This week we received some concerning, yet also hopeful news about my father-in-law. Kat’s father was placed in the hospital on Tuesday. He has been dealing with nerve pain for several years, only increasing over time, he’s been drastically loosing weight, his gait is unsteady/falls easily, he’s lost his eyesight. The good news is he’s finally at a point where his blood sugar is being managed appropriately, he’s eating healthy, and he has a treatment plan now. He was just diagnosed with CIPD, a rare neurological disorder in which there is inflammation of nerve roots and peripheral nerves. He’s receiving IVIG while in the hospital, five treatments initially and then regular treatments on-going on a long-term basis.
It saddens us though because we have not seen him in six years (We have been unable to afford to go back since we left the south). He’s there with family, but he has not been able to visit with his grand-kids since Josh was six months, and Jayden was three. Although, even if we went back he wouldn't be able to "see us", but being around family members especially grandchildren he's not seen in a very long time would lift his spirits. Perhaps we can afford to go during tax time, or raise enough funds to travel home for the first time in six years (& since transition)! We'll be happy to pay you back incrementally or after taxes come! (Make a travel donation here!) We have an appointment on Saturday to view a home in a nearby city. We are looking into a program called “Home Is Possible”. The program allows up to $16,000 for a down payment for first-time home buyers. We could potentially use a portion of our tax money to go towards the down payment as well (Make a housing donation). The kids are excited about the possibility of moving into a home with their own bedroom, they certainly need the space. We have several errands to run over the next few days, gas amount permitting (Make a gas donation). We have to go to the UPS Store to send back the kids school materials. We need to go to the food pantry because we are almost out of groceries. And we will be working Postmates through the weekend in order to pay the bill for Kat's phone, and a $108 outstanding medical bill. We will be celebrating Kat's birthday on Monday (Make a birthday donation). Kat has been self teaching web-dev and programming in order to either get the certification or apply to a local school when we get our tax return next spring. This will potentially increase our income two-fold, and is much more affordable than the original options we were looking into. I've been working on the kid's school curriculum for next school year. We are going with traditional homeschool, instead of a virtual school platform operated by the public school system. I've been using google to set up all of their classes, with links to online educational texts, content, videos, and interactive games. They are excited, and I'm about 1/5th of the way through so far! Trans Matters Now, our transgender services network, is working on a new clothing closet project, called “Out Of The Closet”. This project will serve the impoverished, or those facing financial constraints. This project seeks to connect trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming people with clothing that is consistent with their gender identity or most comfortable presentation. We are excited about working with our newest volunteers to launch this project! Our first location will be in Atlanta, GA, and we are actively seeking volunteers to launch additional “Out Of The Closet” branches. Donate to Trans Matters Now.
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Authors:James and Katherine are a transgender couple raising two kids. They were southerners when coming to understand themselves as trans. Ultimately it lead to a nearly three year road trip to find home. Now they are re-housed and still focused on outreach in the transgender community! Archives
October 2020
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