Member-only story
What Should You Do If You Wake Up Alone With No Job and No Money?
Losing “everything” and what to do next
After my baby died in 2005, I moved 90 miles east to my hometown, staying in a motel. After two weeks, American Express froze my credit card, even though I was working more than fulltime and paying my bills.
I was in so much shock and trauma I didn’t even have the spirit to fight this, so I just paid cash.
Anthony died January 11, 2005. I estimate I was released from the Ed Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey Park by the end of March. By the end of this period, paying for temporary housing, paying for my daughter to transfer back to Redlands Christian School, and paying for attorney fees to defend myself against a charge that I’d caused Anthony’s death, I had approximately $4,300 left to my name.
I’m sorry, I forgot the $30,000 bill I got from Tarzana Medical Center for the hour they spent trying to save his life. I paid $10,000 of that before I realized it would make me homeless, and therefore unable to care for my daughter … so I wrote a letter to the hospital board and the remainder of the debt was forgiven.
I eventually recovered from this, rebuilt my savings, and was able to buy a home in my hometown, 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
