Hello,My name is Rachael Thompson.PLEASE!!! If you have the time,Please take a few minutes to read my storyI am a single mother of five beautiful children. Out of the five, my 5-year-old is autistic, my 15-year-old has diabetes, and my 17-year-old has Chiari brain malformation. My 13-year-old suffered from constant seizures as a baby; though the seizures stopped as he grew older, he now complains of constant chest pains. The doctors can’t seem to find out why—they just say his heart rate is irregular, but otherwise, he is fine. Because he is very active, they believe it could be due to strenuous activity and exercise, so he has cut back on activities that cause him to get out of breath quickly. Finally, my 8-year-old has asthma and is constantly in and out of the hospital because she was born premature, leaving her with a very weak immune and respiratory system. She gets sick extremely easily, but other than that, she is a very happy child who loves dancing and gymnastics.
Life has been very hard for me lately. I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. I wasn’t the best child growing up, but I’ve always been respectful. I have done foolish things in my life that I regret, making bad mistakes that ultimately became lessons. When I chose to change my ways and turn my life around, things were going so well for me. I always kept a job, I had a home to call my own, and my children were happy. I was always praying and trying my best to stay on the path of righteousness. I was happy, healthy, and financially stable. My children always had smiles on their faces, and I was always taking them places to have fun and create memories. I left my broken past behind me.
Life was looking really good for me, and then came my downfall. My life began to crumble.Sooooo many things happened to me in my life.I was almost killed by a hit in run Truck,I was ran over multiple times,And it left me with long term PTSD,Broken Bones,Nerve Damage,etc…But After I healed from that Accident and Trauma…I continued life again…Things were once again going great,Then out of nowhere,I became very sick—mentally and emotionally—and I lost myself completely. I decided to move to Arizona because my sister said it would be a nice, fresh start for me. I packed up everything I could, got on a plane with my children, and moved. Shortly after, my parents, my brother, and his wife moved out to Arizona as well. I felt happy again—not completely, but somewhat—because my whole immediate family was here with me. I felt like things were going well and I was starting over: new beginnings, a new state, and new surroundings. I had my own place, my own car, and a great job working as a Patient Care Technician.
Then, I started talking to my children's father every day again, who had been incarcerated since I left Chicago. At that point, I had been in Arizona for about three years. He started accusing me of cheating on him while he was in jail and going against him. He would make me feel so low and beneath him, always saying he knew I was out here getting revenge on him for the many times he had cheated on me and wronged me. I would beg and plead for him to believe me. I always told him, "Revenge is not mine; vengeance belongs to the Lord." But he would just say I was lying and send me horrible messages. I loved him. I forgave him for having a child with someone else while he and I were living together and married—he was living a secret double life, and I still forgave him. Valencia became my strength when I needed it most, but I needed true happiness. I felt so lonely because I had no friends out here, and no one to genuinely hug me and tell me it would be okay.
I began to lose myself again. Every day he would call me from jail to tell me how much he loved me, but in the same breath, he would degrade and down me. I became extremely depressed, stressed, sad, emotional, and sick. I ended up losing my job because I was so weak I couldn’t stand on my feet for long. I was in and out of the hospital having to get blood transfusions and spinal taps. My blood levels became so low that doctors told me it was a miracle I was still alive. I was diagnosed with Pseudotumor cerebri and had to get spinal taps constantly. I started having the worst headaches of my life because my brain was retaining fluid, and my eyesight started going bad. I lost so much weight that I became ashamed to go out in public. I got another job working at a school, but I was so ashamed of my weight that I would wear big, baggy clothes, even in the hot Arizona heat.
I became sicker every day. Eventually, there was a budget cut at my job, and out of the 28 people let go, I was one of them. I started to struggle harder and harder every day. My car was repossessed, and I was evicted from my home. While I was picking my oldest child up from school, the police, the sheriff, and some landlord movers arrived and put all of my belongings outside. They left my autistic son and my teenage daughter outside in the blistering heat with no shoes or socks on, causing my son to throw a huge tantrum and scream. I begged them to give me time. I had 18 days left to pay the $864 remaining on my late balance, but I got played.
Since then, I have had to beg for money or DoorDash all day and night just to keep myself and my children in a hotel or Airbnb. None of my family members opened their doors to help me get back on my feet. Life went downhill into a ditch. Since that day, I have been filling out so many applications for jobs, welfare, housing, SSI, unemployment, grants, loans, 211... everything. That’s when I began to ask myself, "Am I being punished or cursed?"
Nothing was coming through for me. I lost everything. I try so hard, but I just haven’t had a breakthrough. I’m still trying everything. My father did eventually help me out, and my five children and I had to move in with him. It feels like we are living in a closet. I truly appreciate him for letting us come, but seeing the sadness and hurt in my children's eyes every day hurts me so badly, and it pulls me right back into that deep depression. How could any parent be happy or feel worthy when life feels like living in a shoebox, and I have to give up everything I earn to my father instead of him just letting me try to get back on the right path?
But I have to step up. This is my last resort, asking strangers for help. Sometimes a stranger is better to you than someone you’ve known for years. I feel it so deeply in my heart that my prayers will be answered.
I WILL gain my weight back.
I WILL get a job.
I WILL have healing upon my heart, body, and soul.
I WILL have my own home again for myself and my children.
I WILL see my children happy and smiling again.
I WILL LIVE AND I WILL NOT DIE! I WILL SURVIVE! MY JOY WILL BE RESTORED!
I just need a little push, genuine love, and support. I am thankful for any amount of donation. I will use it to get myself and my children an apartment, clothes, shoes, and a cheap used car just to get from point A to point B. And if I have to do DoorDash every single day until a job calls me, then that’s what I’ll do.
Thank you all for taking the time to read my story. I love you all!❤️❤️❤️
