Story
A 54-year-old woman whose life has been shaped by unrelenting hardship and quiet suffering, she wakes each day to the reality of multiple debilitating health conditions that have stolen so much of her independence. She shares her small, overcrowded apartment with her daughter, who also struggles with her own disabilities, and a tiny 4.5-pound chihuahua. She has endured four excruciating knee surgeries, each one chipping away at her ability to move, left permanently confined to a wheelchair. Tasks that others perform standing, reaching, dressing have become daily battles she can hardly bear. Even as her body has failed her, she has held onto her faith and a fragile determination to keep going. Recently, her suffering has grown even worse. A new surge of pain in her back led to an MRI, revealing further damage to her spine. Each movement brings agony. In the hurricane, she lost the one piece of furniture that gave her comfort and relief her lift chair, which allowed her to get up and out of her wheelchair without unbearable strain. Though someone has generously offered her a replacement chair, she has no way to pick it up or bring it home. She is now humbly asking for help, so she can have the simple dignity of rising from her chair without pain and perhaps reclaim the tiniest measure of comfort in a life marked by so much loss.
