2nd chances
Date Published:
Hello my name is Tiera, I am the mother of 3 beautiful daughters Makaylah 15, Peighton 12, and Skylar 6. In 2019 I ended an abusive relationship and moved into a new home with my children. After about six months of being there I started to notice I was using my Inhaler (for asthma) way more than usual. I though the house may just need some deep cleaning and I began doing that. While in the process of cleaning I found out that my basement was full of Black mold. I immediately started looking for a new place to live for myself and my children. Due to the rising costs to rent a home I though it would be best for my family to buy a home that is all ours and we do not have to depend on a landlord who could potentially be corrupt like my current one at the time. I began saving furiously and started the process of buying a home from step one. I did not make it far the 1st go around because I was notified I needed to work on my credit. Not to be deterred I began the long process of working on my credit in October 2019.
While working on my credit I attended any and all 1st time homebuyer’s classes or information sessions I could get to while still saving up money. At the time I worked as a Quality Assurance specialist doing follow ups with employee’s customers and their interactions, as we all know 2020 was a year of many changes. Due to the mandatory stay home order there were no longer in person interactions with customers and everything became virtual. Due to these changes my work hours were cut drastically sometimes only working for mandatory staff meetings or trainings during some weeks. Due to the lack in work I had to use the money I saved up to continue to care for myself and my children. In 2021 I had finally gotten my credit to a good place and was ready to start the process, while maintaining my credit I began to save again. By the April of 2022 I had saved close to $7000 all from working and cutting back on spending, everything was looking good so I contacted a realtor and began the process.
In November of 2022 my car was hit while parked at home by a drunk driver in a moving truck, my insurance did not cover all the damage and I had to pay for most of the repairs out of pocket. Now starting over with saving In April of 2023 I made the decision to move in with my mother so I could drastically cut down on spending to help me reach my savings goal faster. Everything was going great I found a new Realtor and a real estate firm that treated my children and I like family. We saw many homes but none that were for us so we continued to search.
I have had asthma all my life and have only used a nebulizer no more than 4 times and all times were in the hospital due to emergency visits, my asthma was very well maintained. Due to the black mold in the home my health deteriorated terribly which caused my doctor to prescribe me a nebulizer. On Friday December 15, 2023 while at home I began to have an asthma attack, All emergency procedures including the nebulizer treatments that normally work at home were not working this night, so my mother rushed me to the nearest hospital. The ride to the hospital was agonizing because I was in so much pain it felt as if I was drowning and I had just been hit by a bus going full speed right to my chest. Once we got to the ER all I remember is security telling me to sit back in my wheelchair and me responding “I can’t breathe” then everything going black.
I remember the moment I woke up and I remember was hearing my mother and my aunt’s voice but I could not open my eyes or move. I could hear them both clearly and in my head I was trying my hardest to get up. I did not understand what was happening but I did hear a unknown voice “her heart stopped but now we just have to wait to see” As you could imagine I was confused, and terrified. I had so many questions but my main issue at that moment was to let my mom know I was still there and I was ok. After trying to move around or talk with no luck I became frustrated and just wanted to cry. It was at that moment I heard my mother say “she’s there she can hear us she’s crying” that made me cry even more because something had finally worked.
By the time I was able to open my eyes (although I shouldn’t have been able to due to all the medications) it was Sunday December 17th. My asthma attack was so bad that by the time we got to the ER my heart gave out. On December 20th I was released from the hospital. I had to stay home and take it easy and wait to be cleared by my doctor to return to work after getting a follow up to see how my heart & lungs responded to my new medications. Due to me being out of work for such a long period I had to begin using some of the money I saved to cover expenses. Once I was cleared to return to work I began saving again although I was not starting back at zero I had used more than half of what I had saved while I was out of work.
In March of 2024 I began going back out to search for homes while I continued my saving. In May of 2024 we found a house that we all absolutely LOVED. July 8th 2024 I surprised my daughters with their own keys to their forever home! They did not even think we were getting the home, due to so many hiccups during this whole process I never wanted to get their hopes up high again to let them down. Even though I did not save the money I originally had I was able to pull together just what I needed to get our home. We have been in the home now for almost 2 months and the girls are so happy that they have their own home with their own rooms. My wish is to keep providing them with this safe environment that they deserve. Due to my medical situation and having to spend the money I saved it has been hard for me to balance and get back on my feet. I am working full time and picking up little delivery routes when I can but it is hard to do being a single parent. My wish is to receive any help with catching up on bills so I can start fresh like I had planned and worked so hard for.
While working on my credit I attended any and all 1st time homebuyer’s classes or information sessions I could get to while still saving up money. At the time I worked as a Quality Assurance specialist doing follow ups with employee’s customers and their interactions, as we all know 2020 was a year of many changes. Due to the mandatory stay home order there were no longer in person interactions with customers and everything became virtual. Due to these changes my work hours were cut drastically sometimes only working for mandatory staff meetings or trainings during some weeks. Due to the lack in work I had to use the money I saved up to continue to care for myself and my children. In 2021 I had finally gotten my credit to a good place and was ready to start the process, while maintaining my credit I began to save again. By the April of 2022 I had saved close to $7000 all from working and cutting back on spending, everything was looking good so I contacted a realtor and began the process.
In November of 2022 my car was hit while parked at home by a drunk driver in a moving truck, my insurance did not cover all the damage and I had to pay for most of the repairs out of pocket. Now starting over with saving In April of 2023 I made the decision to move in with my mother so I could drastically cut down on spending to help me reach my savings goal faster. Everything was going great I found a new Realtor and a real estate firm that treated my children and I like family. We saw many homes but none that were for us so we continued to search.
I have had asthma all my life and have only used a nebulizer no more than 4 times and all times were in the hospital due to emergency visits, my asthma was very well maintained. Due to the black mold in the home my health deteriorated terribly which caused my doctor to prescribe me a nebulizer. On Friday December 15, 2023 while at home I began to have an asthma attack, All emergency procedures including the nebulizer treatments that normally work at home were not working this night, so my mother rushed me to the nearest hospital. The ride to the hospital was agonizing because I was in so much pain it felt as if I was drowning and I had just been hit by a bus going full speed right to my chest. Once we got to the ER all I remember is security telling me to sit back in my wheelchair and me responding “I can’t breathe” then everything going black.
I remember the moment I woke up and I remember was hearing my mother and my aunt’s voice but I could not open my eyes or move. I could hear them both clearly and in my head I was trying my hardest to get up. I did not understand what was happening but I did hear a unknown voice “her heart stopped but now we just have to wait to see” As you could imagine I was confused, and terrified. I had so many questions but my main issue at that moment was to let my mom know I was still there and I was ok. After trying to move around or talk with no luck I became frustrated and just wanted to cry. It was at that moment I heard my mother say “she’s there she can hear us she’s crying” that made me cry even more because something had finally worked.
By the time I was able to open my eyes (although I shouldn’t have been able to due to all the medications) it was Sunday December 17th. My asthma attack was so bad that by the time we got to the ER my heart gave out. On December 20th I was released from the hospital. I had to stay home and take it easy and wait to be cleared by my doctor to return to work after getting a follow up to see how my heart & lungs responded to my new medications. Due to me being out of work for such a long period I had to begin using some of the money I saved to cover expenses. Once I was cleared to return to work I began saving again although I was not starting back at zero I had used more than half of what I had saved while I was out of work.
In March of 2024 I began going back out to search for homes while I continued my saving. In May of 2024 we found a house that we all absolutely LOVED. July 8th 2024 I surprised my daughters with their own keys to their forever home! They did not even think we were getting the home, due to so many hiccups during this whole process I never wanted to get their hopes up high again to let them down. Even though I did not save the money I originally had I was able to pull together just what I needed to get our home. We have been in the home now for almost 2 months and the girls are so happy that they have their own home with their own rooms. My wish is to keep providing them with this safe environment that they deserve. Due to my medical situation and having to spend the money I saved it has been hard for me to balance and get back on my feet. I am working full time and picking up little delivery routes when I can but it is hard to do being a single parent. My wish is to receive any help with catching up on bills so I can start fresh like I had planned and worked so hard for.
