Queer Disabled Filipina Survivor Giving Circle

hi everyone,

i hope you are all having a good summer. thank you so much for your continued support and care for me. every dollar makes a huge difference in my life. i try to keep hope alive for healing and for positive changes and i wouldn’t be able to do that without your continued support. every month i worry what will happen if the support here one day dwindles to zero. i am still in temporary housing and still unable to make progress with my health. my chronic pain and chronic illness symptoms are always worse during the summer so my humble goal is just to stay housed and alive while the heat swells and my capacity to do anything is very little. just wanted to pop on and show proof of life and thank you again for caring about me and for supporting me for so long. i know i am lucky that you haven’t given up on me. sending all my love and gratitude, jenny

my crowdfund raises less than half of what it did when it was first set up. i think some people may see the total raised of my crowdfund and it looks like a lot of money to have at one time, but this amount reflects many years of donations that have all been spent on survival.

since my last update, i am still desperately in need of more monthly donors and have been unable to find more support. if you have any time at all, can you please consider sharing my fundraiser with any close friends and family? even a monthly donation of $5 or $10 would make a huge difference. i can no longer afford my housing and have not been able to try any new medical treatments. it feels really sad to make the same update over and over, and to be at the mercy of needing so much help. please help me if you have the means. <3

thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who continues to contribute to my crowdfund every month. this fund is an absolute lifeline for me as i continue to battle with severe pain and complex chronic illnesses. i know that times are very hard for lots of you and i cannot express how much each donation means to me. i can keep fighting because of you.

Hi,

I am reaching out again during a time where I know there is a lot of catastrophe and sadness in the world. I am sorry to keep asking for help, but I have no where else to ask for it. Words cannot express the amount of despair and dread I feel entering this holiday season.

I desperately need more monthly donations to stay housed and fed. I have not been able to try any new treatments or medications. for long covid, chronic migraine, me/cfs, chronic stomach issues, nerve pain, or my neck and spinal damage in so long. Everything has gone towards rent and living expenses. I am not making enough here to make ends meet. I am so eternally thankful for your support and I humbly beg once again for you to please ask anyone even if it is one person who might care enough about my life to donate even a small amount per month. I am so sorry to keep asking like this. It is frightening and devastating to beg for help to stay alive, to beg to not be forgotten. Please help me if you can.

Thank you, Jenny

Dear all,

Thank you, as always, for your continuing support. As Jenny’s support team, we sincerely appreciate each of your continuing contributions, big and small. Many of you have been donating for months, even years: we know that this is no small feat, given all the difficulties of recent years.

Jenny still struggles with myriad disabling symptoms of long COVID, which have only worsened the lasting physical impacts of her sexual assault. It’s hard to believe that things could have gotten so much more difficult than they already were, but we are still trying to keep hope alive as we explore every possible path towards sustained care and survival, and one day, perhaps even healing.

If you are able to, please consider sharing this fundraiser again with your networks. Every cent matters, maybe more than you could imagine. Jenny can’t survive this alone, and so we humbly ask again for your support. If you could invite just one friend to join this giving circle, it would make a world of difference.

Thank you again for everything. We and Jenny are so deeply grateful for each of you, and the difference you’ve made in her life. We hope to have more hopeful updates in the near future, and sincerely thank you for sticking around to support her through these dark times—the times when it matters most.

Sincerely,
Jenny’s support team

Hello,

My health unfortunately continues to worsen due to long covid, me/cfs, chronic pain, the injuries I sustained 6 years from the assault, and the ever increasing costs of living and medical treatment. Recovery seems impossible. I can’t put into words how hard it has been. I am mostly bed bound again and am struggling severely to do even the basic care for myself. It is heartbreaking and never ceases.

Thank you for believing me and for all of your long term support. Because of you I am able to cling to survival and without your support I would not be able to do that.

Understandably, a lot of people have not been able to keep their pledges to my fundraiser. It would help me immensely if you would consider taking a moment to share my fundraiser with any friends or people you think might be able to help me. Even a $5 monthly donation would make a huge difference. I’m sorry to ask for more help. Thank you for caring for this disabled survivor from the bottom of my heart. I’ll never forget your generosity and you have my endless thanks.

<3 Jenny

Hi ❤️

Hard to believe another year is about to be over. Time passes strangely for me. I continue to battle long covid and continue to be in very poor health. Since getting covid I have had migraines every single day, as well as lung pain, chest pain, increased nerve pain, difficulty breathing, and cognitive issues. It is hard to have hope that things will ever be better.

Thank you for continuing to support me through all of this time. I don’t know what I would do without your help. This fundraiser is truly a lifeline for me. I hope you’re able to have a nice holiday season despite everything going on, and I hope you feel loved and cherished.

Love,
Jenny

Hi,

I hope for a day when I can come on here to share better news with all of you.

My health continues to be very poor. I got covid for the first time in the Spring, and have been declining with long covid since then.

In addition to all of my existing chronic pain and injuries, I now have even more. It has been incredibly lonely, isolating, and so hard to keep hope. I continue to fight for my survival despite the years-long barriers that have kept me from accessing timely care.

Thank you for your continued and long term support of my life. I would be lost without it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart every day.

Jennifer ❤️

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for continuing to support me through such a terrible time of loss, uncertainty, and grief. I’ve struggled with what to say this past year of COVID-19, knowing that so many others are trapped in extremely difficult situations too. I know I’m not the only one dealing with these feelings of fear and loneliness, wondering when things will get better, and that many of you who’ve helped me along the way are likely struggling a lot, too.

COVID-19 has totally derailed what little headway I’d made in my recovery process, and it’s been incredibly difficult. Still, I’ve been doing my best to stay afloat these days, working on physical therapy and trying to build up more strength in my body even though I still have no answers or relief from the constant nerve pain from my assault. I’m trying to keep in touch with friends through the even more intense isolation that has come with being a disabled person in COVID. And most of all I am trying to stay hopeful, both for an end to this pandemic and also for my eventual recovery.

Thank you all so much for continuing to help me through such dire times. It means the world to me and it’s no exaggeration to say this: You have kept me alive for years now, and through 2020, one of the most difficult years of our lives to date. I am both so grateful for your help, and apologetic for needing to rely on you so long. I hope that one day, I will be in a position to be able to help others too.

Sincerely,

Jenny

Hello Everyone!

It is very hard for me to write these updates. My constant nerve pain is unbearable, yet I continue to bear it. I struggle to plan for anything in my future, so my update is that I am still taking things one day at a time. I am doing treatments whenever possible, and trying to make the best use out of the funds generously given to me every month. I started a couple of new therapies last month and I’m hoping for good results. I am also moving to a new place soon. I spend a full time job’s worth amount of time trying to figure out the best way to care for myself and most times it doesn’t seem like enough. Thank you for continuing to help me survive. This is my absolute lifeline and I don’t know where I would be without you.

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all staying as safe as possible. It feels like a really long time since my last fundraiser update in that so much has changed in the last month. I am mourning the loss of all my scheduled treatments and the ways I manage my pain.

Thankfully because of all of you I still have health insurance and can access my doctors via phone and have some medications mailed to me. But I can’t go into the doctor for the foreseeable future without potentially exposing myself to COVID-19, and since I am immunocompromised, I have chosen to hold off for now. This includes my hope to travel to Mayo Clinic.

My giving circle lost some monthly donors last month which is very understandable given the state of things. I’m worried about not being able to pay for things I need like everyone else but am trying to take it day by day. For now I’m healthy and very thankful for this giving circle and for all of you so much. Thank you for keeping me going!

Jenny

Hi Friends!

This has been a weird month! I am stocking up on my medications as much as possible as well as over the counter flu and cough and cold medicines. I am immunocomprimised and the thought of getting COVID-19 is very scary for me. I recently relocated for financial and safety reasons and it’s weird to be adjusting to a new area in the middle of a pandemic.

My fundraiser monthly recurring goal is still short by $1324 a month. I know lots of people are scared for their health right now, but if you have the time and energy, please consider sharing my fundraiser on your social media channels and/or with a few friends.

Thank you so much for your continuing support. I am trying my absolute best to recover and find more answers. I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you endlessly.

Jenny

Hello everyone!

Wow it’s already getting to the middle of February. I feel like a lot of good things have happened this year already and I feel really optimistic about my recovery. I have been able to start reading books again! Holding books up and reading them really requires a lot of neck strength, and now that my neck is getting stronger and stronger, I can do more things! This may seem really small but it is huge for me and I am so happy to have that little bit of independence back. Being really dependent on others to even do simple tasks like helping me refill water and take my dog out is really hard on on me.

Another positive update- I am going to visit Mayo Clinic soon and I hope that the doctors there will have more answers for me about my chronic nerve pain and body pain, and help me direct my treatment plan to be more recovery than pain management.

The recurring donations total is currently at $2576/month of the $3800/month goal. It is still short $1224/month. Meeting this goal soon would really help me with my continued recovery! I hate that so much of my recovery and healing options is based on money, but that’s the reality. Every time my fundraiser is shorter than the monthly goal, I have to go without certain treatments and meds and that makes progress really difficult.

If you could take a moment to share my fundraiser with friends or on social media whenever you think of me this month, that would be such a huge help! I’m sooooo close to reaching the monthly goal!

Thank you again for all your continued support and kind notes and love.

Jenny

Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year! Thank you so much for your continued support in my healing journey. I really appreciate every single one of you who has ever donated or shared my fundraiser. Every donation and every share means so much to me. It's easier than I like to admit for me to slip into very depressive weeks and lose hope, feeling like my progress is too slow and that my pain is too much. But it really fills me with so much hope to see people donating and sharing my fundraiser. I couldn't do this without you!

The range of motion in my neck is still improving so much! And I can tell I'm getting a lot of neck strength back from doing consistent physical therapy. Over Christmas, I was able to chop ingredients for a special dinner with friends and I was so happy. That seems like a little thing, but it's actually huge progress for me.

I'm still working on solutions and treatments for my chronic nerve pain, spine pain, etc. It continues to be a long term process, but I'm thankful for every day I can keep working towards full recovery. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to look for the right team of doctors.

Thank you again so much for keeping me alive to see another year. I'm happy to be housed and to have health insurance and to even have the chance to get better. I don't take any of that for granted.

All my best,

Jenny

Hi Everyone!

I’m so sorry I didn’t make an update last month. Things continue to be really hard for me, but I am overwhelmed with your kindness and encouragement. Every donation and every note left here really helps me keep going. Your support is my life blood.

A positive update- for the past 12 months, I have had very limited range of motion in my neck. I haven’t been able to look up, down, or to either side fully. Thanks to your donations and being able to do treatment consistently, I’m now able to move my neck a lot more and hope to have full range of motion in a couple of months! Yay!

I am still looking for a diagnosis for my chronic nerve and muscle pain, and the pain in my spine. As you know, our healthcare system here in America is terrible, and finding the right care team remains a slow process. Thank you for sticking with me and for all of your help. I truly wouldn’t be alive without all of you.

If you can, it would mean a lot for you to share the link to my fundraiser on social media. Thank you so much. Wishing you all a restful and happy holiday.

Jenny

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for showing up for me again this month. I am blown away by your kindness and so so grateful.

As of the end of September, there are $1908 recurring monthly donations and $7500 raised overall! For the first time in over a year, I will be able to cover all of one month’s medical expenses. I am so thrilled and relieved and I hope this will be the start of being able to get regular medical treatment!!!

While I’m super happy to be able to afford one month of bills and medical expenses, I still have a lot of anxiety that I may not be able to do the same in November and the coming months. It would be really awesome to meet the reoccurring monthly goal soon so I can make some longer term plans and follow my treatment plans all the way through.

My recurring donations goal is $3800 a month for my basic needs and medical care. I am still $1892 away from meeting that goal. If you have any time at all to share my fundraiser with anyone who might want to support me, even a few dollars, that would be so so helpful.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me for another month. The road ahead is still uncertain, but with your help I’m able to hope I can make it.

Love, Jenny