Chemotherapy Disabled Woman Seeks Government Housing Grant Money

by Carol Carlson
(Edmonds, WA, USA)

Since contracting rheumatic fever at age 8, I cannot remember a day without pain. Now it pains me to ask for government housing grant money.

It has been so frustrating to try to keep up and always be left "too far behind" in order to maintain a life for my family and myself.

I come from a good family and all of them have been so healthy and active and until 1999 I did quite well at maintaining my health.

In June of that year I was diagnosed with several kinds of breast cancer.

My oncologist gave me a chemotherapy drug that attacked my muscles and nerves throughout my whole body rather than the cancer.

I had a double mastectomy with reconstruction but the chemo exacerbated the pain, which had by now been diagnosed as severe fibromyalgia.

My whole world fell apart after only taking three tablets. My pain level is so high that the pain rules every waking moment.

I am a 65-year-old woman and because we were in the Ministry for many years we have never been able to afford a home.

And now so many apartments have stairs that I just cannot climb, we are in need of a home on the level.

Because of so many doctor expenses and the cost of the 11 drugs that I take, we cannot afford a down payment or very high monthly payments.

I have such a fear of one day being alone and without housing that I will feel secure in. This is such a desperate feeling and I know that it is making me worse by worrying about it.

It would help my pain levels and anxiety level if we could have a home that we could afford. A government housing grant would go a long way to making that possible.