My name is Angie; I am 41 years old… a single Mother. I have an only child, a daughter, she is 13 years old and “special-needs“. We are separated from her Father and have been since May of 2005, when he lost his temper and threatened her and we temporarily moved into a local Women’s Shelter for 5 weeks… this was all done at the strong recommendation of D.C.F. Due to the fact that he not only verbally abused us both, but emotionally as well... Since then, and only through the assistance of many wonderful angels, we were able to secure an apartment of our own with a subsidized rent and only thru major assistance on many occasions from local charities, my family, and our Church have we been able to hold on to it… once again we are being faced with this same dilemma of “running-on-empty” with no place to go…

...having utilized ALL possible charitable assistance locally and still needing help in the most extreme way... I am seeking out any way to find the means to satisfy my family’s needs.

We are routinely under the care of several various offices at The County Mental Health Department and receive our Psychiatric and therapeutic care from them. We each have a case manager that oversees the "summary" of our care. I also have a Vocational Advocate that is trying to help me to get a good job... one with more pay and benefits and less physical stress... One that will satisfy my family’s needs... ( however since I am so limited, with the difficulties going on with my daughter and with my own physical and psychiatric issues, I’ve been unable to get work )… my Anxiety Disorder and physical problems manifested beyond what I could handle at the job that I had held or 2 1/2 years... I had to quit 3 weeks ago... Regrettably without another job lined up... This was not the way I intended for things to happen, but my mental and physical body seemed to implode upon itself.

I suffer from Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, a torn ligament in my right hand ( given in a rage to me by Felicity ), relentless sciatica pain, a lesion in my brain and herniated discs in every section of my back, as well as early stages of Degenerative Disc Disease… In addition to those physical difficulties, I suffer from Bipolar Disorder and frequently recurring Migraine Headaches… I have severe IBS, I have post Gastric-Bypass concerns, a chronic thyroid condition, costrochrondrosis ( stress-related chest pains ), and a debilitating, persistent insomnia… I have also developed a progressive Anxiety Disorder that makes it more and more traumatic for me to leave the apartment... I am, however, truly trying to do everything I can to help my family be the best it can be…

The past year was VERY difficult for us… It was laden with illness and ordeal and many, many obstacles of all types… I, myself, have been hospitalized for my own Bipolar Disorder 3 times within the past year alone at Flagler Hospital’s Psychiatric Ward as well as having had to undergo an incredibly emotional, urgent and Complete Hysterectomy in May…

I am told by her “TREATMENT TEAM” that possibly the reason she does this is because she feels closest to me and even perhaps for some reason, she might blame me for NOT protecting her in a situation where she feels like I should have been able to do so… we have yet to find out what that is or if something even happened for real or if she just feels like being a bully… because she is not very obliging in her therapy with regards to talking about her true thoughts and feelings… we just don’t know what goes on inside her head… I worry so much that SOMEthing REALLY did happen to her at some point... but her therapist and I just haven't been able to find out what... If anything…

I do know that I like myself less and less everyday as this continuing crises saga goes on and on and on… My feelings of impotency as a parent have taken a huge toll on how I feel about myself in general… I have reached the point where I don’t know how to separate the parts of me… and yet I know that SOMEHOW I have to find a way…

I applied for Disability SSI for us both over 2 years ago and, though we SHOULD BOTH qualify without difficulty, our cases and “stuck”...I have also been trying for a Government Grant that will help to allow me to work from home... I want to write... Poetry and also Novels...

According to the online tests and evaluations that I have taken, I have the aptitude for ( and the desire -I already knew this- to write... I can do that from home... But we must continue to have an income that will satisfy our regular needs.

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My name is Angie; I am 41 years old. I have a daughter who is 13 years old. We are separated from her Father and have been since May of 2005, when he threatened her and we temporarily moved into a local Women’s Shelter for 5 weeks…At the recommendation of D.C.F. I will be filin for Divorce very soon.

It was during our stay at the shelter that we became approved for a “subsidized” apartment… even though I work as much as I can, we have steadily needed financial assistance from local charities and our church to just meet our normal monthly needs. The local Food Banks have been so very helpful as well…

Her father helps on an informal and inconsistent basis… I can’t count on his unreliably changing input into the care of his daughter with the exception of the Health and Dental Insurance that, so far, he has continued to provide through the policy at his work…

We are routinely under the care of several offices at The County Mental Health Department and receive our Psychiatric and therapeutic care from them. I also now have a Vocational Advocate that is helping me to get a better job with more pay and benefits and less physical stress… I have Bipolar Disorder, and Anxiety Disorder, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and herniated discs in every section of my back, as well as the early stages of  "degenerative disc disease"… I am trying to do everything I can to help my family be the best it can be… I WILL make a BETTER 2008 than this year as been…

This past year has been VERY difficult for us… I, myself, have been hospitalized for my own Bipolar Disorder 3 times within the past year at our local Psychiatric Ward as well as having to undergo an emotional, urgent and Complete Hysterectomy in May.

My Daughter was in the hospital in October for multiple conditions… Bipolar Disorder/ADD/ADHD/ODD… she is now being recommended by her doctors, therapist, and case manager to take part in a residential program as soon as it can be arranged due to her behavioral disorder… which can be violent… verbally, emotionally, and even physically…

Angie

cancio.angie@yahoo.com