It wasn't all that long ago when I was in a jam...a real pickle if you know what I mean.

As most of my friends know, I was REALLY sick. I didn't know what to do. I had mounting bills and I couldn't work. With no medical insurance, there wasn't a doctor on the planet who would touch me. I fell between the cracks of society...not enough income to afford insurance, but I made $50 a month too much for government assistance. I was in what is considered the poverty bracket, but that didn't matter. I have no children, and I am not a minority, so I qualified for...

I needed three thousand dollars worth of surgery immediately, and I simply had no way of getting it. Emergency rooms turned me away. Doctors refused to treat me, regardless of my constant pain. I beat myself up for having had the nerve to think that I could make a life for myself as a freelance illustrator. What was I thinking? I asked myself, Why couldn't I have been like everyone else on the planet and gotten a REAL job, with insurance benefits? Freelancing had never paid me a true living wage, and for all my hard work and dedication, I had come to this... the possibility of death at 52. I am not dramatizing the situation, it was indeed very dire.

Then along came a mysterious e-mail that changed everything. Okay, well it curbed my self-loathing and gave me the courage to believe that maybe, just maybe there was a chance for me yet. I received notification from my Paypal account, saying that I had received funds from an source unknown to me. Then another one came, and another. I began to cry.

In the days that followed, I received over half of the funds I needed and they kept coming. My friends and colleagues had done a miraculous thing...they were all banning together to save me. To say that it was an over-whelming feeling would be a lie. I don't think that words have been invented that could accurately explain what I felt as the money came pouring in.

I have never before and not since felt so loved. For me it was more than just money, it was a validation of my worth. Never before had I felt that I truly mattered to anyone in the world, except my husband. It changed my life and it changed me.

I don't know how I will ever thank my friends enough, but I am determined to try. I'm starting by becoming a better version of myself. I have lost thirty pounds and counting. I have been through three surgeries and a fourth is planned for September. I feel better than I have in twenty years and you can't put a price on that!

Now it's my turn to pay-it-forward, and help a life-long friend in need. I have known my friend, Mary-Lou Waugh for 35 years and even though we have not had the pleasure of each other's company for many of them, I know her heart. She is a kind, kindred soul and she needs our help and support, just as I needed yours.

Mary Lou's situation is just a dire. She needs surgery that will give her back her life, and enable her to work and support herself again. Although she has medical insurance, she needs $750 for a procedure that is not covered. Like most Americans, she lives pay check to pay check, and this small amount seems like a mountain standing between her and wellness. If you have a dollar to spare, I beg you to help by clicking on the Paypal button labeled "Funds for Mary Lou" on the top-right of this blog. I will keep you updated on her progress! Bless you all!

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