I am highly concerned about the dependability of my wife’s car, which is in desperate need of replacement. It doesn't just look bad, it constantly is breaking down. It has been overheating lately and has left her stranded several times over the past few weeks. She is a breast cancer survivor and relies on her car for transportation to work and to the Doctor's office. Therefore, a "loss of use" would have a devastating effect on our family's well being.
Even though I was born with Cerebral Palsy, I never allowed my disability to get in the way of my responsibilities as primary provider of my family of 6. However, that all changed when I lost my job in 2008. Disappointingly, I haven't had any potential job leads in several months and my unemployment benefits have expired. Since money is extremely tight, we strive to live on a strict budget but still struggle to pay our bills as well as purchase a sufficient supply of groceries for the household. Even though my wife has undergone a double mastectomy for breast cancer, she still manages to hold a full-time, minimum wage job to help support our family. During the summer, I mowed lawns regularly to supplement our income while I continue to look for a job. Neither of us enjoys asking for help, but when we recently fell behind on our mortgage, utility and water bill, etc. we had no choice but to go to our church for financial assistance to help us get caught up.
In addition to my job loss and my wife's breast cancer, our oldest daughter was stricken with an undiagnosed illness earlier this year and has been hospitalized several times over the past few months. She is currently undergoing a series of tests after being rushed to the hospital in late June when she fainted for no apparent reason and started having convulsions. Our youngest son has recently been released from the hospital after battling a serious infection in his foot from a motorcycle accident. Since I also lost my health insurance when I lost my job, we have incurred additional medical expenses that we had not anticipated. What's more, our oldest son, who had been living out on his own was forced to move back home recently after losing his job as well, since he could no longer afford to pay rent on his apartment. Needless to say, we are experiencing financial hardship.
If anyone who reads this posting has a used car that they would be willing to donate to my wife, it would be greatly appreciated as well as help keep her safe as we get through the financial crunch of my job loss. Please understand that I have attempted to contact other resources for help, such as United Way, etc., with no luck and I feel as if I’m running out of options.
God bless you all and thanks for any help you can offer us.
