Miss Tea Maven's Surgery Fundraiser
Donation protected
Hello,
I wish beyond anything that you weren't reading this right now, and that I didn't have to write it. But after some debating and number crunching, I really can't do this on my own...
The TLDR version: I severely injured my Knee at ECDX, I lost my job, and have to pay COBRA to get emergency ACL and knees surgeries. And I need help covering all the costs, more in-depth details are below. But overall it looks like I won't be skating until August 2020.
THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED:
After an AMAZING weekend with my lovely Gotham Girls All-Stars in Montreal (we crushed it.) We had two more follow up games at ECDX in PA. Our first game was just as amazing as the previous weekend, and the whole team and I were feeling on top of the world - and greatly looking forward to postseason play if our trajectory continued.
However, before the first half of our second game of the weekend (June 23rd), I took a hit wrong.
For some reason, this hit/ fall was extremely different. Before I even hit the ground, I heard and felt this sicking "POP" in my right knee - and instantly collapsed to the ground in pain. The pain was so intense, I can hardly remember anything from that moment - to when they carted me off the court in a wheelchair and seent me in an Ambulance to the ER.
At the hospital, it was a long wait for an X-ray and to see the doctor. Once the X-rays were completed and everything was reviewed, the doctor in the ER told me that my Xrays were clean - no breaks. He then proceeded to do physical tests on my knee and after a lot of twisting and poking and prodding, he stated that he found NO TEARS and that it was only a "Knee Sprain" and I should be fine in a few weeks - just R.I.C.E. and pain killer and sent me on my way.
I was so relieved, but also confused. I have sprained joints many times before, and none of them felt the way that this one felt. So I wanted to follow up myself and get an MRI to double check his diagnosis.
It took a lot of calling around, but I got an MRI on Tuesday 6/25, but it took until Friday (6/28) for someone to actually read it.
So I heard the terrible diagnosis from an orthopedist/ surgeon on June 28th:
My ACL basically exploded. He showed me the MRI - he said he can't even find the ACL. It's in pieces all over the inside of my knee. He did a few tests and determined that there is debris in my knee that is stopping my leg from straightening or bending without significant pain.
And that's a HUGE problem. We can't even start talking about ACLR (ACL Reconstruction Surgery) until I have full mobility in my leg.
I am scheduled for 'emergency' surgery Friday, July 5th to literally completely take out anything that's damaged.
I'll literally have no ACL as it will be completely removed (there is a possibility that my MCL is severely damaged too - but the MRI was inconclusive, we won't know until he goes into my knee).
- up to date as of 7/2/2019 -
- I'll update more of the story as we go along -
RECOVERY & TIMELINES:
All of the following are estimates, it could be longer or shorter, but this is what I researched:
June 23rd // ACL Rupture & Injury
June 25th // MRI
June 28th // MRI Results & Initial Diagnosis (ACL Complete Rupture & MCL Tear)
June 30th // Lost Insurance Coverage
July 1st // Bought COBRA Coverage
July 5th // "Debridement" Surgery (Removing ACL pieces)
July 6th - August 16th // Recovery Time from Debridement Surgery
Mid-August // ACL Reconstruction Surgery ?
August 2019 - August 2020 // Recovery from ACLR Surgery
September 2020 // Back to playing Roller Derby.
As you can see. It will be about 14 months before I can be back in the full swing of playing the sport that I love. And I am beyond devastated.
OTHER COMPLICATIONS:
I'll be honest with you, beyond the mental and emotional trauma of not being able to play the sport I love beyond everything else for over a year... I have other issues that made this the perfect storm & why I am asking for funding and this GoFundMe.
1) I lost my job on June 5th.
Due to a Company acquiring, I was laid off. And I have been applying and interviewing at locations ever since
2) I lost my insurance on June 30th.
It has been a nightmare dealing with insurance and claims and calling numerous places to try to get the details. It's so beyond complicated
3) I bought into COBRA on July 1st.
Due to the "emergency" nature of the 1st surgery, I needed insurance right away, so I went with the simplest and most expensive option of COBRA.
4) My mental health.
I am a diagnosed anorexic, have a major depression a self-harmer, and I am suicidal. All of these things were really going very well before the injury, I have never felt calmer and saner in the weeks leading up to me losing my job, and my injury.
I am BEYOND scared that I will regress back into my self-harming depressive state. I can't work out to "fight" my depression away. I can't skate and "achieve" in my sport to show myself that I am worth something. And I know I will really easily become a recluse and just want to "disappear" from the world. Simply because my brain tells me I am not worth anyone's time and attention.
I think my mental health is going to be the hardest part of this whole process. And I don't really know what to do about it.
COST ESTIMATES:
What it all boils down to. I'm struggling to keep everything afloat. And I would love help. I've tried to break it all down for everyone:
Hospital Visit: $250
Doctors Copay: $50 each visit.
MRI Cost: $275
Knee Brace: $1,000
Knee Debridement Surgery: $19,000
ACL Reconstruction Surgery: $25,000
COBRA insurance: $800 per month
+ Misc. Expenses
OOP MAX: $3,500
I'm asking for $5,100 to help cover my Out-of-pocket max for my insurance plus at least two months of my COBRA coverage to help get me by.
That takes me to September 2019. And I am hoping I can find a job by then with good insurance so I don't have to pay into COBRA any more...
THANK YOU & OTHER WAYS TO HELP:
It's incredibly hard to ask for help, and any little amount will go a long way. If you can't donate, please don't! It's completely fine - I will be ok! I have amazing support from friends and family.
Here are some other ways you can help if donations aren't your thing:
1) Message me and say hello! I love talking to people, and I'll be lonely when I'm holed up for months on end...
2) Send me cute animal pictures. Seriously. I love it.
3) Hire me to coach! I can still do off-skates and online coaching and consulting. It's a great way to help pay for my medical costs, but you get something more directly to you or your league. See more information on my website: MissTeaMaven.com
4) Support my mental health NFP StopStigmaNow.com - funds from Stop Stigma will still go to charity, and not me. But I feel really great when this is doing well!
5) Challenge me to do something! I'm going to start a #StayStrongChallenge. Message me and challenge me to do something, ANYTHING. and I will try to complete it. This purpose is to stay happy, healthy, and above all involved in the community that is giving me support.
7) anything else you can think of! Just having you read my story this far is enough.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. And I intend to pay everything forward! <3
I wish beyond anything that you weren't reading this right now, and that I didn't have to write it. But after some debating and number crunching, I really can't do this on my own...
The TLDR version: I severely injured my Knee at ECDX, I lost my job, and have to pay COBRA to get emergency ACL and knees surgeries. And I need help covering all the costs, more in-depth details are below. But overall it looks like I won't be skating until August 2020.
THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED:
After an AMAZING weekend with my lovely Gotham Girls All-Stars in Montreal (we crushed it.) We had two more follow up games at ECDX in PA. Our first game was just as amazing as the previous weekend, and the whole team and I were feeling on top of the world - and greatly looking forward to postseason play if our trajectory continued.
However, before the first half of our second game of the weekend (June 23rd), I took a hit wrong.
For some reason, this hit/ fall was extremely different. Before I even hit the ground, I heard and felt this sicking "POP" in my right knee - and instantly collapsed to the ground in pain. The pain was so intense, I can hardly remember anything from that moment - to when they carted me off the court in a wheelchair and seent me in an Ambulance to the ER.
At the hospital, it was a long wait for an X-ray and to see the doctor. Once the X-rays were completed and everything was reviewed, the doctor in the ER told me that my Xrays were clean - no breaks. He then proceeded to do physical tests on my knee and after a lot of twisting and poking and prodding, he stated that he found NO TEARS and that it was only a "Knee Sprain" and I should be fine in a few weeks - just R.I.C.E. and pain killer and sent me on my way.
I was so relieved, but also confused. I have sprained joints many times before, and none of them felt the way that this one felt. So I wanted to follow up myself and get an MRI to double check his diagnosis.
It took a lot of calling around, but I got an MRI on Tuesday 6/25, but it took until Friday (6/28) for someone to actually read it.
So I heard the terrible diagnosis from an orthopedist/ surgeon on June 28th:
My ACL basically exploded. He showed me the MRI - he said he can't even find the ACL. It's in pieces all over the inside of my knee. He did a few tests and determined that there is debris in my knee that is stopping my leg from straightening or bending without significant pain.
And that's a HUGE problem. We can't even start talking about ACLR (ACL Reconstruction Surgery) until I have full mobility in my leg.
I am scheduled for 'emergency' surgery Friday, July 5th to literally completely take out anything that's damaged.
I'll literally have no ACL as it will be completely removed (there is a possibility that my MCL is severely damaged too - but the MRI was inconclusive, we won't know until he goes into my knee).
- up to date as of 7/2/2019 -
- I'll update more of the story as we go along -
RECOVERY & TIMELINES:
All of the following are estimates, it could be longer or shorter, but this is what I researched:
June 23rd // ACL Rupture & Injury
June 25th // MRI
June 28th // MRI Results & Initial Diagnosis (ACL Complete Rupture & MCL Tear)
June 30th // Lost Insurance Coverage
July 1st // Bought COBRA Coverage
July 5th // "Debridement" Surgery (Removing ACL pieces)
July 6th - August 16th // Recovery Time from Debridement Surgery
Mid-August // ACL Reconstruction Surgery ?
August 2019 - August 2020 // Recovery from ACLR Surgery
September 2020 // Back to playing Roller Derby.
As you can see. It will be about 14 months before I can be back in the full swing of playing the sport that I love. And I am beyond devastated.
OTHER COMPLICATIONS:
I'll be honest with you, beyond the mental and emotional trauma of not being able to play the sport I love beyond everything else for over a year... I have other issues that made this the perfect storm & why I am asking for funding and this GoFundMe.
1) I lost my job on June 5th.
Due to a Company acquiring, I was laid off. And I have been applying and interviewing at locations ever since
2) I lost my insurance on June 30th.
It has been a nightmare dealing with insurance and claims and calling numerous places to try to get the details. It's so beyond complicated
3) I bought into COBRA on July 1st.
Due to the "emergency" nature of the 1st surgery, I needed insurance right away, so I went with the simplest and most expensive option of COBRA.
4) My mental health.
I am a diagnosed anorexic, have a major depression a self-harmer, and I am suicidal. All of these things were really going very well before the injury, I have never felt calmer and saner in the weeks leading up to me losing my job, and my injury.
I am BEYOND scared that I will regress back into my self-harming depressive state. I can't work out to "fight" my depression away. I can't skate and "achieve" in my sport to show myself that I am worth something. And I know I will really easily become a recluse and just want to "disappear" from the world. Simply because my brain tells me I am not worth anyone's time and attention.
I think my mental health is going to be the hardest part of this whole process. And I don't really know what to do about it.
COST ESTIMATES:
What it all boils down to. I'm struggling to keep everything afloat. And I would love help. I've tried to break it all down for everyone:
Hospital Visit: $250
Doctors Copay: $50 each visit.
MRI Cost: $275
Knee Brace: $1,000
Knee Debridement Surgery: $19,000
ACL Reconstruction Surgery: $25,000
COBRA insurance: $800 per month
+ Misc. Expenses
OOP MAX: $3,500
I'm asking for $5,100 to help cover my Out-of-pocket max for my insurance plus at least two months of my COBRA coverage to help get me by.
That takes me to September 2019. And I am hoping I can find a job by then with good insurance so I don't have to pay into COBRA any more...
THANK YOU & OTHER WAYS TO HELP:
It's incredibly hard to ask for help, and any little amount will go a long way. If you can't donate, please don't! It's completely fine - I will be ok! I have amazing support from friends and family.
Here are some other ways you can help if donations aren't your thing:
1) Message me and say hello! I love talking to people, and I'll be lonely when I'm holed up for months on end...
2) Send me cute animal pictures. Seriously. I love it.
3) Hire me to coach! I can still do off-skates and online coaching and consulting. It's a great way to help pay for my medical costs, but you get something more directly to you or your league. See more information on my website: MissTeaMaven.com
4) Support my mental health NFP StopStigmaNow.com - funds from Stop Stigma will still go to charity, and not me. But I feel really great when this is doing well!
5) Challenge me to do something! I'm going to start a #StayStrongChallenge. Message me and challenge me to do something, ANYTHING. and I will try to complete it. This purpose is to stay happy, healthy, and above all involved in the community that is giving me support.
7) anything else you can think of! Just having you read my story this far is enough.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. And I intend to pay everything forward! <3
Organizer
Jennifer Dean
Organizer
Union City, NJ
