This is going to suck to write.
I'm usually an optimistic person, I need to be. It's the only way I get by.
People call me "tough". I'm not tough, I'm adaptable. I can get used to the "new normal" very quickly. This means I can accept what other people consider hardship without thinking about it too much, as long as I don't compare to other people. This leads to what Chris refers to as "minimizing." It's how I stay somewhat functional.
So this is me, laying it bare.
We're behind on health insurance premiums for Chris.
Chris needs his meds refilled.
I need my antidepressants refilled, and need to make it to the doctor.
We're behind on electric.
We're past due on internet.
I got the minimum amount of heating oil last time, so at some point we will need that.
Cell phones are due soon.
My cell phone is dying.
Chris's laptop is dying.
Chris has very few clothes.
I have very few clothes.
We're getting low on groceries.
We've been low on household goods ever since we left Florida. We have a total of 6 dinner plates.
We don't have much furniture, though at least we have beds for everyone.
We haven't paid the second half of rent for May, and June is coming up.
Stupid car rental company charged us twice what they should have, the rental car is gone, and they think I still owe more.
We have no transportation, and the closest bus stop is 2 1/2 miles away, and won't get Chris to his doctors.
And here's the big one:
Unless we have transportation to take advantage of cancellations, Chris can't get to the doctor for additional testing and radiation before August 9th, and the remaining cancer is growing.
That's just the financial considerations.
Every day I force myself out of bed, feed 5 different bellies, keep the boy from killing himself, make sure Chris has stuff to drink, keep working on potty training the boy, feed everybody again, put the boy down for his nap/ quiet time, think that this is the day that I will attack the disaster that is the house and clean it properly, and instead become an inert pile of exhausted depression.
Then I get up, make dinner, feed people, get the boy cleaned and ready for bed, get the boy in bed, make sure Chris has everything he needs, and collapse again.
I've got a box of hair dye I picked up in January. I've been too exhausted and depressed to use it since then.
Where is Chris in this? Bed bound, between healing, pain, lymphedema, and mobility issues.
I'm doing everything by myself, in the midst of the worst depression I've ever experienced, and I am just exhausted.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. We moved up here before we knew the cancer was back, with the promise of family support. Well, half of the family support disappeared, and the other half is struggling with their own health issues that are incompatible with helping. That was before the cancer.
Before the cancer we also had two different people coming up to help; due to reasons outside of everyone's control, that didn't happen either.
There are 3 bright spots in all of this: we're near some of the best doctors in the world, we really lucked out in our house (in that it's got an in-law apartment, so at least Chris has somewhere to be separate from the family during radiation) with great landlords, and thanks to the kindness of some friends the boy has plenty of clothes and toys and is healthy.
I'm just so tired, and August is a long time to wait to go forward, and we have no idea how much worse Chris will get in this time.
In the meantime we've been working other angles, possible jobs, possible loans, and everything has either been delayed or fallen through.
Without transportation I can't work, I can't put the boy in daycare, and we can't get Chris to the docs when a cancellation opens up.
We're pretty much fucked at this moment, and I feel helpless and like my hands are tied. All for lack of a car and lack of income.
Like I said, I'm an optimistic and adaptable person, and I'm pushed to my limit.
It's much harder and more expensive to survive cancer than it is to die from it. I don't want my husband to die from it just because we seem to have the worst fucking luck in the world, no matter what we do.
I'm going to keep getting up, and keep trying, and keep working angles, and keep watching my husband be in pain and get worse every day, and keep raising our son mostly by myself, and keep doing what needs to be done, but it gets harder every day. I'll never give up, but damn if it doesn't seem much easier.
All for lack of a car, and lack of income.
So as much as I hate it and I was hoping to avoid it (like I said, I've been working angles, they just haven't worked out) I have to ask y'all for help, again.
Please help if you can.
I've still got a GoFundMe up and running, and PayPal to chris@chrisbyrne.com always works.
Thanks all,
Mel
