As good as that news is, it is not enough by itself. I have found several very inexpensive laptops running over the black friday/cyeber-monday sales period and any one of them would work to get me over this hump!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Holiday-Saving-Laptop-Bundle-with-Choice-of-Laptop-Case-Flash-Drive-Printer/10966053#
https://bgr.com/2014/11/27/staples-cyber-monday-2014-sales/
The bundle would give me an added edge because it includes the printer and flash drive which would mean that I could very easily and safely transfer all of the files that I have not been able to upload from this laptop. But that or the ASUS would certainly have enough horsepower to allow me to resume freelancing.
The sooner I go home, the sooner I will be able to have this growth removed. If you want to donate towards one of these computers, you can click on the link below.. I am hoping for the bundle but either one OR an in-kind donation of a laptop that you don't need would be such a blessing!
I will update my progress - thank you and happy holidays!