Hi my name is Lindsay and this is my beautiful family. We are the Franks. We are a fun family who loves to laugh, even laugh at our own problems. But, as of late we haven't been able to laugh much. From my serious health problems to horrific living conditions, my family as a whole is struggling. Since January of this year my health has plummeted severely my Superior mesenteric artery / nutcracker syndrome have progressed to stage 3, which means hospice is my next stage. My syndrome is extremely rare and misunderstood so I am not considered eligible for disability. It is treatable but there is no cure. The main form of treatment is internal/external feeding tubes however my body has rejected over 13 different makes and models of feeding tube. For over 6 months I was in and out of the hospital and my tubes would kink almost instantly. Since January I have undergone surgery 15 times. This is left me seriously malnourished, ruined my pancreas and is now killing my kidneys. In June I finally found a doctor who knows my syndrome and set me up with a surgeon that could help. He is planning to do a type of gastric bypass this will make it so my food will stay down, it will be impossible to vomit. In September the surgeon agreed and I was supposed to get a PICC line in order to get my nutrition to a safe enough level to survive the surgery. However, the hospital and Medicaid are unable to find a doctor in this area who is willing to do the PICC line for one odd reason or another, so it looks like we are going to have to possibly pay for the surgery out of pocket. Because of my chronic illness and frequent hospitalizations my husband has become my full-time caretaker meaning he's had to cut his hours to roughly 15 a week. If he works more than that I end up back in the hospital and he just has to take more time off because we have a 3-year-old autistic daughter to care for as well. This has all left us financially devastated. Not only are we behind on rent and utility bills but our car is running basically off of prayer alone. It requires so much in repairs it would be cheaper to buy a new car. If those problems weren't enough our building was sold to a slumlord who is basically refusing to fix anything so we live in an apartment that is full of black mold and bed bugs that we can't get rid of which is also bringing my health down since I have a compromised immune system. The roof leaks, neither the dishwasher nor oven don't work for 2 years. The washing machine doesn't work and the extensive leaking has left the tile floor broken to the point where we cut our feet if we don't wear shoes in the kitchen. The front door lock was busted and never repaired and the windows are all falling out. Since I do not qualify for disability, for some reason, and my husband cannot get paid by the state to be my caretaker even though that's what he does for a living. We need help to move out of this place and get a home of our own that we can take care of and maintain a certain level of sanitation in. As well as a vehicle that is safe to drive and can go more than 5 miles. And to pay for both the PICC line and gastric bypass surgery out of pocket. Our overall need is quite great and roughly estimated. As better number are nailed down and goals are met updates will be made. We don't want a mansion or a luxury car. We would gladly move into a trailer home that's clean amd has enough bathrooms and drive a used Ford Ranger as long as it has room for a car seat and wheelchair. Grace & peace to you.
Lindsay & Bradley, Izaak and Lilly Frank
