Saturday, September 3, 2011
Is it too late for Angie?
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
I am beginning to wonder if it is too late to help Angie. I have tried about everything I can think of to get some help for her in time. But unfortunately I am still not having any luck. It seems that everyone that has viewed this blog is disinterested in helping a fellow human being in need, or has a disbelief that this is some kind of scam. Which I can understand why, as I would have a hard time believing it too. Accept this is all too real for Angie. I was hoping for even a few comments, e-mails, or any other kind of ideas someone might have to assist me in finding some help for Angie. For some that have viewed this post it might just be a matter of thinking "What can I do?" Well for those that are thinking that all I can suggest is spread the word about this blog by sharing the link to it.
I sometimes catch myself beginning to doubt the existence of God if the truth be known. Then I remind myself that I did win my battles with cancer and continue to survive. I need to hold to what faith I have, and pray that something good will happen to give Angie hope, and a reprieve. She cried herself to sleep earlier, and her stress is so much that it is effecting her health. She did not sound good on the phone, and she is losing weight much to fast for it to be healthy.
I will be calling her in the morning to check on her, but I am not looking forward to her inquiries as to if I had any success in getting any help for her. Because she then asks "What am I going to do? I have tried everything, and I have nothing with which I can do anything to help my mom or the kids out of this situation. I was hoping that you might of had more luck. What do I tell my mom or the kids?" Or any other number of ways ask similar questions as they are always along those themes for the last 6 days.
I have been trying even Twitter to help spread the word out, but not having much luck in that direction either. It is difficult to spread the word to individuals on there, especially the younger people which are more interested in being the next megastar rapper, or a Justin Bieber Groupie.
Well right now now it has been a stressful day for me and I am having a hard time staying awake, so I will close this post for now to get some sleep. Hopefully good sleep, though that is doubtful.
Guardian Angels On Twitter!
Started a group following on Twitter called "Guardian Angels". I might not be able to do anything now but in the future I plan to utilize the group in helping others improve their lives and help give them a hand-up(not hand-outs). I know many will not understand why I attempting this now, considering my own situation, but you have to start somewhere. Adversity brings out the best in people as they seek solutions to get past it. Well Angie, and I, have plenty of adversity at the moment and hopefully something good will come out of all of this for the both of us.
I do not know what God's Plan for me is, but I am going to do my best to find out and fulfill his wishes. Maybe it will become more apparent in the coming days what that plan is. My grandfather was such that he lived his life to the fullest following God's Plan for him, and was always so certain that he was following that plan. I wish that I had his confidence earlier in my life, and maybe things would of been different for me now. All I can do, is to do my best at the moment, and hopefully that plan will manifest itself better to me.
I will continue to try to find some assistance for Angie to help her out for the immediate future, and hopefully that enough people spread the word. Maybe I can also get my small web business some capital to see it grow to where I will be self-sufficient enough to support us both. I would like to see it grow to the point where I can use some of that future income to help others less fortunate than I.
Please take the time to really look at the people around you. Maybe you are over-looking someone that you know, that out of pride is having trouble asking for help when they could really use it before their situation becomes more difficult to recover from. Because I can tell you, that sometimes it is really hard for someone that is independent to ask for help from others when they can really use it. It is really difficult to hold your hand out to even to your family and friends because it could be taken as a sign of weakness, or as sign that you are dependent on the generosity of others to make it. And that my friends is a very tough pill to swallow believe me, I know.
If you can not help those individuals yourself, at least take the time to share their stories with others, so maybe someone that can help, can have the opportunity to step forward to assist them in their hour of need. Because without knowledge of the situation, action can not be taken to overcome the situation. If people would take a more pro-active stance at helping others, than maybe a lot of misery, hardship, uncertainty can be avoided. It would help these people in need recover faster and get their lives back on track. And I assure you that the recipients of that generosity would not only appreciate the efforts on their behalf, but would likely pay it forward to others in need, like they way they once were.
Well time to end this post as I could spend all day writing, and get nothing else accomplish to help Angie. God Bless one and all for your time to read this, and once again best wishes to you.
I do not know what God's Plan for me is, but I am going to do my best to find out and fulfill his wishes. Maybe it will become more apparent in the coming days what that plan is. My grandfather was such that he lived his life to the fullest following God's Plan for him, and was always so certain that he was following that plan. I wish that I had his confidence earlier in my life, and maybe things would of been different for me now. All I can do, is to do my best at the moment, and hopefully that plan will manifest itself better to me.
I will continue to try to find some assistance for Angie to help her out for the immediate future, and hopefully that enough people spread the word. Maybe I can also get my small web business some capital to see it grow to where I will be self-sufficient enough to support us both. I would like to see it grow to the point where I can use some of that future income to help others less fortunate than I.
Please take the time to really look at the people around you. Maybe you are over-looking someone that you know, that out of pride is having trouble asking for help when they could really use it before their situation becomes more difficult to recover from. Because I can tell you, that sometimes it is really hard for someone that is independent to ask for help from others when they can really use it. It is really difficult to hold your hand out to even to your family and friends because it could be taken as a sign of weakness, or as sign that you are dependent on the generosity of others to make it. And that my friends is a very tough pill to swallow believe me, I know.
If you can not help those individuals yourself, at least take the time to share their stories with others, so maybe someone that can help, can have the opportunity to step forward to assist them in their hour of need. Because without knowledge of the situation, action can not be taken to overcome the situation. If people would take a more pro-active stance at helping others, than maybe a lot of misery, hardship, uncertainty can be avoided. It would help these people in need recover faster and get their lives back on track. And I assure you that the recipients of that generosity would not only appreciate the efforts on their behalf, but would likely pay it forward to others in need, like they way they once were.
Well time to end this post as I could spend all day writing, and get nothing else accomplish to help Angie. God Bless one and all for your time to read this, and once again best wishes to you.
What Do I say to Angie?
Just woke up, checked my e-mails and posts. Still nothing. I need to call Angie and let her know how things stand. I do not know what I am going to tell her. All she has been doing is crying from frustration and the uncertainty she is facing. I am doing everything I can think of to try and help her, and I am coming up far too short cause of my own situation. I wish that there was more I could do for her.
I wish people would at least do more at spreading the word, so hopefully my plea of assistance for Angie might get to someone that can truly help her. I know I mentioned about some help for myself so that I could get something going that would be financially better for myself than waiting tables at a restaurant. But right now I would be happy with help for Angie. So if you are reading this, if you are hesitant to spread the word because of me, than take me out of the equation, and spread the word for Angie.
Remember that even if a person is unable to assist, that by mentioning it to family members or friends could get the word out to someone that could be in the position to help. I know that I am a stranger to you and that you do not know me. The only reason I am doing this is because I am out of ideas and options. I praying that someone will get the word and step forward and help Angie, but I am losing hope right now.
This woman has been truly life-changing for me, she has been my best friend. Talked to me when I was really down emotionally and lifted me up. Her compassion for others is extraordinary, even with the troubled past she had. She does her best in troubled times and makes the most of what she is given.
Of course she has made mistakes like everyone of us, but she tried to do her best at the time. But a lot of her situation at this time was totally out of her control, and her family is suffering because of those circumstances.
So if you have any compassion at all even if you can not help yourself, at least spread the word by sharing on your facebook, twitter, or other social media. By spreading word about Angie's plight we might get her the assistance she needs. I know many are thinking why she isn't using the public assistance that is out there. Well I can tell from personal experience that no matter how deserving a person is for that kind of help, people still fall through the cracks. I did. Most of the help out there when I was fighting my cancer, I could not access because I did not have any dependents, I was not female. I was not from a minority. I was not a immigrant. And I was neither a minor, or a senior. I was simply a 35 year old Caucasian male with cancer. So I fell through the cracks of society, and had to struggle far harder because of it. Ask any social worker you know of how many help programs they know of to assist a guy in my position, and they will tell you very few that do not offer much. Then ask them about assistance programs for others like a single mom, a Hispanic immigrant, or a senior, and they will give you a long list of programs available to help.
In time when I have the resources I would like to become a serious advocate for true social reform. But that is down the road.
So please take the time to share this with your time by twitting, facebooking, or however you share your info with family and friends.
For those that can help Angie, please contact me directly through my e-mail account at julius.south@gmail.com . Thank you for your time and your prayers.
I wish people would at least do more at spreading the word, so hopefully my plea of assistance for Angie might get to someone that can truly help her. I know I mentioned about some help for myself so that I could get something going that would be financially better for myself than waiting tables at a restaurant. But right now I would be happy with help for Angie. So if you are reading this, if you are hesitant to spread the word because of me, than take me out of the equation, and spread the word for Angie.
Remember that even if a person is unable to assist, that by mentioning it to family members or friends could get the word out to someone that could be in the position to help. I know that I am a stranger to you and that you do not know me. The only reason I am doing this is because I am out of ideas and options. I praying that someone will get the word and step forward and help Angie, but I am losing hope right now.
This woman has been truly life-changing for me, she has been my best friend. Talked to me when I was really down emotionally and lifted me up. Her compassion for others is extraordinary, even with the troubled past she had. She does her best in troubled times and makes the most of what she is given.
Of course she has made mistakes like everyone of us, but she tried to do her best at the time. But a lot of her situation at this time was totally out of her control, and her family is suffering because of those circumstances.
So if you have any compassion at all even if you can not help yourself, at least spread the word by sharing on your facebook, twitter, or other social media. By spreading word about Angie's plight we might get her the assistance she needs. I know many are thinking why she isn't using the public assistance that is out there. Well I can tell from personal experience that no matter how deserving a person is for that kind of help, people still fall through the cracks. I did. Most of the help out there when I was fighting my cancer, I could not access because I did not have any dependents, I was not female. I was not from a minority. I was not a immigrant. And I was neither a minor, or a senior. I was simply a 35 year old Caucasian male with cancer. So I fell through the cracks of society, and had to struggle far harder because of it. Ask any social worker you know of how many help programs they know of to assist a guy in my position, and they will tell you very few that do not offer much. Then ask them about assistance programs for others like a single mom, a Hispanic immigrant, or a senior, and they will give you a long list of programs available to help.
In time when I have the resources I would like to become a serious advocate for true social reform. But that is down the road.
So please take the time to share this with your time by twitting, facebooking, or however you share your info with family and friends.
For those that can help Angie, please contact me directly through my e-mail account at julius.south@gmail.com . Thank you for your time and your prayers.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Maybe a Glimmer of Hope?
Well Angie might have a small glimmer of hope. No one has step forward to help her out yet. But Pensacola is having some bad storms right now, so hopefully they will be too busy over the weekend to shut her power off. With Monday being Labor Day, that might give her til Tuesday to find either some help or another solution.
I am still doing everything I can from my end to find her some help, but I am not having any luck at all. If my long bout with fighting cancer had not of ruined my credit, I would of just taken out a loan or something to help her out of her situation. I have received probably 10-15 loan denials in the last 4 days. I can not turn to my family because they do not have anything to spare in this economy as none of them make much either. All they can do is give us their best wishes and hope we can find a solution.
Right now Angie is on the phone saying she just wants to go to sleep and never wake up. I do not even know what I can say to her that can help. I hate feeling like this, like my hands are tied and there is nothing I can do. It reminds me of how I felt when I was first diagnosed with cancer. It was a major curve-ball that caught me out of left field leaving me stunned, and not sure of what to do. The last 8 years have been a real tough time for me with all the surgeries and treatments. And I managed through that better than sitting on the sidelines with what Angie is going through unable to give her the help and support she needs.
Well I am going to end this post for now and hopefully something good will happen soon for Angie. I need to give at least some verbal support even though she needs so much more right now. Hopefully everyone who stops and reads this blog will take the time to tell their family or friends about it.
I am still doing everything I can from my end to find her some help, but I am not having any luck at all. If my long bout with fighting cancer had not of ruined my credit, I would of just taken out a loan or something to help her out of her situation. I have received probably 10-15 loan denials in the last 4 days. I can not turn to my family because they do not have anything to spare in this economy as none of them make much either. All they can do is give us their best wishes and hope we can find a solution.
Right now Angie is on the phone saying she just wants to go to sleep and never wake up. I do not even know what I can say to her that can help. I hate feeling like this, like my hands are tied and there is nothing I can do. It reminds me of how I felt when I was first diagnosed with cancer. It was a major curve-ball that caught me out of left field leaving me stunned, and not sure of what to do. The last 8 years have been a real tough time for me with all the surgeries and treatments. And I managed through that better than sitting on the sidelines with what Angie is going through unable to give her the help and support she needs.
Well I am going to end this post for now and hopefully something good will happen soon for Angie. I need to give at least some verbal support even though she needs so much more right now. Hopefully everyone who stops and reads this blog will take the time to tell their family or friends about it.
Are There Guardian Angels Out There?
Well today I have like 5 hours to get $500.00 to help Angie out. I sit here trying to do everything possible from what little resources I have to try and help her. Is there a Guardian Angel, or any other kind of help out there for us? She has received a power cut off notice that will take effect at 5pm EST. And I want so much to help her, but I am so limited on what I can do. All I can do is hope that someone generous steps in to give us a little bit of help, some guardian angel.
My illness messed my life up on so many levels, physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. If this was going on before my cancer, it would of been nothing for me to help her. Now after, I am struggling to give her what little help I can, and she fights me for every bit I try to give her. I listen to her, can hear how close to tears she is, her frustration at the situation her family is in, and it makes me feel mad at myself cause I can't do more.
You hear stories of individuals stepping in with financial help for people in need like guardian angels. I hope that Angie and I could be so fortunate to have someone step in and help her when she needs it most. If such a person would, I can guarantee that we would either pay that individual back with interest agreed upon, or any other way desired such as paying it forward to someone else in need.
So if there is a Guardian Angel, I hope you are listening to our prayer and are willing to assist us in our hour of need. I am praying that the help comes soon before Angie's situation becomes more difficult, and harder to get out of.
I remember how hard my fight against cancer was, and try to understand why God let me live. For what purpose did I survive? I am hoping that I can live up to that purpose. Do I have enough strength to fulfill his plan for me? All I know, is I am going to do my best for Angie, myself, and God.
So for now I need to end this post, as I need to find any avenue of help I can for Angie and her family. God bless one and all for taking the time to read my post. I hope that God brings you happiness for the rest of your days and good health.
My illness messed my life up on so many levels, physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. If this was going on before my cancer, it would of been nothing for me to help her. Now after, I am struggling to give her what little help I can, and she fights me for every bit I try to give her. I listen to her, can hear how close to tears she is, her frustration at the situation her family is in, and it makes me feel mad at myself cause I can't do more.
You hear stories of individuals stepping in with financial help for people in need like guardian angels. I hope that Angie and I could be so fortunate to have someone step in and help her when she needs it most. If such a person would, I can guarantee that we would either pay that individual back with interest agreed upon, or any other way desired such as paying it forward to someone else in need.
So if there is a Guardian Angel, I hope you are listening to our prayer and are willing to assist us in our hour of need. I am praying that the help comes soon before Angie's situation becomes more difficult, and harder to get out of.
I remember how hard my fight against cancer was, and try to understand why God let me live. For what purpose did I survive? I am hoping that I can live up to that purpose. Do I have enough strength to fulfill his plan for me? All I know, is I am going to do my best for Angie, myself, and God.
So for now I need to end this post, as I need to find any avenue of help I can for Angie and her family. God bless one and all for taking the time to read my post. I hope that God brings you happiness for the rest of your days and good health.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
For those looking to help
For those looking to help, please remember even if you can not help financially spreading the word about this blog can be of tremendous help. It does not matter if someone helps with quite a bit, or even 1 dollar. Because if everyone can only help with a small amount, and word gets out to enough people, than it still will be possible to get enough help for Angie at least. And that is the most important thing to me.
If you can help contact me by e-mail at julius.south@gmail.com and I will respond to it with either answers to your questions, or details on how we can get help to Angie. Remember the most important thing is to spread the word! You never know who your friends or family members know, and it might be a third or 4th person down the line that is generous with their charity to help Angie and myself.
Current views to the blog is 14 from 3 different countries. So I know my efforts are accomplishing something, so that is heartening to me, even though it is not quite as quick as I had hoped for. Once again I hope that God blesses all of you with happiness for all of your tomorrows. I will be thankful for any assistance received now by paying it forward in the future, after I help Angie and get my business going reasonable well.
If you can help contact me by e-mail at julius.south@gmail.com and I will respond to it with either answers to your questions, or details on how we can get help to Angie. Remember the most important thing is to spread the word! You never know who your friends or family members know, and it might be a third or 4th person down the line that is generous with their charity to help Angie and myself.
Current views to the blog is 14 from 3 different countries. So I know my efforts are accomplishing something, so that is heartening to me, even though it is not quite as quick as I had hoped for. Once again I hope that God blesses all of you with happiness for all of your tomorrows. I will be thankful for any assistance received now by paying it forward in the future, after I help Angie and get my business going reasonable well.
Well signed up for Twitter
Signed up for Twitter today and have been linking blog to Facebook too. Trying to get the word out to everyone I can, so I can get help for Angie. Hopefully I will start seeing some kind of response for my efforts. Checked to see if anyone has even read the blog yet, and it has had 11 visitors so far. So hopefully they are sharing the link with their family and friends.
She is really stressed out at the moment and crying on the other end of the phone, and I am frustrated I can not do more for her. Feeling a little mad at life. I am doing everything I can and it is not enough. I can hear her daughter and son in the background asking if everything is going to be okay. She is doing a good job of being positive with them, and letting her emotions out with me as an outlet.
She is not looking forward to her mom getting home and telling her know that nothing has changed. They still might have to move on short notice with nowhere to go.
She is really stressed out at the moment and crying on the other end of the phone, and I am frustrated I can not do more for her. Feeling a little mad at life. I am doing everything I can and it is not enough. I can hear her daughter and son in the background asking if everything is going to be okay. She is doing a good job of being positive with them, and letting her emotions out with me as an outlet.
She is not looking forward to her mom getting home and telling her know that nothing has changed. They still might have to move on short notice with nowhere to go.
My Fiance Is Crying!
Hi,
I can not see the people who read this post, nor read their thoughts.
I hope that any individual who reads this post has a compassionate nature, even if they are not in a position to help themselves, but at least spread the word to friends or family that can.
First I will tell you a little bit about myself.
I am 44 yr old man, that is a multiple cancer survivor, and have been in remission for a little over a year now. My battle versus cancer lasted over 8 years, during which I was physically unable to work. My cancer came from a combination of radiation exposure in the military back in the 80's, and a dominate gene-trait in my family associated with Gardner's Syndrome. There are 14 known members of my family that carry this gene. The youngest is my 9 yr old nephew named Peter. The little guy was born in the same hospital I was in right after my colon ruptured from a golf-ball sized tumor in my descending-colon. It breaks my heart that in a handful of years my lil' buddy Peter is going to need to go thru surgery to remove his colon, that is what they do first with individuals diagnosed with GS.
Now I believe that it was out of pure stubborness that I survived that first year as I dropped from 180 lbs to 120 lbs. It is a diet I do not recommend to anyone! During my battle with cancer my ex-wife decided that she wanted out of our marriage. I did not make much of an effort to stop the break-up, because we were having some trouble even before I became sick. So I needed to turn my energy toward fighting my cancer rather than a big emotional battle with her. I just did not have it in me to do both. Some people might not agree with how I handled the situation, but at the time it was my best option if I wanted to survive.
It took 4 surgeries, 2 of them major (split breast-bone to pelvic bone), months of chemotherapy and 28 radiation treatments to get me on to the road to recovery. Now once a year I go for a high resolution CAT-scan to see if I am still cancer-free. Every year I go dreading the results, because my oncologist says it is very likely for me to get cancer again. But I still go in there knowing if I do have it again, I can over-come it. Since I have already done it, and more than once.
Once I recovered enough from my cancer, I was able to return to the work-force. Granted it was not at the same position as before but at a lesser capacity. Before my cancer diagnoses, I was a front-end manager for a very nice Italian restaurant. I was making a nice living and gaining experience to one day open my own restaurant. The down-side was that the establishment I was working for did not have health insurance, and it caused a lot of head-aches for me, due to financial stress. It resulted in quite a bit of unpaid debt, and so when I did return to work it left me in dire straights to try and clear my credit-rating up. As I was making less than half of what I made before my cancer, it made it very difficult to catch up on everything. Then the economy went sour, and my income dropped even further. So needless to say it has been a struggle the last few years for me. But am I going to give up? NO!
Well now we come to the part where the title to my blog comes into play. Angie.
I met Angie thru a friend and started chatting with her on the phone. We had a lot of common interests, and sometimes almost eerie co-incidents in our lives, like both of our dads being born on the 19th day of the month, and dying on the 19th. Spooky wouldn't you say? Well needless to say we feel that we are each other soul-mates. Only problem is, we live 1800 miles(2900km) apart on opposite sides of the country. I live in Idaho and she lives in Florida.
Angie is a single mom with one child living at home with her, and her mom who is a teacher close to retirement age. Angie was down-sized from her job long enough ago, that last month her unemployment insurance benefits ran out. Her mom did not work thru the summer and so was not getting paid because of it. I have been sending what help I can but it is not enough help for her needs. I am upset with myself for every penny I wasted the last few years, like buying things I did not really need. Like going to the doughnut shop instead of fixing a good breakfast at home. Then I could of had more on hand right now to help her out. I listen to her pour her out to me, to the point it has me in tears, and end up being so frustrated cause I can not do more for her.
Before you think that Angie is taking advantage of me. You have to understand, we talk on the phone for a minimum of 8 hours a day, and she fights me tooth n' nail about accepting any help from me. It is always a argument with her about sending her some help.
Now I would like to do something for Angie to help dry up her tears.
One, I would like to get some finances together to help her out of the little hole that her family is in at the moment, and to give her a small cushion for a month or so.
Two, I would like to move down there which is something we both want very much so we can do this together and not apart.
Three, I am working on establishing a business that takes very small amount of start-up funds.
Now to do all of these things will take about 20 thousand dollars. But the most important is to rise $2500 to help her and her family with bills, and to buy me a plane ticket to get me down there so we can do this together. I can transfer within my current employer to a branch down there to help out directly. That is until I get my business up an running smoothly, and since it is something I do online it is something I can do here or there off a laptop/wireless connection.
Now for those of you reading this, it is my solemn vow to help 3 people in similar situations in the future as a way of paying it forward so please keep that in mind if you decide to help. That way the gift of giving grows, and more people will benefit from the generosity of others. It would be nice if one person of a giving nature could help out, or 20,000 help out with even a dollar.
I will not accept any more help than that, because that will let me establish my business and to help her. I want everyone to know that I am just asking for hand-up, not a hand-out. If I was to take more, then what I really need as a hand-up, than other people might not get the help they need now because I was being greedy and selfish, if that was my nature. As a cancer survivor I am definitely not that. If you are unable to help financially please spread the word to your family or friends about this blog. So that the word might get to someone that is of a mind to help me to get my life, my dreams back from before my cancer derailed it. And to help me assist Angie and her family out of their tough times.
Now time is of importance here, as I only came up with this idea of asking thru a blog yesterday, and Angie is in a real time crunch, because she disconnects for some of her household needs, and one of them is for tomorrow at 5pm EST on Sept 2, 2011. She just texted me as I was writing this that her internet is down so now she is unable to even get online at home to find a job, or some kind of assistance to her financial problems.
If you can find it in your heart to help and wish to do so, please contact me thru my e-mail at julius.south@gmail.com. I will answer all inquires if they are serious about wanting to help, and how we might do it. If you can not help financial, but would like to do something. Simply spread the word, as I know there is a good Samaritan out there somewhere that can.
I intend to keep this blog updated with details of how things are. And if I can get the help I need, I will also post that success as well as what I do with it. I will also keep the members of this blog informed of any new developments thru posts of my business and it's growth so that those that help can see that it was beneficial to not only me, but to Angie. Hopefully I can see her tears dry up in the next couple of days, and a smile return to her voice that things will work out for not only her but us.
I would now like to take the time to thank all of the people who have taken the time to read this blog, and for those of you that spread the word a even bigger thank you. And for those of you who can help financially and willing to do so, I can not express into words what that would mean to me.
I hope God blesses each and everyone of you with happiness in your lives and lots of love, because love and happiness is what matters most.
I can not see the people who read this post, nor read their thoughts.
I hope that any individual who reads this post has a compassionate nature, even if they are not in a position to help themselves, but at least spread the word to friends or family that can.
First I will tell you a little bit about myself.
I am 44 yr old man, that is a multiple cancer survivor, and have been in remission for a little over a year now. My battle versus cancer lasted over 8 years, during which I was physically unable to work. My cancer came from a combination of radiation exposure in the military back in the 80's, and a dominate gene-trait in my family associated with Gardner's Syndrome. There are 14 known members of my family that carry this gene. The youngest is my 9 yr old nephew named Peter. The little guy was born in the same hospital I was in right after my colon ruptured from a golf-ball sized tumor in my descending-colon. It breaks my heart that in a handful of years my lil' buddy Peter is going to need to go thru surgery to remove his colon, that is what they do first with individuals diagnosed with GS.
Now I believe that it was out of pure stubborness that I survived that first year as I dropped from 180 lbs to 120 lbs. It is a diet I do not recommend to anyone! During my battle with cancer my ex-wife decided that she wanted out of our marriage. I did not make much of an effort to stop the break-up, because we were having some trouble even before I became sick. So I needed to turn my energy toward fighting my cancer rather than a big emotional battle with her. I just did not have it in me to do both. Some people might not agree with how I handled the situation, but at the time it was my best option if I wanted to survive.
It took 4 surgeries, 2 of them major (split breast-bone to pelvic bone), months of chemotherapy and 28 radiation treatments to get me on to the road to recovery. Now once a year I go for a high resolution CAT-scan to see if I am still cancer-free. Every year I go dreading the results, because my oncologist says it is very likely for me to get cancer again. But I still go in there knowing if I do have it again, I can over-come it. Since I have already done it, and more than once.
Once I recovered enough from my cancer, I was able to return to the work-force. Granted it was not at the same position as before but at a lesser capacity. Before my cancer diagnoses, I was a front-end manager for a very nice Italian restaurant. I was making a nice living and gaining experience to one day open my own restaurant. The down-side was that the establishment I was working for did not have health insurance, and it caused a lot of head-aches for me, due to financial stress. It resulted in quite a bit of unpaid debt, and so when I did return to work it left me in dire straights to try and clear my credit-rating up. As I was making less than half of what I made before my cancer, it made it very difficult to catch up on everything. Then the economy went sour, and my income dropped even further. So needless to say it has been a struggle the last few years for me. But am I going to give up? NO!
Well now we come to the part where the title to my blog comes into play. Angie.
I met Angie thru a friend and started chatting with her on the phone. We had a lot of common interests, and sometimes almost eerie co-incidents in our lives, like both of our dads being born on the 19th day of the month, and dying on the 19th. Spooky wouldn't you say? Well needless to say we feel that we are each other soul-mates. Only problem is, we live 1800 miles(2900km) apart on opposite sides of the country. I live in Idaho and she lives in Florida.
Angie is a single mom with one child living at home with her, and her mom who is a teacher close to retirement age. Angie was down-sized from her job long enough ago, that last month her unemployment insurance benefits ran out. Her mom did not work thru the summer and so was not getting paid because of it. I have been sending what help I can but it is not enough help for her needs. I am upset with myself for every penny I wasted the last few years, like buying things I did not really need. Like going to the doughnut shop instead of fixing a good breakfast at home. Then I could of had more on hand right now to help her out. I listen to her pour her out to me, to the point it has me in tears, and end up being so frustrated cause I can not do more for her.
Before you think that Angie is taking advantage of me. You have to understand, we talk on the phone for a minimum of 8 hours a day, and she fights me tooth n' nail about accepting any help from me. It is always a argument with her about sending her some help.
Now I would like to do something for Angie to help dry up her tears.
One, I would like to get some finances together to help her out of the little hole that her family is in at the moment, and to give her a small cushion for a month or so.
Two, I would like to move down there which is something we both want very much so we can do this together and not apart.
Three, I am working on establishing a business that takes very small amount of start-up funds.
Now to do all of these things will take about 20 thousand dollars. But the most important is to rise $2500 to help her and her family with bills, and to buy me a plane ticket to get me down there so we can do this together. I can transfer within my current employer to a branch down there to help out directly. That is until I get my business up an running smoothly, and since it is something I do online it is something I can do here or there off a laptop/wireless connection.
Now for those of you reading this, it is my solemn vow to help 3 people in similar situations in the future as a way of paying it forward so please keep that in mind if you decide to help. That way the gift of giving grows, and more people will benefit from the generosity of others. It would be nice if one person of a giving nature could help out, or 20,000 help out with even a dollar.
I will not accept any more help than that, because that will let me establish my business and to help her. I want everyone to know that I am just asking for hand-up, not a hand-out. If I was to take more, then what I really need as a hand-up, than other people might not get the help they need now because I was being greedy and selfish, if that was my nature. As a cancer survivor I am definitely not that. If you are unable to help financially please spread the word to your family or friends about this blog. So that the word might get to someone that is of a mind to help me to get my life, my dreams back from before my cancer derailed it. And to help me assist Angie and her family out of their tough times.
Now time is of importance here, as I only came up with this idea of asking thru a blog yesterday, and Angie is in a real time crunch, because she disconnects for some of her household needs, and one of them is for tomorrow at 5pm EST on Sept 2, 2011. She just texted me as I was writing this that her internet is down so now she is unable to even get online at home to find a job, or some kind of assistance to her financial problems.
If you can find it in your heart to help and wish to do so, please contact me thru my e-mail at julius.south@gmail.com. I will answer all inquires if they are serious about wanting to help, and how we might do it. If you can not help financial, but would like to do something. Simply spread the word, as I know there is a good Samaritan out there somewhere that can.
I intend to keep this blog updated with details of how things are. And if I can get the help I need, I will also post that success as well as what I do with it. I will also keep the members of this blog informed of any new developments thru posts of my business and it's growth so that those that help can see that it was beneficial to not only me, but to Angie. Hopefully I can see her tears dry up in the next couple of days, and a smile return to her voice that things will work out for not only her but us.
I would now like to take the time to thank all of the people who have taken the time to read this blog, and for those of you that spread the word a even bigger thank you. And for those of you who can help financially and willing to do so, I can not express into words what that would mean to me.
I hope God blesses each and everyone of you with happiness in your lives and lots of love, because love and happiness is what matters most.
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