Brain Aneurysms/Surgery Recovery
Donation protected
My name is Barbara and I am 42 years old. If you have known me long enough, you will know that I have struggled through and overcome much in life, and I just recently moved about an hour away from just about everyone I know and love. I have worked very hard to get to the point that I am at right now in life, and it would be easy to say something like, "it just figured that all this would happen right after I get completely in my own two feet" or the old cliche "why do bad things happen to god people," because honestly, bad things just happen, and they can happen to anyone and at any given time.
I had been having severe headaches for quite a while, and finally in March I just couldn't take it anymore because absolutely nothing was helping the pain, so I finally got in to see a neurologist in the area. Through a series of exams, testing and finally an invasive procedure, it was determined that I have not just one brain aneurysm, but two brain aneurysms. On June 23, 2016, I underwent brain surgery doing both coiling and a pipeline embolization to repair the largest of the two aneurysms. I was in ICU for the first 2 nights, in a regular room, then allowed to go home to finish recovering. The beginning of my recovery actually went really well. I was ambulatory early, got to go home relatively early, was able to eat and drink practically immediately, my pain was being controlled, and everything was moving forward. I have had a couple of setbacks in the interim, however, that have caused me not to be able to go back to work yet. I have ended up in the ER twice.
The first time, pressure was building a little in my head and causing extreme pain behind my left eye, which is where my aneurysm repair is -- directly behind my optic nerve -- also the reason we are trying to avoid completely open brain surgery, because if they have to drill directly behind my optic nerve, I would more than likely lose vision in that eye and the potential for complications is just so much higher than what I am already dealing with. I have also been struggling with a few cognitive issues, one of those being losing my balance, as well as short term memory loss. My imbalance issue led to a recent huge fall that caused a very large bruise and burst blood vessel in my right hip, which is the side they had to incise my femoral artery on in order to insert a catheter. That whole area will be looked at on July 20, 2016.
My second ER trip was just a couple of days ago, and was ultimately for 2 reasons: When I sent a picture of my hip and injury to my neurosurgeon, he immediately sent me to the hospital for a Plavix level lab test to determine if I was perhaps supratherapeutic and it was causing my blood to be way too thin (which it turns out IS the case and was instructed today to take Plavix every third day instead of daily), but also because I had been having extreme abdominal pain for 3 days and had not been able to eat or drink anything in the same amount of said time. After labs and CT imaging, I've been diagnosed with Clostrodium difficile colitis, which is a highly contagious "mega-bug" infection. So, now I am on massive antibiotics in addition to the aspirin and Plavix, and I am hoping it all goes away soon; however, all of this combined has me still out of work for now, and still accumulating medical bills and paying both large and small copays.
That's where this fundraiser comes into play. I waited as long as I could to see if I would need help, and unfortunately, I definitely need it. I don't have short term disability or anything generating income while I am on medical leave and doing everything I can to get my body to heal. I refuse to give up. I have fought way too long and hard through, over and under obstacles of all shapes and sizes to be permanently knocked down. I am so looking forward to getting back to both of my jobs, but I have also learned that there is a time to admit when you need help, and there is a place to have the courage to ask for it. So, I'm asking. As hard as this is for me, I am here asking.
The first $1200 raised will go to pay my rent and utility bills for the month of August, which I feel is just screeching around a corner right now. My anxiety level is so high, I can literally hear my heart beating in my head sometimes. That could very well just be my aneurysm repair, though. That was meant to be a joke, but I didn't laugh at myself like I normally do. Yikes. The rest of what is raised will go toward medical bills that are starting to stack up, and as of right now the numbers that I have out there are only what has come in so far. I honestly have no idea how high it will reach, but I'm also not going to worry myself to death over something I have absolutely no control of. Currently, I owe approximately $1100 in out-of-pocket expenses that I haven't been able to pay. Anything that is left of money raised will go toward Septembet expenses, IF I still need help, OR it will be kept in a separate medical expense account to help me when I am out of work again in approximately 5 months, because that is when we are planning on repairing the second aneurysm, which is smaller and should be an easier repair.
Thank you, if you've taken time to go through this whole thing. I did my best to explain everything, but if you still have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I know a lot of people don't think tiny contributions matter, but when I say that anything helps, I really do mean it. Thank you in advance for whatever you decide to do, whether it's donating or sharing this fundraiser for as far and wide as it will reach. My faith is strong, my perseverance is strong, and I refuse to sink. If any of you are going through any kind of tough time, please remember that you are never alone, even if you feel like it sometimes, and never give up!! Stay strong.
I had been having severe headaches for quite a while, and finally in March I just couldn't take it anymore because absolutely nothing was helping the pain, so I finally got in to see a neurologist in the area. Through a series of exams, testing and finally an invasive procedure, it was determined that I have not just one brain aneurysm, but two brain aneurysms. On June 23, 2016, I underwent brain surgery doing both coiling and a pipeline embolization to repair the largest of the two aneurysms. I was in ICU for the first 2 nights, in a regular room, then allowed to go home to finish recovering. The beginning of my recovery actually went really well. I was ambulatory early, got to go home relatively early, was able to eat and drink practically immediately, my pain was being controlled, and everything was moving forward. I have had a couple of setbacks in the interim, however, that have caused me not to be able to go back to work yet. I have ended up in the ER twice.
The first time, pressure was building a little in my head and causing extreme pain behind my left eye, which is where my aneurysm repair is -- directly behind my optic nerve -- also the reason we are trying to avoid completely open brain surgery, because if they have to drill directly behind my optic nerve, I would more than likely lose vision in that eye and the potential for complications is just so much higher than what I am already dealing with. I have also been struggling with a few cognitive issues, one of those being losing my balance, as well as short term memory loss. My imbalance issue led to a recent huge fall that caused a very large bruise and burst blood vessel in my right hip, which is the side they had to incise my femoral artery on in order to insert a catheter. That whole area will be looked at on July 20, 2016.
My second ER trip was just a couple of days ago, and was ultimately for 2 reasons: When I sent a picture of my hip and injury to my neurosurgeon, he immediately sent me to the hospital for a Plavix level lab test to determine if I was perhaps supratherapeutic and it was causing my blood to be way too thin (which it turns out IS the case and was instructed today to take Plavix every third day instead of daily), but also because I had been having extreme abdominal pain for 3 days and had not been able to eat or drink anything in the same amount of said time. After labs and CT imaging, I've been diagnosed with Clostrodium difficile colitis, which is a highly contagious "mega-bug" infection. So, now I am on massive antibiotics in addition to the aspirin and Plavix, and I am hoping it all goes away soon; however, all of this combined has me still out of work for now, and still accumulating medical bills and paying both large and small copays.
That's where this fundraiser comes into play. I waited as long as I could to see if I would need help, and unfortunately, I definitely need it. I don't have short term disability or anything generating income while I am on medical leave and doing everything I can to get my body to heal. I refuse to give up. I have fought way too long and hard through, over and under obstacles of all shapes and sizes to be permanently knocked down. I am so looking forward to getting back to both of my jobs, but I have also learned that there is a time to admit when you need help, and there is a place to have the courage to ask for it. So, I'm asking. As hard as this is for me, I am here asking.
The first $1200 raised will go to pay my rent and utility bills for the month of August, which I feel is just screeching around a corner right now. My anxiety level is so high, I can literally hear my heart beating in my head sometimes. That could very well just be my aneurysm repair, though. That was meant to be a joke, but I didn't laugh at myself like I normally do. Yikes. The rest of what is raised will go toward medical bills that are starting to stack up, and as of right now the numbers that I have out there are only what has come in so far. I honestly have no idea how high it will reach, but I'm also not going to worry myself to death over something I have absolutely no control of. Currently, I owe approximately $1100 in out-of-pocket expenses that I haven't been able to pay. Anything that is left of money raised will go toward Septembet expenses, IF I still need help, OR it will be kept in a separate medical expense account to help me when I am out of work again in approximately 5 months, because that is when we are planning on repairing the second aneurysm, which is smaller and should be an easier repair.
Thank you, if you've taken time to go through this whole thing. I did my best to explain everything, but if you still have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I know a lot of people don't think tiny contributions matter, but when I say that anything helps, I really do mean it. Thank you in advance for whatever you decide to do, whether it's donating or sharing this fundraiser for as far and wide as it will reach. My faith is strong, my perseverance is strong, and I refuse to sink. If any of you are going through any kind of tough time, please remember that you are never alone, even if you feel like it sometimes, and never give up!! Stay strong.
Organizer
Barbara Frances O'Dell
Organizer
Daytona Beach, FL