Our life was wonderful. I grew up poor, but happy with my mother and two sisters in a small town.  We lived in a small house and ate a lot of macaroni & cheese (I still love it, but try to avoid it).  She never received child support and it was so hard for her.  I began working when I was 14 at a local grocery store.  I bought my own clothes and school supplies and saved enough for a car when I was 16.  I found a wonderful job and worked there for 23 years until I came down with Multiple Sclerosis 2-1/2 years ago.  I was paralyzed from the waist down for 8 weeks and had a long recovery until I could walk again.  I now have constant severe pain especially on my left side and terrible short-term memory loss, I was not able to continue as I had for so many years. 

Most of my duties were distributed to others which didn't help the clinical depression that MS brings. I was allowed to work from home for a year and a half on various reports until it was clear I could not physically and mentally do the job they deserved.  It was then time for me to go off on permanent disability.  I have always been such a hard and reliable worker and efficient multi-tasker. It was such a shock to my system to only be able to take pills, try to walk with my cane and just get up out of bed. I loved my job and miss it so much. My life completely changed, from going strong and being carefree to doing nothing except live in pain and worry about just feeding my daughter a decent meal.  I've always made plenty of money to buy the things we wanted and needed to live.  I feel horrible that I can't any longer.

I've been divorced for 8 years and am a single mother of beautiful teenage girl.  I don't receive child support because her father is no longer working.  My ex lived in the house we had purchased.  I moved into an apartment with my daughter and went into debt paying the house payments, my car and his truck payments and my apartment payments until the house sold 9 months later.  My name was on his truck and house which he couldn't afford to pay and I wanted to keep my credit in good standing. I struggled so hard to pay for necessities while living in my apartment by using several credit cards.  The debt really piled up.  It took several years, but I was able to pay off my bills.  Due to late payments and being over-extended, my credit is in the toilet now. 

We lived in the apartment for several years.  The payment on the apartment jumped up $400 a month which I could no longer do.  I found I was able to purchase us a nice little brick home in a terrific school district 3 years ago (before the MS), by cashing in my 401K.  The payment was the same as my apartment was before the rent jumped.  I was lucky to get a Freddie Mac loan for the house.  My medical bills for the last two years were outragously high.  But while I was working, I managed.

Now I'm on Social Security Disability, with no savings, no 401K, and do not have enough money to pay school fees, lunches and decent food for my daughter and I. Unfortunately, with the mortgage payment, super high utility bills, medical costs, high cost of food and gas, I am no longer able to manage. 

I recently tried to borrow just enough money to supplement my disability check, but have been turned down.  Even though I would love to work, I know I cannot keep a job because of the cognitive, memory, pain and fatigue. I feel helpless.

My daughter is a wonderful 13 year old that does not complain because we don't have the money for her to enjoy herself or have nice clothes. This is something, as a family, have learned to cope with.  I praise her for being so understanding, but it depresses me that I'm no longer able to provide for my daughter at least with the basic necessities.  I would love to buy good food and decent clothes from a discount department store, rather than the local Christian thrift shop.  But, I am grateful when I can at least buy her a few clothes or books from the thrift shop from time to time. 

My daughter never complains when we have peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and green beans for dinner several nights in a row.  I'd buy Mac & Cheese, but the cost of Milk is outrageous.  She is such a good girl and doesn't complain, but I can see it on her face and hear it in her voice when her friends are wearing a cute new shirt or can go to various local events.  She compliments her friends and shrugs it off as no big deal to me, but I can tell she's hurting inside.  I feel like a horrible mother as things were fine until 2-1/2 years ago and then suddenly lost our great way of life.

I am so grateful to have Disability income.  Unfortunately, I am heat sensitive and cannot let my internal temperature drop too far or I will have a relapse and won't be able to walk, think or do much of anything.  The air conditioner is on all the time from April to November (it is so hot where I live) and my electric bill has skyrocketed. 

I know some day I will need to let the house go to foreclosure and try to find something really cheap.  I tried to apply for Food Stamps but was turned down because I was a homebuyer.  Some day, I would like to move to Arkansas or Oklahoma where I grew up, where it's much cheaper than Texas and has green mountains and has cooler weather in the fall and winter which would be much for my symptoms. 

I have always been strong and have never asked for help, but now I am desperately needing just a little extra money to go towards necessities.  I've been getting more and more depressed as the money quickly goes towards housing and utilities but not enough leftover for food.  I keep my sadness from my daughter as much as possible, but sometimes creeps out.  It brings back memories of my own mother crying softly in her bedroom.  I was too young to really understand the heaviness she carried in her heart.  Now I know.  She passed away a month before the Multiple Sclerosis struck me.  I'm so glad she never saw me like this, but I sure miss her.

Please help me and my wonderful daughter.  Any amount you can give will be greatly appreciated and will go towards food and making ends meet.