Hello, my name is Patricia. The reason I am here asking for help is because these past 3 years have been hard on my family and me. It all started a little over 3 years ago. One morning, I woke up and saw that my little girl was sitting in her bed staring at nothing. I started to talk to her, and she didn’t respond. I got up to check her and called 911. They did some tests on her, and she was diagnosed with Focal Epilepsy. She was also diagnosed a few years before that with Autism. Not too long after her diagnosis of Epilepsy, I was diagnosed with stage 3 Breast Cancer. I was devastated; I was scared of what would happen to my kids without me. I did chemo, radiation, and had a bilateral mastectomy with the removal of all the lymph nodes on my right side of my breast. I am happy to say I am two years cancer-free. But my body does not work the way it used to. I will be on medication for another 10 years. Since the start of treatment, I’ve had Sepsis, C. Diff, a blood clot in my lungs, and some other small infections.
In October of 2023, my now 10-year-old son started having emotional problems. He started having bad dreams, crying a lot for no reason, having meltdowns, and a lot of anxiety. He would tell me he was scared of me dying and leaving him. I found therapy for him and started him on medication. He is doing better, but he is still having a hard time. On top of that, he has ADHD.
A couple of days ago, we had an appointment with my daughter’s neurologist. She was checking all the things she usually checks. She asked me if I ever noticed that her shoulders were a bit uneven. I told her no because she has always been a bit flimsy and thin. She suggested we get a scoliosis X-ray. The next day, she called me and told me she had Scoliosis on top of all her other medical problems. Another problem she has is her teeth are coming out very crooked, and we are seeing an orthodontist. I had to put that on hold because I don’t have the money for that at the moment.
I never applied for disability because I was able to work from home, and it kept my mind busy. Both my daughter and son were receiving SSI. In January, I received 2 letters. The one for my son said that he was cured of all his medical problems because his doctors did not respond to the letters they were sent. I asked all of his doctors if they received anything, and they all said no. So I am currently waiting for a response to the appeal I sent in. My daughter’s letter said that my income increased. I have no idea where they got that from. My pay is a lot less than what it used to be. I submitted all the paperwork and the appeal; I needed to get hers back. I have received nothing back from SSI. I reached out to them, and I was told it was still in process.
It’s been a few months, and I am at the point where I am falling behind on my bills. I don’t have enough money for our necessities, for my son’s tutoring, and my daughter’s orthodontist. I am still going through some medical issues. It’s hard to find a job that I am able to do with my current medical problems. I also need to be able to leave when my kids have an issue at school. My son had a hard time this past school year. I have always been very independent. I never like asking for help. But I really do need it now. Anything would help, please.
