Dear friends in the Faith,

Here is the shortest version I can manage of my current situation.

At 39 years old, I have four abdominal hernias (the result of tearing in my abdomen after emergency appendix surgery 11 years ago). I also have a cataract in one eye and was born with a chronic cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).

The last few jobs I've gotten have been "sight unseen", that is, I was hired because an employer needed someone to work and didn't have time for a full or face-to-face interview. Thus, they never found out about my hernias, cataract or other physical issues. I also have a weight problem, which compounds the issue further, because fat discrimination is rampant in the capitalist working world.

To make a very long recent story short, I was hired by a company in my field of expertise. Again, sight unseen, because the company needed to fill a position and had no time to screen for anything more than the basic qualifications (professional license, driver's, etc).

When my work at one account ended, I was transferred to another account. This was a VERY lucrative contract position with an agency of the US government. My company's contract was then taken over by another company, and all of the employees were brought on with the new company, myself included. I worked part-time for about a year, and then transitioned to full-time status (which meant over 50 hours per week and LARGE paychecks).

During my full-time employment, I was involved in an incident which took place between an employee of my client and a visitor to the client's building. I cannot legally reveal what my role was or what exactly happened. Suffice it to say that the visitor decided to react unreasonably and threatened a lawsuit against my company, my client and myself personally.

In order to appease this visitor and avoid any legal issues, I was summarily dismissed not only from my post with that client, but from my employ with my company in toto.

Friends, I went from $4200 monthly to $0 monthly in four hours. That's how long it took for the client to call my company's supervisors, get a temporary replacement sent to my facility, and relieve me of my duties.

My extended family is paying the note on our home. If it were not for their willingness to do so, we would have lost our home years ago. They also pay the basic utilities, such as electric and gas and water, etc.

We are responsible for:

$600 monthly mortgage
$260 monthly car payment
$125 combined monthly cell service (right now, mine is off; my wife's is current for the time being.)

and more, but those are the largest numbers I can think of right now.

I am also in need of some equipment for my contract work as a musician and music teacher,
but I'm not really sure how to navigate explaining that particular aspect of my life. As a Christian, I certainly do not condone the "nightclub" lifestyle, but I have worked on and off as a semi-professional musician for years, and I have the chance to do so again, for pay (not tremendous pay, but regular and decent pay all the same). I would be glad to explain more to anyone who wants to PM and ask.

As it stands right now, I am ineligible for state disability payments because an agent of the disability board decided that I should just "go get" (his words) a job that will accommodate my physical disabilities. Yes, sure. I should "go get" a job that doesn't require me to:

sit for too long
stand for too long
see out of both eyes
climb any stairs
or lift anything.

I have a commercial driver's license that is useless to me, because if I were to go take a driving job, I would have to pass a Dept. of Transportation physical. Over five years ago, I barely passed the exam in one of the most lenient states in the US concerning such standards. I now live in one of the strictest states. My eyesight, hernias and arrhythmia will disqualify me in an instant.

I have a now-expired professional license and nearly 15 years' experience in my field, but cannot get another job in that field because I was fired under the pretense of suspicion of criminal activity. In order for another employer to hire me, I would have to prove, legally and for the record, that I was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Since no charges were ever officially filed, I cannot demand that my accusers prove their charges, and since my state's employment law concerning my type of work is "at will", either the employer or the employee can terminate the working relationship instantly, at any time, for ANY reason or NO reason at all.

I have contacted lawyers; they have shown me that I cannot sue for wrongful termination because I cannot prove prejudice. If I were to sue for defamation of character, if I could even begin to prove it, the process would take years and I might never see a dime of a settlement.

I can't even go get a job pushing a mop because I physically can't do the work. I'm in constant pain and I struggle just to do the things I already must do, like walk more than a few dozen yards at a time or get up and down stairs.

Yes, there are things I can do to have the hernias repaired (once I have lost considerable weight) and to have my cataract repaired, but I am receiving state-funded insurance, and there is a 6-month to one-year waiting period after a doctor's initial diagnosis to determine whether surgery is necessary. For anything. And that waiting period does NOT guarantee that the insurance will cover all or even part of the cost of the surgery. Something like a cataract could actually be considered ELECTIVE surgery!

I've sold everything I own that is worth a dime. I had a $1200 guitar that I sold for a THIRD of its value. I've had other instruments that I have sold at great loss as well.

We have no savings (it's all been spent since April when I lost my job). We have no ability to get a bank loan. We have no credit cards and never would.

My family is doing everything they can and I can't ask them for a thing more even if I thought they would give anything else. They simply can't.

The only things I have left to my name are a guitar that was a gift from a friend, the PC I'm on and a television that we use for watching videos. Everything else is either used appliances, the clothes on our backs, or junk that's not worth anything.

My three daughters mean the world to me. I literally weep at times because I simply can't help them any more than I already struggle so hard to now. I try to stay positive, and they know my wife and I love them with all our hearts, but we're literally at the end of our rope.

THAT is why I have to find someone to buy the items I've been listing. I quite literally have no other choice. If there's a thing in my home worth nickel number one on the resale market, it's going to put gas in my car, books in my (home-schooled) children's hands, and to put paid to my outstanding debts.

I would promise the moon and the sun if I could get a loan; we just don't have anywhere else to turn to do that.

We do receive food stamps, and we have no lack of food in the home, nor proper clothing for our children. We are just literally in over our heads in debt, and I am stuck between being unable to work and unable to prove somehow that I can't.

We thank you for and earnestly desire your prayers and pray for you all with our whole hearts.

In the Two Hearts,

Stephen Franics

P.S. I know this was rambling and probably a bit disjointed, so if I need to clarify anything, just ask. I am a chatterbox in real life, too.