Let me start by introducing myself, my name is Devin Campbell and I’m 36 years old. I have two wonderful kids, my daughter who is 16, and my son who is 10. Although we are not married, I share and love my life with their father, and have been together for 17 years. He is my absolute rock and is the best thing that has ever happened to me!
I honestly feel like I shouldn’t even be here. I know there are far more people in this world who could use help more than me and my family. But I am at a desperate point and I’m here for my fiancé and my kids because we need help.
I am a Type 1 Diabetic and was diagnosed about 4 years ago. Up until the year 2021, I have been able to work until my diabetes got out of control and landed me in the hospital multiple times in one year due to DKA. Since 2021, I have been unable to hold a job due to constant sickness and vomiting, and would not like to have an employer depend on me when I know I’d have to call in sick a lot. This sickness lasts about 2.5-3 weeks out of the month. My son plays travel baseball for our local travel team, and I have missed multiple games because of this. My daughter is also active in our community sports and is a Varsity Cheerleader for her high school. I have missed her games and fundraising events also and it had put me in such a depressive state.
I am currently enrolled full-time in my local community college in the Medical Billing and Coding program so that I may work from home and try to contribute financially to my household. I am currently making straight As in all my classes (I wouldn’t lie, promise. I have proof! lol) and plan to start working as soon as I can. Then, I plan to continue my education a bit further by being enrolled in the Medical Office Assistant program and earning my associate degree.
My fiancé has been the main source of income for this family for the whole 17 years we’ve been together. Although I’ve worked when able to, he has been the breadwinner and brought home the most. He started in high school as a labor worker for a construction company earning minimum wage. As time went on, he got better and better in the skill of the trade. By the time I met him in 2006, he was able to build and frame a house from the ground up, do all the drywall and painting (with help and extra hands), and pretty much everything except HVAC and plumbing. He was only 23 at that time.
He worked for himself, and in the construction industry, doing large projects as well as odd jobs here and there. He started growing tired of the business and started to get suckered into low-ball prices when he knew his work was worth what he priced each project. In November 2022, one of our teammate’s moms helped him get a manufacturing job working 12-hour shifts for 3-4 days a week. He started to like it and was good at what he did. Some of the other departments would come and “borrow” him when they had people miss that day because the word was going around about how good he was doing for a new employee.
In February of this year, he got a shoulder injury from pulling some kind of weighted sacs that were heavier than usual. It is now June and he has been out of work since February dealing with Worker’s Compensation (which he was denied because on company camera, they can’t pinpoint the EXACT time of the exact injury to the shoulder, as he kept working each day after that, it progressively got worse until he wasn’t able to work) and short term disability with the company’s insurance. He has just now received his first payment of only 60% of his regular income…. which is absolutely nothing when you have bills piled up since February.
This is the hardest time we’ve ever had to face so far. Not only are all our bills piled up for months, but the only car that we just recently bought in November has also broken down and been parked since December. We have everything we need to fix the car, the parts and all, but have not been able to work on the vehicle because my fiancé ended up needing a Labral Repair surgery to fix the injured shoulder. He had surgery on May 16 and is said to be in a sling for another 2 weeks.
With all of this being said, our son also has travel baseball tournaments going on just about every weekend if not every other weekend. They are not too far away, the furthest is in Kingsport, TN (about a 2-hour drive from VA), but a lot of the time we need to stay at a hotel because the last game doesn’t end until late and then the first game for the next day is usually first thing in the morning and can be more tiring for him in the long run.
Just this past weekend he was only able to play one day in a two-day tournament because we were unable to get him a ride back. It broke my heart because not only is he a dedicated and hard-working baseball player, but it’s also not fair to his teammates because they all bring something to the team and who are we to tell our son no, he can’t play because of our current struggle. It’s not his fault, we are just in a rut right now because of me trying to further my education and their Dad being out of work because of a work-related injury.
I am in desperation and that is why I am here. I am talking to strangers right now that will hopefully read my story and can relate to me and my family. Know that we are good people just trying to raise good, decent human beings in a cruel world. But I do believe that there are good, compassionate people out there still and will help me and my family keep our lights on for a little longer, running water, and internet so I can stay connected to my schoolwork through Canvas. Thank you to whoever reads this, and may God be with you in all you do in life because, without Him, we are truly lost.