29 Year Old Disabled Mother Seeks Grant Money To Help Recover Everything Lost
by Jessica
I have never been married; however I was with my child's father for 5 years off and on. I have worked quite regularly since I was old enough (15 because my parents signed a letter of consent). My last job was very lucrative and allowed me to care for my daughter and myself very comfortably. I was born with a tarsal coalition in both feet, which is pretty rare. That's fancy medical speech for joints in my feet that didn't separate all the way in the womb. I was very into sports from a young age and started having pain around the time I was 7 years old. My parents brought me to several doctors but they misdiagnosed my condition each time. When I was 17 they finally found a doctor familiar with this condition who had a CT scan performed and found the problem. He performed surgery on both of my feet to separate the bone and create a joint. I still had pain after recovering from the surgeries but it was much less and after a while I could do much more, no more sports though. Time went on. I worked several jobs, which required me to stand, and I had a child. My most recent job had me standing 8 to sometimes 12 hours a day. In November of 2010 my feet started hurting so badly that I could no longer walk on them at times. There were several instances where I had to literally crawl on the floor to get my daughter ready for school or bed and had to set up chairs around the house to get to counter tops and the stove to cook and do dishes. After seeing a podiatrist he told me I had severe osteoarthritis due to my foot deformity. In most cases they would begin to give shots of cortisone but in my case he told me that his opinion was "why bother?" My deformity was not going to get better without surgical reconstruction. So on February 8th 2011 I had my first surgery, a Triple Arthrodesis of the left ankle (surgical stabilization, or fusion of arthritic joints) and lengthening of the Achilles' tendon. I will need the other foot done when fully recovered from this, which can take a year or more. Three months of recovery later I tried to return to work with accommodations. My employer made it very clear that they were not supportive of my disability and worked me like I had no issue. I complained of the pain and started requesting frequent breaks, so they started to reprimand me for many other things. I felt it necessary to resign with my two weeks notice to be able to reference the work history of the last four years. I lost my home and health insurance. I had to pull my 401K benefits. In the end had to move to a different state away from my friends of the past 13 years to live with my parents in TX. I am a very independently minded individual and this situation is causing me a great deal of depression. I wish to be able to move "home" and live independently again. I want to have my other surgery ASAP and heal and become part of the working population once again. I am too proud not to. I am waiting on SSI and SSD, which can take a very long time. I am still in need of another surgery on the right foot as it is still arthritic. I was denied my initial application for Medicaid and am in a great deal of pain, which can only be quelled by pain medication or surgery, both of which seem very out of reach. I have been denied unemployment twice and am in the process of asking for an appeal. I am now trying to get state funded benefits, e.g. food stamps, TANF and reapplying for Medicaid. I have exhausted all funds. I need help getting benefits quickly. I have filled out countless applications for assistance but the process is drawn out and grueling for someone just trying to get some help putting their life back on track. Even then I have been denied for several of these public offerings already and I am in dire need of help. If I could get a grant to help me move and pay for housing and living expenses temporarily my life and my daughter's life would greatly improve.
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