Credit management suing me

Location: Arkansas

In 2023, I had a traumatic c-section. From this event I ended up being diagnosed with PTSD. My mental health was not good and everything to do with that event got sealed away in my mind and ignored as much as possible. This included the bill from the hospital (around $9,000). The hospital transferred that bill to a credit management company that filed court proceedings to sue me. I did not want to go to court, so I set up the lowest monthly payment I could. A few months later, my mom (who was my children’s caregiver) got sick and diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer, so my husband quit his job to stay home with the children. We went down to one income. It is nowhere near what we made together. As a result, I can’t pay all of my bills per month and this is one I let go. My mom died in April and as her only child, I had to pay out of pocket in full for her services, which set me back even more. I received another court filing informing me the company wants to garnish my paychecks. I cannot afford a lawyer. Is there a way I could negotiate a lower monthly payment to avoid this without going to court?
My mortgage was just raised due to property taxes increasing as well. I have to pick and choose what goes late every month to be able to get groceries and have gas to get to work. I have so much stress and desperation constantly, this just adds to it and I’m lost on what to do.