Many of you know me from the Pootie Diaries or from New Day Cafe or just around The Great Orange Satan, lo these many years.
It has become a tag line for me: Come for the Politics; Stay for the Community.
Not only is it a tag line, it’s the Truth! We at Daily Kos are a community in all the same ways “real world communities” are. Only we are not an accidental community. Imagine! We do this on purpose!
One of our own, userexists, needs our help.
Back in happier times :)
She has already accomplished so much on her own, but this is where we can make a big difference in her ability to live independently, with dignity.
Isn’t that what we all deserve?
userexists has been a member here since June 30 2015….a good many years. She belongs to many of the Community groups, but The Peeps are “home” to lots of us!
The following part is directly from userexists to explain her situation. I’m including photos, because...well, of course I am!!
As many (most?) of you know, I had gotten assigned an administrative law judge ranked 8th worst in the United States. Faced at that time with the statistical certainty of being denied disability, I withdrew my claim, thus preserving the possibility of re-applying. Which I will be doing next month.
A few things have changed since my first application: I now have a doctor's diagnosis of Long Covid (on top of the Hashimoto's, fibromyalgia, and the usual osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and disc degeneration...) along with an affidavit from him - plus Long Covid has finally been recognized as a disabling illness by the SSA. (For how long is anyone's guess.) So there's good reason to hope my application will be approved this time.
Luckily, I do still have one additional ace up my sleeve (at least I truly, truly hope so!) and that's that I can write. Or at least I used to. The creative writing broke quite a few years ago as the result of a TIA - but (of all the silver linings!) my outstanding Long Covid doctor came to that specialty via many, many years of dealing with traumatic brain injuries - so I've really been getting a twofer! And the ability for "creative concentration" has slowly been making a resurrection.
This isn't as much a pipedream as it may seem - I had actually made more money in a year as a writer than I have anything else. My third (and final) year as a published author I made 38k. The most I've made at anything else was low to mid 20s.
So I desperately want the time and space to roll up my sleeves and really concentrate on getting that back, and rebuilding what was the start to an immensely promising career. Frankly, it's the only pony left in my bag of tricks, to badly mangle a metaphor!
So I am asking for a bit of long-term help in addition to the three "acute" needs ($2000 for hybrid battery, $485 for final -YAY!!! - dental surgery, and $500 for my car insurance which is almost overdue), to give me time to reapply for disability and focus in on rebuilding my writing chops.
The wonderful thing about Wheeliehouse is that my finances really are chiseled down to bare bones: my basic expenses are about $670 a month (I do get SNAP benefits, too). That includes vehicle insurance, taxes, phone bill, pet food and supplies, annual rabies shots, gas, etc. It doesn't include things like clothes (I have plenty of clothes, even if they're worn!) or emergencies, but hey :-)
So in other words, every $670 beyond the $3000 needed to cover acute needs 'buys' me another month to keep rebuilding my health and see if I can rebuild a writing career. And while I can't vaguely imagine the SSA would actually have an answer to a re-filed disability application that fast, it's not totally impossible. At least it'd be filed and in process, and this time I have both an official long Covid diagnosis and an affidavit.
Thank you so very much!!!
Her home isn’t just HER home….there are furry beloveds who also share her heart.
So there you have it! userexists is doing everything she can to keep herself boing, but she does need our help….until she can get her disability.
So the current total to get her safely through the next month is $3670, and every $670 after that gets her through another month until her SS is awarded and (fingers crossed) her writing starts paying again. So can we get her safely through the next four months at $2680 for a total of $6360.
Now for the (al)most important info:
Okay, gofundme link: https://gofund.me/15322ece
Also paypal (always preferable! No fees...): userexists11(at)gmail(dot)com
Please help if you can. No matter what goes on “out there,” we are all a Community in the finest senses. Many thanks to all of you who can help, no matter how little...it all helps!
Thank you!!
Shadow appreciates all you do for fellow Kossacks!