Bad Luck

[Vuk]

I am not one to complain a lot about bad luck, but it seems some times just get it all dumped on your head all at once. Late August of 2011 I broke my ankle, and there have been a lot of complications after the surgery that have slowed down my recovery (the latest of which being that I developed bad tendinitis in on the inside and outside of the ankle, and in the foot, which is really hindering my therapy). I finished my last semester of school anyway, but have been hit with bad financial problems as well. I had to move back in to my ma's house when I broke my ankle, as I no longer could take care of myself, and she is absolutely broke as well, and cannot work because of a disability. For the last two months I have been applying for jobs while going through therapy, but still have had no luck. The grace period on my loans is going to be up soon, and I still have not been able to find employment. I have had to borrow several hundred from family members just to pay for my gas to go back and forth to therapy, and for a suit to wear to job interviews, and I don't see how I will be able to pay them back any time soon. My car's tranny needs to be replaced, and I don't have the money, so my brother has been letting me borrow his spare vehicle, but now his tranny crapped the bed too (what are the chances of that happening at the same time?) and he needs to use his spare car, so I cannot drive to interviews unless I can find someone willing to give me a ride, and I cannot go to therapy till I get this sorted out.
I got a bunch of unpaid medical bills, and they are threatening to send them to a debt collection agency. My Aunt and one of my cousins both died last month. Some #$*@ drove by my sister's house two days ago and shot my dog with a shotgun. (He was my dog, but when my sis moved to her place out in the country, I let her take him, so she could have a guard dog (he is a 120lb rott/pointer mix) He is alive, but the vet bills are going to be very expensive, and she needs money for them (I am debt almost $200) to her. My poor dog is in a lot of pain now, and is constantly terrified of everything around him.
Because of all the compression bandages and the splint when I broke my ankle, I developed an ingrown toenail that my podiatrist did not properly remove, and now I found out that I need my father toenail permanently removed. (I dread to think about how much this is going to cost, considering that his botched job of clipping the corners of a toenail cost me nearly $300.)
I am trying my hardest to find work so I can get myself out of this rut, but I cannot stand for more than a few minutes without being in a lot of pain, and because of the tendinitis in my foot, my arch is flattening and I am developing a flat foot. I have chronic tendinitis in both arms, and cannot do heavy work with out crippling pain that eventually gets so bad that I literally cannot move my fingers if I try. Because of this, the types of jobs I can apply to are fairly limited. I am not eligible for SSI, or any other benefits that I am aware of.
I have never been one to complain about my circumstances, but right now, I don't know what the heck I am gonna do. It is the uncertainty that I find the hardest.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I'm sorry to hear that you are having a tough time Vuk.

It's hard going for a lot of people right now but as you go down the social ladder it does get exponentially more difficult when it comes to jobs in this sort of climate.

I know that my minimum wage job sucks and that it really limits what I can do with my life, but God knows what I would be doing if all I had to do was sit around all day.

Just remember that once you do find something, you'll feel infinitely better when you have some control and something to hold onto.

I also completely get what you are saying with uncertainty being the worst part. It's bad when nothing feels permanent... when you feel like you can't do what you need to in life but there's no opportunity for things to change.

But like I said, once you've got a foothold on things, that's you and you can take things at your own pace. Just need to keep trying in the meantime...

[Andres]

Sorry to hear about your problems, Vuk. Seems like way too much of bad things all happening at once. I hope your luck soon turns for the better.

I know it's not much, but we're here for you to listen and to offer a shoulder.

[Strike For The South]

Shoot the dog, honestly. The vet bills are going to be massive and chances are the dog will never fully recover.

take a mimimum wage job to make minimum payments on your debts

There are also going to be Gov't benifits aviable to you if you can not work.

If you are showing an effort is being made, people will generally work with you

http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/ddb/apply.htm

If your injury is really prevenrering from such things as moving your fingers I am fairly certain you would qualify for SSD. Go down to the office and raise hell

Good luck

[Vuk]

Thanks for the encouragement guys, just had to whine a little and let off some steam. :P
As far as SSD, the problem is that I don't meet the requirements:
1. A person under age 65 who worked long enough to be covered under Social Security and then had to stop working due to a disability.
2. A person who has had a disability since childhood (before age 22) and is a dependent of a deceased parent, a parent with a disability, or a retired parent who worked long enough to be covered under Social Security.
3. A widow or widower age 50-60 with a disability, if the deceased spouse worked long enough to be covered under Social Security.

I don't meet the 1st requirement because most of my life I worked on my parent's farm and never reported it as wages, even though it was daily, heavy labour, because then I would have to pay taxes on it. I have also worked some other labour jobs for people I new, but also was paid under the table. I only ever worked one job where I reported my income, and it was over the summer, and is not enough to get me covered under SS. Bad choices I made on the basis of bad advice when I was young are now coming back to haunt me. It also means that I cannot list any of the jobs I have held on my resume or job applications.

As far as killing my dog, I would never do that. I have had that dog since he was a small puppy. When I first got him, he was near dead from starvation and was covered in fleas. I took care of him and paid the bills for him then, and I am not about to let him die now. He may never recover, but then again I have two cats who were hit by vehicles and severely disabled, but I let the vets do what they could for them and they now have quite happy lives. I don't see a drop in performance as a good reason to put an animal down. Probably because I do not have animals for their performance. Every animal I have ever owned is one that I have rescued (or the offspring of one I have rescued), and the only reason I got them in the first place is to stop them from dying or worse.

[SwordsMaster]

Sorry to hear about the bad run, Vuk. It happens. As Strike said, the only way to go is up.

Check out elance.com for jobs you can do from home with an internet connection. It might require learning some new things, but then, internet+unemployement = time + opportunity.

Good luck!

[Vuk]

Sorry to hear about the bad run, Vuk. It happens. As Strike said, the only way to go is up.

Check out elance.com for jobs you can do from home with an internet connection. It might require learning some new things, but then, internet+unemployement = time + opportunity.

Good luck!

Thanks for the site SwordsMaster, I will give it a look. If I can find work there, it would certainly be a blessing.

[gaelic cowboy]

I was struck by a saying we have here reading your account Vuk "If it wasnt for Bad Luck we would have no Luck at all"

Hope you get well soon and pick up something on the job front too.