Welcome To www.LupusMCTD.com
March 28, 2024, 11:26:13 pm *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Forum Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: London Patient  (Read 2332 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Adminஐﻬ
"Pay It Forward" ஐﻬ
Site Owner
******
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 10407


LupusMCTD Founder ஐﻬ


WWW
« on: April 05, 2007, 09:15:06 am »

From London

Tracey Marty breaks down while calling the Salvation Army to ask for help with rent this month. 'It's humiliating to ask for help when here I am, a working professional,' said Marty.

Tracey Marty feels helpless and alone in the world. It's a familiar feeling. She's felt this way on and off for seven years.

"It's like I'm running from one crisis to the next," said the 39-year-old Leesburg resident. "I feel like a walking National Enquirer."

At times, Marty, a registered nurse who works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital, feels like things are looking up, but life always seems to throw her a curve.

The main problem is her health. She was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, two years ago, and was treated for Lyme disease before that. She said she never feels 100 percent, but she's capable of working long hours as long as she has ample recovery time. She typically works 46 hours in three days, then recovers in bed for two days afterward.

When Marty's lupus flares up, working, much less sitting up straight, is no longer an option. And with no sick leave bank to fall back on, Marty's healthy $1,800 biweekly paycheck takes a major hit, triggering a powerful domino effect that sends her into a panic.

Marty's main motivation to push through tough times is her 8-year-old son, Nicholas. "My whole life is Nicholas. It really is," she said. "He's the best kid ever."

A strong Christian faith has brought Marty and Nicholas great comfort. "We rely a lot on God, and without my faith, I think we would be in serious trouble."

Marty said Nicholas is extremely grounded in his faith. "He's got a lot of compassion. Every night at dinner, he prays, 'Please provide warm and nutritious food for those people who have to eat on benches, stones or rocks.' He knows a greedy heart will get you nowhere."

Recently, Marty thought she was rounding the corner from her seven-year "nightmare," but last week, she was hit hard by the inevitable curveball of life. A serious run-in with her ex-husband created tremendous stress, triggering another lupus flare-up. Unable to move from the couch with a 103-degree fever, Tracey was forced to miss more work. "I was climbing the walls with pain."

Now, she doesn't have enough money to cover rent or bills. Already three months behind on her car payment, Tracey fears the car will be repossessed and she won't be able to get to work. "I have to have a car."

Moreover, she said she's afraid of being evicted from the three-bedroom town house in northeast Leesburg where she and Nicholas live.

If that happened, her ultimate nightmare of having Nicholas taken away from her could come true.

Marty has primary physical custody of Nicholas, but if she lost her home, Nicholas could be sent to live with his father.

"The only thing that would absolutely kill me is loosing Nicholas, and that's always a real possibility."

Late last year, Marty was evicted from her apartment at The Glen at Leesburg when she missed two months of work due to illness. "I lost it. I cried and cried and cried."

With the help of a real estate agent, Tracey just barely qualified to rent her current home at $1,450 a month. Since moving in on Christmas Day, it's been a constant struggle to keep her head above water.

With large monthly bills weighing her down, Tracey said she's not even living paycheck to paycheck because she's always coming up short. "It's basically shifting what can wait," she said, like holding off on the cellphone bill so she can pay the power bill. "There's about $100 to $150 that I struggle with finding every month."

Marty said she does without certain things, like new clothes, so Nicholas doesn't have to. She hasn't had her hair cut since November, but she frequently allows Nicholas to order books of his choice -- a treat for a boy who has an IQ of 154 and spends his time trying to figure out how to combine his passions (religion and science) into a single career.

Marty tries to supplement her income by selling candles and Tupperware on a commission basis. "It's hard to be a salesman and put your best foot forward when you're under tremendous stress," she said.

During Nicholas' spring break from school this week, Tracey plans to work around the clock to make up for lost time. She's scheduled to work 12 hours a day for nine days -- a total of 108 hours in little more than a week.

To make ends meet until her next paycheck in mid-April, Marty has called various churches and services in the county for help. In the past, she's leaned on such organizations as Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter, Salvation Army, Housing in Transition and Loudoun Cares.

"I have gone down the line, and as embarrassing as it is, it's about survival," she said. "Without those services, I would have lost Nicholas."

Looking ahead, Tracey said she wants to set a better example of financial responsibility for Nicholas, and she wants to be able to help send him to college.

"I just want us to be happy and healthy and safe," she said.



www.LupusMCTD.com
http://www.firstgiving.com/LupusMCTD
« Last Edit: April 16, 2007, 05:08:07 pm by Admin » Logged


I look normal, as I have an "Invisible Illness". You can not catch it, you can not see it. It's called Lupus.My body is attacking itself on the inside.
www.LupusMCTD.com Represents:
1) We are patients helping researchers build a future for the lives of others...
2) Where HOPE is a WORK In Progress
3) Pay It Forward~Giving Back To The Future Lupus/MCTD Patients
Pages: 1   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  


© Page Contents, Layout, Graphics and Design All Copyrighted by Credited Artists and are Not Public Domain.



LupusMCTD Founder & Patient
Former Domestic Violence SURVIVOR
Kathy A. Patterson

Author of the Upcoming Memoir Book:
"Fighting From The Inside Out"..
A lupus patient fights the beast within her immune system and the beast at home....

e-Booklet filled with photos and videos of what abuse was, signs to look for,
where to turn to for help, and much more to help others like me...


For more information
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE(7233)



"The Meaning of the Words in the Second Amendment .... "That the people have a right to freedom of speech, and of writing, and publishing their sentiments;"

PRIVACY NOTICE: Warning--any person and/or institution and/or Agent and/or Agency of any governmental structure including but not limited to the United States Federal Government also using or monitoring/using this website or any of its associated websites, you do NOT have my permission to utilize any of my profile information nor any of the content contained herein including, but not limited to my photos, and/ or the comments made about my photo's or any other "picture" art posted on my profile. You are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or taking any other action against me with regard to this profile and the contents herein. The foregoing prohibitions also apply to your employee(s), agent(s), student(s) or any personnel under your direction or control. The contents of this profile are private and legally privileged and confidential information, and the violation of my personal privacy is punishable by law
Photobucket
© 2008 LupusMCTD Foundation of America - All Rights Reserved
Est.November 11, 2005
"We Understand What You Are Going Through"™
Powered by EzPortal

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
Twitter Mod created by 2by2host.com - a web hosting company