From Frying Pan to Open Flame

 

 

2015 was a fairly calm year as far as medical visits go. 

I followed up with the Cancer Clinic for about 6 months, seeing mostly the Physician Assistant and the new Gyn/Onc that replaced my doc.  

At the 6 month mark, they told me to not come back. They were confident they had got all the bad cells when they did my surgery. 

The copay bills from surgery started coming in, and my rent continued to increase dramatically. 

I filed for Disability in an effort to help pay the bills. When I filed, I had seven diagnoses that should have qualified me for assistance.  In the meantime, I was living off of my 401K and the small amount of money my blog was bringing in. (Each time anyone clicks on one of the ads, I make a few cents… when I reach a threshold amount, Google pays me) 

By 2017, I had been denied disability three times and I was down to only a month’s worth of funds to survive where I was at. 

A cousin agreed to let me come live with her in Colorado. She had a house to herself as onsite manager of a Storage Unit location.  I would be her Saturday worker and fill in when she needed to take time off.

So at the end of January 2017, I packed up my belongings the best that I could. I could only afford to send 2 large boxes ahead - containing my ‘must haves’ and packed a large suitcase and a smaller carry on with the rest of my ‘must haves’. 

Another cousin allowed me to store a few of my other important things in her shed. My boyfriend told me he would put the things he wanted in his storage.

On Feb 1, 2017, I flew to Denver to start fresh again.  An email from my apartment manager informed me that I lost my security deposit because when the now former boyfriend left, he left EVERYTHING behind, and the apartment was in complete disarray. 

Things went okay in Denver. My cousin was a bit of a control freak. She informed me that if I needed to go to a doctor, I would have to find my own way. If I needed help getting set up on Colorado’s Medicaid, she was not going to offer any help there either. I was told I was to spend the majority of my time in my bedroom with the door shut. But she also wanted me to clean her kitchen floors. I tried to explain to her that it would be difficult to do when I’m locked in my bedroom at all times. 

In October 2017, my cousin informed me she was moving back to Idaho and I was not invited to move with her. Not that I would have wanted to live with her. The few months I spent with her was more than enough.  Because she was the manager, this made it so I needed to find another place to live and I would also need to find another job. 

Oregon’s Housing waiting list was 4 to 5 years out.

Colorado’s Housing waiting list was 3 to 4 years out.

Utah’s list was so long, they closed it to new applicants.

Idaho had a waiting list, but they could not say how long it was. 

Finally, I found a location in South Eastern Idaho that did their own funding for housing based on income. I called them. They had seven different locations for me to apply. One by one, they each called me to inform me they did not have anything available.  Finally, with 2 weeks left before I was looking at being homeless, location number seven gave me a call.

I answered the phone, and said, ‘Please tell me you aren’t calling to say you don’t have anything for me’

The manager replied, ‘Actually, I was calling to say I have an apartment available. Can you come in tomorrow to do paperwork?’

I explained my situation - that I was currently in Colorado, but if she would be willing to email the paperwork to me, I would complete it and fax it back right away. 

Paperwork completed and I was accepted into housing in Blackfoot Idaho.  My cousin agreed to ride with her to Idaho. She would drop me off and continue her move to the other side of the state. 

On Dec 18, 2017 I moved into my new place in Blackfoot. I had a mattress, a bed frame, and a small round kitchen table with 4 broken kitchen chairs. I also had a busted office chair, a love seat, my desktop computer and my clothes.  Talk about minimal living.

My brother sent me some funds and a friend that I had known decades prior took me to Walmart where I could purchase a blanket for my bed, a microwave, and some plates and flatware.  My brother very generously told me to put together a list of other needs and he would place an order to have them shipped to me. 

Until next time…