A Big Massive Thank You to All of You here at DU

Last edited Thu Apr 9, 2026, 07:53 PM - Edit history (1)

Winning my case is one of the most significant moments of my life, not just for the obvious reasons, but also for many soulful and more subtle ones as well.

Winning my case gives me the opportunity to live life without the massive anxiety that has ruled me for the last three years, as even when I was still working, I knew it was only a matter of time before my back would give out one final time.
I burned through my meager savings after filing in August of 2023, and by mid December, homelessness was staring me in the face.

As you all know, I set up a GoFundMe account with the hope I'd get through the next few months and win my case. The attorney I hired said I had a strong case that would get denied twice and then we'd likely win during appeal before a judge.
He thought the whole process might take 12-18 months. Little did we know of course that COVID would decimate the staffing of SSDI adjudicators, reducing their numbers by almost two thirds.

The thing that has so overwhelmed again and again and again, is that so many of you dared to believe me, to trust me, and to reach out and help me.

I have to start by thanking two people who have been there from day one, OmahaSteve, and Debm55.

Steve took my story at face value and gave his stamp of approval if you will, and that single decision literally saved my life. If you remember, I was also having serious heart trouble that would result in a quadruple bypass in February of 2025 and of course my fourth back operation in April of 2024.

He wrote a post that didn't just say he believed be, he asked you all to help me and boy did you.

Debm55, you have been so encouraging, so hopeful, so present every single day, that I feel like you've been one of my guardian Angels.

Hillary Clinton wrote a book in 1996 called It takes a Village, and I happen to live in the most beautiful village known to man, the DU Village.

The residents of this Village, from Wordstroken to Clouds Passing to Dorothy V from Nanuke to SheltieLover, from Niagara to Figarosmom, Catlady123 to 2naSalit, Usonian to KitFox, MineralMan to Coventina, Irisblue to Chowder66, Scrivener7 to Lifeafter70, Niyad to Question everything, Gosmudgeyourself to MVD, Mustlovebeagles to Permanut, Allan01Bear to StarryNite, MiHale to Pandr32, Lark to Mike03, and countless others who didn't just donate, but sent so many loving messages to keep me going, who offered their friendship, their love, their acceptance, and their empathy.

You've shared your tears, your hope, your support, and most importantly, your love and Spirit that can never be confused as anything else.

I've never felt more loved, accepted, embraced, supported and adopted as I have at your hands.

You have been the source spring of one miracle after another for more than a year and a half. You didn't just help with dollars, you helped me realize my worth, you helped me find my spirit, you helped me find my footing and direction.

You helped me find my relationship with my God, teaching me how to be more thankful, giving, loving. You helped me realize that I'm never alone in my trials and tribulations, you helped me find hope, gratitude, and those amazing moments of peace and relaxation in the midst of the worst of things.

You taught me how to pray, how to ask for help, and most importantly, how to accept it and that I was worth helping and saving.

One of you suggested that I say a prayer of thanks right before my heart surgery, I did, and you helped me find my voice and to feel heard.

What hasn't been said is that you changed my life, you gave me life, and yes, you absolutely saved my life. You gave me permission to be, to feel, to experience my world openly honestly and humbly.

I will try and finish this unfinishable post by thanking each and every one of you for living as an example to one another, showing how to treat one another, and most assuredly, teaching that the practice of love, is truly the greatest gift any one of us can give to each other.

I pray that I've adequately communicated how amazing this journey has been, how you've inspired me to take each of you withe as I go forward, and how I will use my coming days to live the examples you've set for me.

Thank you DU, your grace has been so beyond anything I had a right to hope for, much less ask for. I write this post with so many emotions that I only hope to share. I write this post to say that for the first time, I feel like I will get to walk equally amongst you, if for no other reason than to let you know that I'm living sharing and expressing my humbled gratitude.

I love all of you and treasure the opportunity to continue this amazing familial relationship you've so freely blessed me with.

God Speed and thank you from the very bottom of my heart DU.

Love, John Mckusick