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Hello. My name is Debbi Christiansen. I am a survivor of both
Cancer and Domestic Violence. In 1989 I married what I thought was a
wonderful man only to find out that he had a lifelong and all
consuming addiction to himself and to fantasy. It took me nearly 20
years to finally break free from the psychological torture that he
inflicted on me. In 2005 the abuse had become so severe that my immune
system was weakened and I was diagnosed with skin cancer-melanoma. I
underwent chemotherapy for a year during which time my husband
abandoned the family. The trauma from the marriage continued until a
year later I was diagnosed with severe heart failure, a condition
which nearly killed me. As my body recovered my doctor that the heart
failure had most likely been caused by the severe trauma and stress
brought on by living with a deeply disturbed person. By this time I
had six children.
I entered therapy on my own and through the power of groups over the years I became stronger, and was finally able to go through with a divorce, despite my husband's efforts to prevent it from happening. He decided to invade my family instead and caused so many problems that I had to eventually cut off all relations because I was being pressured so much. In 2013 I was diagnosed with severe PTSD and unable to hold a regular job, because of the fear of working with people, as well as many other symptoms that came to light during my recovery.
After the divorce my ex husband became enraged because he was ordered by the court to pay child support and alimony. The battles continued, and a mediator had to be appointed to handle any conversations between us. This enraged my ex husband even more. Two months ago he sabotaged himself at his job and got himself fired, saying he would rather be poor than give me another penny. Being left with no source of income, I suddenly have no way to pay bills, medications, car payments, and all the other bills that come up in the normal course of life. I have applied for disability based on my PTSD, but it takes time, nearly a year, for that to come through. I am holding a fundraiser prayerfully asking people if they would please donate, just to help me meet my expenses for the next three months, while I find something I can do to support myself and my kids, or the state catches up with my ex husband doing whatever it is he is now doing to pay his bills. I'm asking for a "hand up", not a "hand out". I survived 20 years of severe abuse that has left other people scarred and terribly damaged. I have fought my way back and despite my handicaps, I have become a better person for it, and somewhere in my life I very much want to be able to reach out and help other victims of domestic violence. I don't have any perks to offer, except a heartfelt "Thank you" to anyone who is willing to reach out to help me and my family. We'll make it somehow, but I am asking anyone with a heart to please help, even $5 would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading and helping out. :)
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