Voices Across America

Multiple Diagnoses Bankrupt a Family

Karen

State: Illinois
Congressional District: IL16

Diseases

Chronic Pain, Eye Disease, Gastrointestinal Disease, Genetic Disease, Immune Disease, Neurological Disease, Rare Disease

Issues and Challenges

Karen has encountered: Medicare / Medicaid Issues, Rare / Underserved Disease, Transportation, Caregiving, Disability, Financial Assistance, Housing, Invisible Illness, Job Insecurity / Loss, Legal, Social Security Disability

My Story

Hi, my name is Karen.
As really our last hope, I’m trying to raise money to save my family.
My family and I have fallen on really hard times.
My husband is someone who lives to help other people. It was his calling. He was a 3 time civil servant. An EMT, a correctional officer, and a firefighter. Then He gave it all up for my daughter and myself.

My daughter is disabled from a rare form of epilepsy called partial band heterotopia or double cortex syndrome. we found out when she was three. Shortly after that, I became very ill and was in the ICU for a few weeks. That’s when I found out that I have a rare genetic immune disease that requires biweekly infusions and has now left me disabled too. That even though was unintentional, made me a financial death sentence.

With no other family, my husband gave up everything to stay home and care for us. The cost to keep us somewhat medically stable and lack of income has totally devastated us. We lost the home that we owned and any belongings of value to survive. And, we got by for awhile, but now we are being evicted. Initially, we thought we had our car to survive with, but now that’s going too.

Before all of these medical problems, we were doing really well. Ironically, We have even gifted our own cars to people who needed one in the past. Since then we have really lost everything in the need of survival. And, worse of all I can see all of my husbands spirit leaving him more and more everyday.
If you can help in any way, it’d be a great miracle. Our last hope really.
Thank you for your consideration.
Karen

I included an article that was published about us. If you could read it, that’d be great.
Thank you again

My Motivation and Inspiration

I hang on to life for my special needs daughter and my husband.

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