About Me

My name is Jay. I am 37. I am a Navy Vet. I have had three books published (two are still in print). I live in Olympia, WA. I am originally from St. Paul, MN, but I have lived in many states over the years. A work injury in 1997 fractured my L4 and ended my career in healthcare. I had surgery to regain stability but it did not cure pain. Over the last two years my pain has increased and it is again overtaking my life. My doctors now suspect that I am developing fibromyalgia and/or stenosis because of leg numbness. They want to do more tests and have referred me to pain management. I think ten solid years of pain have fried some circuits in my brain because I can no longer think as clearly as I used to. I cannot follow written instructions. I feel genuinely stupid. At present the only skill I have left is my writing ability (I think). I graduated from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Phi Beta Kappa. I was pursuing a graduate degree to go into teaching (English literature) when my personal life took a devastating hit, ending those hopes the same way my work accident killed my previous career. In the span of just three months I found myself divorced, homeless, and friendless. In trying to leave, I was caught in the cross-fire of a gang shoot-out in which my dog was injured and had to be put to sleep. She is in the photograph that I posted. My dog was more than my friend, she was my therapy dog. Thanks to credit cards I have a residence, but I am on borrowed time. I will be facing eviction soon, and I have no idea what to do. I receive disability by a court award, but that does not even cover the basic expenses of life. In addition to my physical disabilities, I have post traumatic stress disorder, which inherently includes depression and anxiety. I also suffer disassociative spells. I feel like I'm lost in La-La land. I keep looking for help, but I might be missing it because I cannot process information like I used to. I keep hoping that someone will point and say "go there and do this." I'm a breath away from the streets, and it is frightening.