Miami Gardens Mom Of Five With Congestive Heart Failure Struggles To Find Housing

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A mother of five in Miami Gardens never imagined a life blessing turning into hardship.

Gabrina Davis gave birth to twins in November of 2019. The 33-year-old mother of five now finds herself in a tough spot.

"I'm worried one day I might not wake up," said Davis.

The fun-loving twins, Ace and Aiden, were born on November 11th, 2019.

Two weeks later, Davis' health deteriorated. "I noticed my feet were still swollen," Davis said tearfully, recalling what happened.

"I wasn't eating. I was drooling out blood. I was like, what's going on with me?"

She called her mom and was rushed to urgent care and sent to the hospital. Doctors found eight bags worth of fluid in her lungs. The root cause was congestive heart failure.

"It was like a nightmare," said Annette Pettway, Gabrina's mom.

Mom and dad knew they had to step in and help. "Imagine for the last two years been supporting her and children," added Pettway. "It can be very stressful."

In 2019, a letter from Memorial Hospital detailed that Gabrina was "very functionally limited and symptomatic with very little exertion."

Even simple activities, such as walking from the mailbox back into her driveway, causes her to lose her breath.

"I hear my heart racing," said Davis when describing the difficulty of simply walking.

She has tried to apply for disability benefits. Davis intends to do so again shortly, as she says she cannot work with heart failure.

"That was a big downfall, unable to go to work," added Davis.

Time is running out.

The home she shares with her dad and five kids in Miami Gardens may no longer be an option and with the family's finances stressed, the house might have to go on the market.

"That's a great concern to me every day," said Pettway.

Davis has applied for Section 8 Public Housing in Miami-Dade County. It helps low-income families find a place to live.

However, she's one of the thousands in need.

According to the county's Public Housing and Community Development, last year, over 90,000 applied.

CBS4 learned they capped the list with randomized computer selection at 5,000.

They chose this number because it best matches the number of vouchers available from the federal government.

With so much uncertainty, Gabrina's mom sends messages to God through the diary she keeps.

"I just wrote the other day to help her, and the children get a place before the house is no longer here," said Pettway.

PHCD says in 2008, over 70,000 applied for Section 8 housing. It took them until 2021 to exhaust the list.

Miami Beach, Hialeah, and Homestead also have Section 8 vouchers.