My name is Terry Handel.

I live in Wellsville, Kansas with my fiancée.

First off, I apologize for no photos of us directly, we're private people but are willing to meet those whom donate for verification purposes. Now to the story...

I’ve been dealing with constant nausea, vomiting, and bad digestive problems since 2023. No clear diagnosis yet. I also suffer from daily muscle pains and fatigue which make regular work impossible. Some days I can barely get out of my recliner, which I sleep in. Nausea and diarrhea hits randomly. Rarely do I have a day with no pains or nausea.

Every morning I take out the trash. There's days I'm okay, but most days, taking out the trash leaves me wiped out.

And now, I also have lung nodules that have grown some. I’ve recently been coughing up black phlegm for the last month or two with chest pains on the left side when I breathe. Now I’m on three-month CT scans and extra bloodwork.

Some recent previous issues began earlier this year when I passed a kidney stone in the ER and had my gallbladder taken out in June because of gallstones. That night is a story into itself and I plan telling it if I get enough interest.

I sound like a dang hypochondriac.... but yeah, there's a little more. Yay.

Well, I’m diabetic too. However on this one, it's a bit of GOOD news, which I'm more than happy to share. During the course of actions, and the fact I haven't drank soda's in like 2 or more years (yeah, I've had sips, but not full soda's.) and have been 99% water (using skittles flavoring packs) my A1C dropped from over 10.1 to 7.2 along with my medication. For a little bit I lost the ability to get Ozempic (one of the meds I was on) but after the recent surgery, Doc was able to put me on Mounjaro and my current insurance is covering that. Because of this, and I’m back to slowly losing weight, but the other medical problems are still there and are still prevalent.

At the request of privacy, I can only say that my fiancée is also dealing with health issues and cannot work. Her and I? Well, we’re just trying to stay afloat.

So I have two deadlines coming up this week.

The first is my car insurance which is $65 through progressive. I have until the 21st of August, to get this paid or I go into the grace period around the 22nd.

2nd is my Rent-A-Center computer which is $109 every two weeks and the next payment is due in the same window. If I lose the computer I lose the main tool I still have for any work from home. I'm trying to get an business going, but it's hard. I want to succeed, but... I've always kept letting things push me back down.

Now, the not so rushed stuff. The first of which is being the Electric. Right now we are on even billing and it stays the same every month which is currently $133. We’re still catching up on an older balance otherwise our bill would be at like $85.71 with like a 47/month add on for a payment arrangement for 11 months. We've been doing great, we're 6 months in and only 5 more t go!

Food and basic necessities stay super tight even with food banks and help from neighbors. And I know every one of ya'll are feeling this one. Huge pain the the........ side, yeah side. Food is expensive now. Even the 'cheap' foodsl And what's really worse is the food I need to eat, costs too much for me to buy, so that doesn't help my intestinal issues. BUUUUUT, I digress.

All I’m asking for is a little short-term help only. Enough to cover these bills, keep the computer, keep the lights on, and give us a little room for food and the ongoing medical tests. We’re not looking for luxury or long-term support, just a hand to give me time and the funds to get this going. I have a dream, just not the means.

I believe SO much in giving (You can ask all my friends and neighbors) and they will tell you just how much I hate even asking. But... I'm also going to make a deal with you. Anything raised above what we need to survive will be going towards helping local kids with school lunches, supplies, and extras. (In fact, you can reach out to me and I'll be more than happy to take donated items to the local schools for students in need).

I’ll post updates as things move. I’m also working on redacting personal information from medical records so I can share relevant ones later without putting private details out there. I hope to share those soon.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. Any amount helps, even if it's $1 per person. Heck, even a share helps right now if that means some one who can help will see it. As most of my friends know, it's been a hot minute since I've had the needs to ask for help, and I'm again once again. We've done good, but sometimes luck isn't on our side. But we're surviving. We're strong. We'll keep fighting.

Thank you all SO much, and look forward to giving you updates soon!

~Terry