Hello,I am genuinely and urgently seeking help to fix my teeth, please. I am a man who was born and raised in Montana, grew up on a large ranch. I went through cardiac arrest,dialysis for acute renal failure, diabetes, and moreover a horrific ........ assault. I am a christian and I have no family to turn to. Most of my teeth are broken off at the gums. I cry when I have flashbacks of traumas I have survived. Please help me smile again and not hurt.

Hello, So sorry to hear about all you've been through and what you continue to endure ... I can relate to your situation and emotions around your ongoing circumstances both physically and financially, and it's certainly no walk in the park. I wish there was an easy answer, not to mention more solutions provided here, but unfortunately most everyone on this site are struggling to survive. There are a few occassional exceptions, but they are few and far between, and only seem to be lessing with time and with the increase of scamming activity .. which is truly disheartening considering there are many people who desperately need help, are good and honest people. I am not sure where to refer you for assistance with medical related issues aside from the typical places like Medicaid and Medicare ... and obviously, as you know, those programs are seeing some serious cuts in funding and services. I assume you receive SSDI? And therefore Medicare? Do you also receive Medicaid to supplement Medicare? Have you spoken with your doctor and the medical clinic/hopsital and system you go to about financial assistance? Typically you can apply and qualify for assistance on a sliding scale fee if you fall into the income guidelines. Also, have you contacted the companies which provide the various services to see if they provide said services and products, etc., at low or no cost? For example, a patient can receive free (expensive) drugs from the drug company if their income fits the guidelines, and from what you've shared I would certainly think you would qualify. There are also some docs and hospitals and medical companies which offer pro-bono, but you have to pursue them, be persistent and continue moving up the chain with every "no" you may get as a result of your requests. Not easy nor fun, especially when you already feel so miserable and exhausted, but sadly, a part of jumping thru the hoops in our messed up system. I have included a link to financial assistance ideas and resources, and while most probably won't be helpful for your situation, I am thinking that a few may offer a place to start in order to bring you to real assistance. I do apologize if I am being repeativitive with things you already know or have tried, but I wanted to cover the bases, and since I've not communicated with you before, I am not sure of all you've done and your entire situation. I, too, am in an icky situation regarding getting assistance for my medical/health needs, so if nothing else, I can certainly relate and be a sounding board and support if you so desire. I need intravenous medication each month for my auto immune diseases (which are also connected to, and affect my spine condition) and the cost is beyond outrageous: $2600 for a month supply. It took over 4 years to get my auto immune diagnoses, and now, with the cost issue, I still have yet to start the new drug regime, which was supposed to begin in April. It's beyond frustrating, as I have been pretty sick for some time and the longer it goes unchecked and untreated the more permanent and scary damage results ... damage which could eventually kill me, and on another note, is affecting my spine condition and creating additional problems. I certainly understand not wanting to settle, as we all deserve to get the best help and be healthy and have a decent life, period, no matter our financial circumstance. Frankly I don't know how people who even make a good living can afford this stuff, ... I guess that's why so many people have to file for bankruptcy as a result of severe chronic health problems/disability/illness. I really hope something does fall into place for you, as you deserve to have your life back, and in every sense of the word ... chronic health issues don't only steal our "health" - so to speak - but they affect nearly every, if not all, aspects of our lives, ... we feel robbed of both our lives and body, tremendous loss for so many things (relationships - for lack of understanding - careers, family, future plans, etc), we are devastated financially and emotionally, .. we are left in a position which is really not "living," but much more so, simply "surviving" ... and as you know, that's just the tip of the iceberg. I haven't been able to work in over 5 years and it's been really hard to deal with, ... so much feels wasted, and I am so angry about it, yet who do you direct that anger at, you know. I know there is some greater purpose, direction, not to mention many many lessons that I am supposed to take and use right now and in the future .. and some days I am at peace with it and feel positive, then other days, not so much. Well, enough of my babbling on .. I am sorry if I bored you. Besides the link to ideas for financial assistance (I am thinking if you could get help with others things like rent, utilities, etc., that you would then have more money left to direct towards your medical needs, at least that's my train of thought with the first link - also, a few places may have resource, or at least ideas, and some direction for additional medical related assistance, which is less easy to find at first .. one thing often leads to another once you're asking the questions, sharing your story and in the systems), the second is a general and basic directory of member's here whom all have a wealth of resource info and links on their pages, and lastly, another site which seems to be a hit or miss, but I think is most definitely worth a look and try for anyone in need. Oh, and I will also include a link to one of my blogspot pages, which is about chronic illness and disability journey and related subject matter .. it's always nice to know that someone else struggles with similar things, can truly relate, has no judgement, but does have compassion and empathy, at least that's always been my feeling. Those who don't struggle like this, they simply don't get it, and never will unless they too find themselves in a similar pair of shoes. Again, if you want to talk or anything, please feel free to message me anytime. I would love to hear more, and I would be happy to try and brain storm ideas with you ... I would really suggest applying for financial assistance within your various medical systems and doc offices if you haven't already, or recently. Keep pounding down those doors, as eventually, we become to loud and irritating not to listen to! :) I'd be really interested to hear your disability status with the type, and if you get Medicare or can apply, etc., as well. Of course, if you're not comfortable with sharing your info and stories with me, I completely understand that too, so no worries either way. Okay, sooo, here are the various links (on the first page link, do take a look at both of the sites for 211.org and modestneeds.org., all the info is there for you to see, and my other page on blogspot regarding financial assistance - like the one here - has more info and resource links) ...

With all that said, I hope this message finds you in a little less pain and with some hope on the horizon. I wish I could do more, or provide some easy, quick and wonderful solutions. Maybe something in this message will be of help to you, maybe not, but do know that if you need a friend or someone just to hear you, I am here pretty much every day. You deserve good things. Please continue fighting to get your life back, ... stay as positive as possible (I know, not so easy) and be persistent, but also try to take good care of yourself and always listen to your body. Things will fall into place, maybe just not in the way you would anticipate. Well, I've talked your ear off .. and will say goodbye for now. Blessings to you, Cat

Aidpage Link: 

The basics for getting help ... where to begin searching and applying for financial assistance 

Additional Related Link (May provide a bit more info & direction): 

Basics for Getting Financial Assistance

Advocating for Health (My blog about chronic illness/disability):

Advocating for Health Blog

Directory Link for Member's Here (whom may have some helpful resources to pursue): 

Directory for Members/Pages which list links for Financial Assistance/Resources on Aidpage

Lastly, the Link which is worth giving a shot!: I'm Giving Away Free Money :)

my name is Diane, I was born March 2, 1959;on July 5th 2006 after having angina for a week i was told after visiting the ER that i needed a triple bi-pass; on February 10, 2007 i was in the hospital again and for angina again, apparently one of the arteries never bloomed or opened up, so the other two were doing all the work for the heart, after living with the angina which flared more so during my daily walks my cardiologist suggested i get a stint placed, he said it would take care of the angina; against my better judgment i agreed and on September 30-2009 the angioplasty was done and i was put on Plavix; not only did it not take care of the angina but two days later on October 2, 2009 i had a massive hemorrhagic brain bleed a stroke. I was in an induced coma for two weeks, and when i woke up i was devastated to say the least my entire life turned upside down and I’d just been hired for a new job a week prior to the stroke i was even at work when it happened. After the long term care facility released me the end of October 2010 I’ve been doing a lot of research to find out where i can turn to for financial assistance for medical procedures, treatments , etc. like stem cell or http://www.bioness.com/Home.php
The products at the link above, to help me walk and use my arm; I wouldn't be so desperate but I’m too young to not be working; my father is 75 and still works a full time job. I'm positive that the job i was working when i had my stroke would hire me back if i wasn't partially disabled, I'd worked for the Manager at a different company in 2005. I just want my life back to go back to work to walk on my own, i don't want to have my family take care of me I’m only 52, I have a good 10 + years to work; the state’s Medicaid and all the USAs were cut so i can't even get the items at bioness which are about $15.00, 000, my savings are gone and who’s going to give someone a loan that doesn't have a job? I don't want to settle, I want to get better be independent again.

I sure hope and pray you can truly help I'd be eternally grateful.


Respectfully yours,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Celebrate The Miracle

Of all that makes you YOU.
Count a blessing for each candle
Have your cake and eat it too!

Unwrap this day and savor it
And all the love that's there
Send a dream-wish straight to
Heaven on the wings of prayer

Remember what a blessing you are
Even after this day is gone.
You're a gem, a priceless treasure
Let yourself shine on!

A little about me...well...

My life has NEVER been easy but I have ALWAYS found away to see the brighter side to life. I had to grow up quick because I didnt have a happy home life as a young child.My mom was a single mom who struggeled to raise us & she made many mistakes along the way, but we all survived.I had to be "Mom" to my younger sibblings & cook & clean when I was 5years old because many times my mom couldnt afford a sitter & she worked 2 jobs plus went to school.Well I wont go into my childhood to much as that is a part of my life my brain has learned to block out.

My whole life I have been discriminated against.When I was 16 I moved away from home & lived with a friend whom already graduated & was married.Her & her husband adopted me,her parents gave me a job,I did my best to keep my grades as good as I could.(Its hard to do when the teachers would sabatoge my work or grade me poorly,because they didn't like me.)I was diagnosied with stage 2 cervical cancer & was told I couldnt have kids & that it be a miricale if I did because I have 80%chance of miscarrage in the first trimester 15% chance to carry a child to second trimester then misscarry.Then 3months before my 17th Birthday the state stepped in & took me & placed me in my grandparents custody,because the school LIED & said I wasn't showing to school.I stuck it out until I was 17, then I quit school 2days after my 17th birthday, because life was just to hard being a minority.I had no interest in what the schools were teaching me,because I was bullied & picked on by Teachers, the Super intendenant, the Principal, and even the school Cop.I didn't have many friends in school because I usually just kept to myself.Well after quitting school I started getting my GED, but the teacher there started to treat me like I was invisible so I quit that. I turned 18 & moved in with a boyfriend & had an instant family.Well that summer my youngest instant child passed away.Shortly after that boyfriend & I split up. I got a job and became a workaholic as a way to deal with the hurt. I turned to drinking as a way to forget the pain,but slowly that was throwing me into a deppression.My 19th birthday God had me arressted for underage drinking,this opened my eyes to see there was more to life. I got hurt at work 2 months later and was told by doctors I couldnt work any more,until my health was taken care of.I lost my home 2months after loosing my job & moved in with the guy who soon would father my child. Things were great,we both seemed happy,he got me to go back to school(which he did push me to keep up with my studies & I finally graduated June2010),then I found out I was pregnant January 2009 and I was already 3months along...He wanted nothing to do with the idea of being a father,I was Happy,but slowly became deppressed because he wouldnt enjoy my happiness with me.Well then we moved because the place we were in wasnt safe for a child,so we got a nicer bigger place.Then I gave birth to my child,life was swell...then problems started.We started argueing all the time,He played head games where he would twist my words and make everything my fault.HE started treating my child like crap.There was no love when He would come home from work he would push our child aside grab some food & go to his friends.Then one day he decided to pretend to be a father and took my child outside to play.Then my child endured 2nd degree burns from him.He took my phone from me & refused to allow me to take my child to the hospital he made me treat the burns with aloe and bandaides. It was the next day while he was at work I was able to get my child out of the house to some place safe. my child out of the house dgWe split up shortly after which was about a week before my childs first birthday ONLY to get back together so that no one would know any better at my childs birthday party.Two weeks later he moved out again,this was the beginning to my downward spiral to rock bottom. I applied for foodstamps,cash assistance,HUD, I did everything I could think of to try to keep from becomming homeless,I knew I had 2weeks before I would become Homeless.I would call daily and still do this day I have no help.I became homeless.I finally soaked up my Pride & went to a shelter,just to be tossed from one shelter to another.Then I was offered a temporary home by a lady who works at a shelter I was at.I receantly lost my home to a flood.I am still trying to get help but still no luck,every place I try is the same "No funding". I am thankfull I found Aidpage,I have met a few VERY kind friends.Please read my blogs for a little more about me as well as for Helpfull Information that can Help you & me make money by helping each other.I have found that keeping faith in God helps to get thru the hard times.I'm thankfull I have a great friend who helps me to remember to keep faith.

Well that is a little about me in a quick summary.I have many health problems both phsyical and mental,but I have faith God put me here for a reason so I will get thru these problems. I am a single mother of a 15month old & we survived a life of domestic violance. I am a good listener, a horrible speller, but if you need someone to listen I am willing.I have been thru so much in my short life,that I am very wise for my years and I have been told I can offer good advice & I am pretty knowledgable.I am Native American, I am a survivor of Domestic Violance, a survivor of Childhood abuse, and I am a single mother.If anyone needs a friend I'm just a private message away.

Hello and you have a cute family there. I hope you can find replacement furniture and read about bed bugs so you don't get any in your furniture. They are horrible to get rid of and showing up even in this state of CA.

I see you are in need of furniture and see this furniture bank locator for the one nearest to you

CLICK HERE

See below for freecycle.org and then check into craigslist.org for free furniture too.

http://christmas-information-here.starshine1.aidpage.com/

You might be able to get assistance from one of the sites mentioned below and all you have to do is apply.

http://help-with-rent-security-deposit-utility-bills.starshine1.aidpage.com/

Hope this helps you

Wishing you the best

Starshine

hi i just want to thank god 4 another day. me being a single mother of 3. 2 girls n 1 boy.im n austin texas by my self really no friends. been in austin 3 years now. just recently moved. i had to throw all my furnitures away because my apt. was infested with bed bugs. so my kids n i sleep on one blow up bed. if anyone out there that truly a godly person can help with anything i truly would appreciate it in thank God 4 it. GOD BLESS AMERICA

Buffalo State College, Breaking the Silence. I brought some musician friends to perform and encouraged see something SAY something.

Wow thank you so much for such kind words.  I'm sorry I am just responding but I've been working very hard on getting my support site up and running.  If you need a shoulder or someone to vent to I'm here.  I've been through a lot and just when you feel like you can't take anymore you push yourself a little harder.  You WILL MAKE IT!  I know you will and if I can have faith in you then you certainly should have faith in yourself.  Please let me know how things are going for you.  Also, check out www.ecigchic.com if you get a chance.  It's my own personal site I've put together which is sort of a support place for anyone in difficult times.  It's almost done so please bare with the construction.  Please pass the site on to your family and friends as I really want to make it a place for women to just be themselves without judgement or negitivity.

Thanks,
Christina

The following is an article I wrote that was published on a small new site owned by my friend. I am positing it now because it will show people that despite the pain, the doubt, the fear and the finincial disaster that cancer can cuase there is still hope and inspiration in every story. We may not make it through this month financially, but I will never stop seeing the miracle in my daughter.There is much MUCH more to her story, though it would take more than one post to tell it.

In September 2007 my wife and I walked through the doors at St Joseph's hospital in Phoenix Arizona with trepidation. We were about to learn the results of tests done on a mass that was discovered in my daughter Jennifer's Chest and back while trying to determine why pneumonia treatments were ineffective .

What we were about to find out was the end game of a 4 day trial filled with a fear unlike anything we had ever known. 

Jennifer was 17 years old at the time and had been suffering with s strain of HPV which had manifested in her throat. No one has ever been able to tell us how she contracted the disease, but we do know that she was infected shortly after birth. The combination of treatments, surgery and scar tissue control destroyed her vocal chords and airway, ultimately doing enough damage that she ended up with a tracheal bypass at the age of 3 and lived with it for the next 13 years. The day she tube came out still stands as one of the most joyful of our lives.

I vividly remember walking out of the doctors office in dead silence. As much as she hated that tube and the limits it put on her life the simple truth was that it had been her lifeline for as long as she could remember. There was a strange sense of tension between us as we settled in the car and prepared to head home. I looked back at her and smiled, she smiled back and as if on queue she and her mother burst into tears. It was the ultimate expression of conflicting emotions, tears flowing over a smiling face, and I will remember the sense of hope and optimism we had that day.

Little did we know that less than a year later we would be making that walk into the hospital, and in the end walking into a new life.

We had an idea what we were about to be told. Realistically it could only be one thing, though we did our best to come up with alternative theories. In our minds we could not accept that a young girl who had gone through so much would have to endure an even harder and more devastating walk. God would not, could not allow such an unfair thing. So we naturally refused to accept the reality and substituted various of our own.

When we met with the doctor, a pediatric oncologist, he was blunt, so blunt that at the time I hated him for his seemingly heartless cruelty. He told us that Jennifer had a strain of cancer called Squamous cell Carcinoma and that it was malignant. We had more, even worse news coming, but our initial reaction was that we were the butt of a joke. My wife, who, either through shock or refusal to accept what she had just heard, misunderstood the meaning of the word malignant, and expressed this by placing her hand on her heart and thanking god. The oncologist, again in a blunt and cruel manner, told her that malignant was not a good thing.

I myself did all I could to get him to change his mind or admit that he was lying to us for some reason. In the end though we had no choice but to accept what we had just heard. We went outside and cried.

Over the next few days the news continued to get worse. Scans had shown that the cancer had done serious damage in its growth. Two ribs had been utterly destroyed on her right side, and one rib showed massive damage though it was still there. Three vertebra in her center back had been severely damaged to one degree or another and her lung was showing damage as well. The cancer had invaded her spinal column and was pushing against her spinal chord. Each report sent us further and further into despair, and while no one ever came out and said it we were convinced we were spending our last days with our daughter.

The doctors and nurses did little to help that feeling, though they did their best to stay positive. Jenny was fitted with a body brace that she would be forced to wear anytime she went into public. Treatments began at once and in an aggressive manner. Initially it was standard radiation treatments followed by cyberknife and chemo. Surgery was out of the question because the tumor was too close to her heart, lungs, and was wrapped around her spine. There was a sense of urgency, but no palpable sense of hope. The wait began, and while it was never characterized as a death watch there were times when it did take on that feeling.

The following months were strange. We had decided that we would not show despair or hopelessness in the face of this thing. When Jennifer was still in the hospital we instituted a new rule for our family that stated essentially, if you can not say it with laughter then do not say it. Obviously that is not always possible, but we did our best and it served us well. The darkness was always there, just under the surface but for the most part, in the beginning, the light never vanished.

It has been nearly three years since the journey started and I am happy to say that Jennifer is still with us and stronger than she has been in a very long time. Though not in traditional remission the cancer is not as active as it once was. She just finished her second round of chemo last month, and though there have been a few setbacks overall she is doing better than anyone ever expected. The aggressive treatments paid dividends early on when the cancerous fingers that had invaded her spinal chord pulled back and a majority of the overall mass liquified. There is healthy growth in her lung tissue and beyond all reason the bone damage seems to be repairing itself. There is still a very long and painful process ahead of us and nothing is set in stone. But as of this writing I am comfortable in stating that my daughter is a functioning cancer survivor.

Jenny's story only begins with what I just related. It is easy for someone who has never known someone with cancer to read about treatments and success and never know the reality behind it all. In Jenny's case, for every scrap of good news there was devastation to match it. After her first round of radiation and chemo the cancer went inactive. Six months later it was back and more aggressive. treatments made her so ill that she dropped under 100 lbs at one point, and mistakes made by nursing staff pushed her to the point of hallucination twice. As time wore on and the life of a cancer patient undergoing treatment began to reveal itself we needed intervention numerous times to prevent Jennifer from taking her own life.

As a family the struggle is different, but just as real. You battle with hope daily, never wanting to lose it but at the same time you try not to indulge it either. Our fear was that we would start to relax and get blindsided, so we strangely tried to find a balance between the optimism of wanting this to be okay and the pessimism of knowing what might happen. What we discovered is that you can not live your life based on a worst case scenario. This lesson manifested itself in two ways. First by nearly destroying our family, next by re-introducing us to God, and last by bringing us to the point of losing it all again because we, in our impatience, abandoned that same God.

You see, I decided to write this article not as a means of depressing people. I wrote it because underneath all the events of the last three years there is a truth that is hard to miss, but easy to ignore in favor of pain and anger. That truth is that miracles are not always what we expect. I am not a good Christian. I have fought with faith for many years, sometimes giving in to what I saw as the control of the spirit, other times slipping back to my agnostic days and despising God for allowing this unfair trial in my life. The upshot is that I missed a miracle that should have lead me to the truth inherent in the human condition. Instead I allowed it to lead me to near ruin.

If you read through the story above there is no doubt that you were thinking that after all that damage to her young body there is no way Jennifer would be able to lead a normal life. You are correct, she goes through things no young person should have to.

The consensus amongst her doctors is that the cancer had been growing in her body for years. In that time, as it destroyed her bone structure, Jennifer was an active and daring kid. She was in extreme dance classes and loved amusement parks and riding in anything fast. She wrestled with her brothers and did all sorts of things that we look back on now and cringe. Obviously not knowing what was growing in her means we could not know the potential damage it was doing, but hindsight can be cruel even if fault can not be laid at your feet.

Despite the damage to her body Jenny has never been in any serious pain as it relates to the cancer itself. After six months of wearing a body brace she got tired of it and refused to put it on anymore, disregarding medical advice and the fear of spinal collapse. In that time she has fallen numerous times and been in one car accident with no obvious impact. She even dances from time to time, swims, lays pool and bowls. She also does some alarming things in relation to her new love, photography, to get images she wants. Things that make me bite my lip in fear.

On top of that is the success of the treatments to this point. No one really thought she would survive this long, to say nothing of walking and doing all the other things she does. The tumor has shrunk in size and shows less activity than ever and she is healing.

Through all of this she has been the one to maintain the family. Upon learning she had cancer her first thoughts expressed fear over how we, her family, would survive her possible death. I for one would not expect a 17 year old child to ignore what such news meant for her in favor of what it meant to everyone else, but she did. This after a lifetime of illness that had just culminated in a slow death sentence. It was astounding.

Since then, with the exception of a few bad days, Jenny has not faltered. Through the financial problems we face to this day, the anger and the sometimes overwhelming desire to give up she has remained the example of strength and hope that we inevitable look to when things are at their worst.

The miracle that God is working within my daughter is not the kind of miracle that we look for every day. We are taught that miracles are good things that come to people in the most unexpected ways. We have a tendency though to see only the end result when a miracle happens and seldom understand that such a thing only happens after walking through darkness. What I have discovered, almost too late, is that gods works can be easy to ignore in that same darkness.

Though his hand has been on her since the beginning sometimes it is difficult to see it through scans and x-rays that are a constant reminder of what is happening to her. It is easy to miss Godliness when one is spending all their time asking how god could allow such a thing to happen. In my case I spent too much time blaming God, and demanding restitution for doing what he did to my life. In that, I missed the truth. I missed Gods message.

Jennifer, by her very existence, is a miracle.

sound like you are during really great.. but for the grace of God.  I will celebrate 16 years clean and sober next month, and would be glad to talk to you if need..first things first.. get yourself out of that situation.. i dont know what state you are in but i imagine they have battered women's shelters that can take you and your children (google this) also if you have someone to care for your kids you can go back in a treatment center (dont have to be usingto do this) at 3 yrs you are still a baby in your recovery so dont take chances with it .. this is a selfish program where if you dont take care of yourself you cant give back to others.  i hope you have a sponsor (you are in the recovery process right?? attending meetings and the whole nine, networking and such) if not,call one of the hhere you are and have hotlines and find yourself a meeting.. Sounds like you not sharing with anyone in the program (hope i wrong) lots of people in recovery have been where you are and can share there experience strength and hope with you.  

If you refuse to let life feed you lemons, join up here. We are all dedicated to the seemingly irrational fact that we are all in this together, by ourselves. We need to be our brother's keepers, and take part in living in the village that raises the idiot. If there is anything I can do/say/give to help somebody looking for a hand-up, (not a hand-out) I certainly will do what I can. That's all anyone can do, and that's all this group asks. This is a good place for polishing one's karma. 

I have been there myself (minus the addiction) & have triumphed as well.  I don't know my father, but my mother was very supportive; however, she lived in AZ & me in Nebraska! Her support was limited to daily collect phone calls from me! LOL

At one point my twins, who were 5 at the time, and myself (very pregnant with my 3rd child) slept in my car.  We went to battered woman shelters to eat dinner & would leave the next day.  I stayed with several friends & even family of their father's until my Section 8 (housing assistance) came through. My children & I moved into our 1st place together with no TV, no car, no phone, no dishes, nothing! We had an air mattress & 2 pillows...but it was the best feeling in the world!  My mother sent me $350 to buy a HORRIBLE rusted out car from a neighbor of a friend!  I've never been so proud of a car in my life! I eventually had my baby, graduated college & am completely off assistance.  I know in rural areas it can be tough but there are programs to help. 

Have you applied for any type of rental/housing assistance or welfare? What about child support?  Don't be afraid to ask for a hand up to get on your feet!  I know in Nebraska if your on welfare & you start work they will give you a voucher for a car!  Welfare To Work/Employment First Program.  While you're a single mother you will qualify for tons of grants/loans for school also.  You can get living expense loans to help out quarterly, etc.  Apply for everything you can get your hands on!!  Get that social work degree girl!!!

I too share that passion with you.  I actually went through it for the past 5 years and It is not easy to come back from.  I am living proof that it can be done. 

I am a single mother and survivor of addiction (3 years sober) and domestic violence (7 years free of my abuser)  I originally came to aid page to ask for help but after reading how many people are worse off than I am Ive decided to use it as motivation to dig myself out of my crisis. I joined last night and already feel as though its helped give me motivation and a sense of accomplishment. I have never put my story into words and after I did I felt so free.  I just wanted to share with other single mothers my struggles and give them hope for a change. Sometimes in life we have to take responsibility for our own lives and fight for the life our children so deserve.  I wish I could offer more than just my advice but like I said I'm in a tough situation myself.  Please check out the post I just put up about my story and how I became sober and broke the cycle of domestic violence.  You can do it, you just have to believe in yourself.  By the way.... Im also open for any suggestions or advice you can help me with :)

GOD BLESS. 

From reading your post, it sounds like you would be a great social worker, which is a field that is in very high demand.  The advantage of that field is you can get your degree from a college online. I'm pretty sure you would qualify for some type of financial aid. My husband and I both work. I was thinking of going back to college (from home) through SUNY to get a degree, and I did qualify for a Pell grant. There's no way you're going to get out unless you learn a skill. Social work. Something to think about. 

I was engaged to a man who was a compulsive liar and with these lies led me far from home. I was stuck. I was scared. I was 6 months pregnant. The difference between you and me is I have a very supportive mother. My mother has always been a godly woman, who has planted that strong seed of faith in me. First, get right with God and then get busy! Take responsibility for you while being grateful to the ones around you that provide a safe haven for your children. Have a good attitude and a lot of gratitude-that will take you far in life. 

My baby's father abandoned 6 months pregnant. I had nothing but the clothes on my back and....my mother. She took us in, and I lived with her until my son was 14 months old. I had a minimum-wage job and was receiving assistance when an opening came up in subsidized housing. Step one--complete. I decided that I was going to remain in this lifestyle if I didn't learn a skill. At the same time, the company I worked for cut my hours to part time.  No way! I said that's it..I'm going to college! I took advantage of the system that I paid into for years and that I would be paying into in the future and quit my job. I entered a local college full time where I learned of a skill I didn't even know I had and a career I didn't know existed, which I am still doing to this day after 13 years. 

It took me 8 months to receive my diploma. I decided to volunteer at the local hospital where I wanted to work and was hired by the word processing department 2 days later. I received a medical arts scholarship, an award for highest typing speed ever at this college and graduated with honors.

You see, I took responsibility for me because if I didn't do this, my child would suffer. I stayed out of relationships that weren't healthy (for example, if they want sex before marriage, not healthy..period). An easy way to let God weed out the bad ones is to tell them you're not available physically---trust me on this one.  As supportive as my mother was, she also told me that I was a single parent now and needed to concentrate on that when I told her I was going to college.  That didn't stop me.  I knew the only way I was going to concentrate on my child was TO GO to school.

Where am I at now? I'm a medical language specialist and work remotely for a company from my home. We are also called medical transcriptionists. I'm in my 13th year and making over $40,000 a year, which is very good income for the area I live in. I have benefits, 401K, paid time off, etc., just like in a real job except I get to do it in my PJs. :)

It was a long road, but it paid off in the end. The main source of my success is having Jesus Christ at the center of it all. You can't do this alone.  You can't. I've been there and done that, and it doesn't work. I've been here these years with Christ, and it works. He brought a wonderful man into my life when my son was 5 years old that thought I was important enough to wait for. We've been married 8 years now and have a son together. My boys will both be 15 and 7 in a few months. 

Sister, it is possible. I know so very well what it feels like to be stuck and feeling hopeless. Become proactive in your own life. Do it for those precious gifts that God gave you.  Please give some serious thought to what I've said.  As hard as it may be considering the stress, honor your parents for giving your babies and you a home...for now. I also took my sister and her two children in last summer when she was living with a guy who had issues. This is the third time I've taken her in, and I was very hard on her the whole time she was here. I pushed her. It forced her to get real, put her kids first, and get moving instead of the la de da attitude she had. She blamed everybody for her problems, took absolutely no responsibility.

Every choice you have made has put you where you are at this very moment, in this situation. Every choice you make from this moment forward will take you in a different direction. I take full responsibility for my poor choices. I also took full responsibility for fixing it, which I did with a vengeance.