s a constant struggle and the money disappears almost instantly to bills.
WHEN I get disability (current status: in court), we’ll be a few hundred in the positives every month, and I will do my best to never ask for help again. I HATE doing this. Especially when I haven’t had the ability to be the greatest friend because of the constant stress, or be active on my blogs. I’m sorry. I’m trying. I’m just really, really scared and have no other options.
I don’t have much to offer. Gratitude, lots of it. I won’t have the ability to pay people back. I don’t have the ability to consistently do work because of my disabilities, but I’d be happy to (attempt) to write you a drabble as a thank you of a character that I’m familiar with.
Thank you for thinking of us, and all our love.
