Supply Crate – Ryan

Army Veteran Ryan requested a Supply Crate because he's had a pretty tough time after his service, and he and his family lost many of their belongings to Hurricane Helene.

My 8 years of active duty service (1 deployment overseas) ended July of 2024. Immediately following my final ETS date, the company i had signed with 6 months prior notified me that they had lost the contract and would not be hiring me. I was directed to search for jobs elsewhere as my signed offer letter was no longer valid. My prior-service disabled Vet wife, myself and our two young boys (now 5 and 1) were forced to live off of her disability check of roughly 1300 a month and our savings as I looked for work. This was doable for a short period until Hurricane Helene hit. The storm demolished the town of Augusta Georgia (where we were living following my ets at Fort Gordon/Eisenhower), the home we had purchased when we first arrived to that duty station in January 2020, most of our belongings, and any savings we had retained. Forced to evacuate with very little, my family was taken in by a prior-service vet that I had served with at the beginning of my career. We evacuated all the way to [redacted to protect info], and we're able to stay with his family as we tried to recover. Unfortunately, 72 hours after the storm hit, our insurance company dropped us (a matter of fact is most of the citizens in town lost their coverage at this time) and refused any claim or to help. The storm had even affected the base so much I was unable to even get my dd214 until December of 2024 (the only way I could actually get help was through the national VA Records department). My family endured, and I was able to be hired as a Senior Software developer with a company working federal contracts. (They were, thankfully, willing to work with me to obtain my dd214 as they had proof of my service through investigations required to work with them) The income from this job has helped us start the long road to recovery, in addition to finally starting the equally long road of filing for assistance with the VA. We lost 99% of our belongings, all of our gaming systems, accessories etc. Aside from clothes, (and the things our children needed) we had manage to save both mine and my wife's gaming pcs. Unfortunately, both have since succumbed to damage received and time. One of the rare(at the time) moments I shared and vented to my friends, two of them spent several hours convincing me to apply here for aid given my family's situation. While we are recovering and paying off debts, it will still be months if not a few years before we can afford to rebuild any part of our gaming gear/collection. I understand our situation is vastly different than those of my brothers and sisters you all have helped overseas, and I just want to thank you for reading this far. I know it was a dry read but its been very difficult for me to explain all this. Not only was it a dark time, I've been dealing with all of my service-connected issues without aid because of the situation. Thank you again for reading and listening.

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Life can throw a lot at our Veterans, especially when they're already dealing with physical and mental health problems. Getting hit by a natural disaster can make it all feel that much worse, especially when you have to start over. It's hard knowing there are Veterans out there who lose so much, and knowing how expensive new consoles are, getting to help them replace their gaming systems is special to us. We sent Ryan a new PS5, and while it can't make up for everything else, we hope it'll give him something to keep looking forward to.

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Good afternoon!

Right off the bat, thank you and everyone else. Sincerely, my family and I are blown away by this. Never thought we'd be selected! The care package arrived earlier today. My tardiness in this email is due, well honestly, I was crying like a baby. Took me awhile to be okay enough to type this.

Attached is a few photos of our receiving. Thank you again.

Now, I'd like to give an update, just incase anyone is interested. Please feel free to skip it if you arent. You all brought joy and happiness during a very bleak time. You see, my family and I did manage to find a place up here in VA, my work situation had started to get better, health was slowly but surely getting better. Eldest son started school for the first time! (Kindergarten)

We still were struggling with debt, the house in GA that was no longer livable after Hurricane helene, still fighting with the VA for medical benefits. But things were at least not in crisis mode anymore. Course, we cant have that, can we?

After a few months my health took a drastic reversal. After months of fighting, I ended up having to file for short-term disability through my job. [Managed to get hired as a senior lead systems administrator for a well know Telecommunications company.] My symptoms got so severe, I could barely walk and my spouse [and children....that part *hurt*] had to assist me in daily functions during episodes. Seizures, brain fog, blackouts, cognitive process dampening, almost had two heart attacks, and dozens of other severe symptoms. We just recently received a diagnosis. [Redacted for length.] Both can be severe, and are tied directly to my military service. [Redacted for length.]

However, There is a silver lining! There is a clinic specialized in treating FND in patients with severe ptsd, depression and stress with highly specialized doctors, about 20 minutes from us. I just found out that I was accepted into intake! That, in conjunction with this ABSOLUTELY AMAZING gift from you all and the sponsors, has me just entirely overwhelmed and happy! I'm starting to cry again writing this because things are getting better! Disability extension approved, Kids are great, Spouse is godsend, and absolutely amazing, I was selected for Stackup, and received an enormous gesture of thanks and support for my service. Bills are paid, In talks to sell the ga house, Got in to a specialist clinic, hoping Start feeling better soon,And finally, received this gift that means so much more than I can put into words.

My 7 year old is an avid gamer, (so is my spouse and I) but I haven't been able to really game with him since the hurricane. Not only does this allow me to, it also allows me to it from a comfortable/safe location. [Key thing for FND to get out of negative spirals]. This blew both of us a way, and his first words after we opened it was "We can finally game again together da!". Yea, I broke down there too.

Truly, thank you everyone who made this possible. You've truly helped in so many more ways than just giving a vet a game console...on behalf of all of my brothers and sisters who did or do still wear the uniform, thank you for showing you care and then going the extra mile and showing up to support. I truly hope you all continue to spread joy, happiness and memories like this. You are amazing people!

This has been a surreal day I dont even think my brain damage could make me forget! My heartfelt thanks doesnt feel enough, but thank you.

Sincerely,

An overwhelmed veteran,

Ryan

(I included multiple pictures. I hope you all get a laugh from my genuine reaction, my wife sure did!)

We won't lie, we often get teary reading some of these replies. It's good to know we could bring something fun and light to you, Ryan. We hope things continue to look up!

Kaimeriss sponsored Ryan's Supply Crate. Kaimeriss is a Chimaera Vtuber who does a range of activities on her channel, from playing Pokémon to holding art streams or just chatting. Check out her channel at Twitch.tv/Kaimeriss

We have now received over 17,000 Supply Crate requests. However, due to funding, manpower, and console supply, we can only fill 200 a year. We need your support to help us keep this going and hopefully grow! Hit the button below to donate or fundraise today!