“Not everyone deserves a second chance, but I’m fighting for mine to be with my child again”

Dear friends,

I am at the end of my strength, mentally and physically exhausted. For the past two years, I’ve been working two jobs every day to pay off a debt I accumulated because of one big mistake. I know I have to pay for my mistakes, and I do it every day, but I can’t take much more. I want more than anything to put an end to this chapter and to get my family back, to be the father and husband I should be.

As a teenager, I fell into the trap of gambling, but I didn’t think much of it at the time. I would play occasionally, not considering the consequences of my actions. Then I completely stopped for a long period of time, focusing on other things and leaving this addiction behind. But two years ago, I suffered a great loss in my family that mentally broke me. During those days of pain, when I couldn’t find peace, I turned back to my old vice—gambling. One day, out of a bad decision, I entered a casino and lost approximately $16,000, money I didn’t have, which I borrowed from the bank via internet banking, not realizing in the moment just how serious the situation was.

I’ve fought my gambling addiction. For the past two years, I’ve been in therapy, seeking help, and working hard to heal. I am a changed man, and I have overcome this addiction, but the cost has been high. Every day, my sacrifices have directly affected my wife and child. My wife has stood by me, supporting me unconditionally, but her suffering is great, and my child, who has had to do without me, is also paying a heavy price. I am paying for my mistakes, and I deserve to suffer for my decisions, but what is truly unfair is that they, the ones who have supported and loved me, are suffering because of my actions.

I am deeply ashamed that I’ve come to ask for help, but I simply cannot carry on. I know there are people in the world with real problems—people with illnesses, people who truly deserve help. Not me, someone who put himself in this situation. But I just can’t do it anymore. I am desperate. I have no other solution but to trust in the kindness of others and ask for your help.

I have managed to pay off more than half of the debt, but I still owe $6,000 to be able to reclaim my life and spend quality time with my family. Working two jobs has drained me, and my absence from home is a wound I cannot heal except by making a real change. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” I’ve done everything in my power to make things right, but I need your help to close this chapter and be with my loved ones again.

What brought me here, asking for your help as a last resort? A simple sentence spoken by my 4-year-old child today while we were watching a cartoon on YouTube, in which Santa Claus appeared. My daughter said: “I can’t wait for Christmas to come and we’ll decorate the tree together!” At that moment, I broke down, crying like a baby, because I couldn’t get time off from both my jobs for the holidays. The thought that this is the third year in a row I’ll be working late into the night, when she will most likely be asleep, and that this year she is old enough to miss me, destroyed me. Her words pierced me like a knife, all because of one cursed day when i felt lost and i wasn’t in the right mind.

If you are able to support me, any contribution, no matter how small, will help me immensely and bring me one step closer to reclaiming my life and being with my wife and child during the important moments. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any help and for being there for me during this trial.