It’s difficult to even find the words for this update. Not much has changed with Jolly’s physical health. He continues to slowly heal. Some days are better than others. Pain management is still very tricky. Mental health wise he’s still struggling immensely. There are moments of joy and happiness but the moments are fleeting. Christmas Eve we spent over an hour on the phone with the VA caregiver program and now we wait 6-8 weeks to see if we’ll qualify. It will be a long time before I am able to even consider going back to work so this program is essential for us to be able to survive and pay bills. Christmas came and our kids had a wonderful day. Jolly spent most of the day in the chair in the living room but not resting as much as he usually does so all day the 26th he slept. Yesterday on the 27th we woke up to the bottom floor of our home flooded with sewage. After $625 on the last credit card that wasn’t maxed out we’re hopeful it’s fixed and we won’t have to buy a whole new pump. We truly can’t seem to catch a break. As many of you know we bought our first home in September only to have Helene put a tree through it a week later. That delayed our move in and we had finally moved in just 3 days before Jolly was hospitalized. From contractors who didn’t complete the work on the home, to a water line leak, to no HVAC system in frigid temperatures and now the plumbing it’s been a nightmare. Jolly is unable to help at all so I’ve been trying my best to play handyman and do all the things but I’m lost. We’re trying to navigate through this new normal but it hasn’t been easy. We’ve reached out to every single available resource for veterans and for disaster relief and the agencies are either tapped out on funding or we don’t qualify because even though our home was severely damaged by Helene it falls just mere miles outside of FEMA’s official disaster boundary. As the new year approaches it brings with it the hope for a new chapter. I only pray 2025 is gentle on our family. I’m so exhausted by strength I’m not sure how to keep pushing but each day with one foot in front of the other we find a way. 

Wishing you all the blessings of a peaceful and happy New Year. 

Ashley