Help Anne Through A Medical Crisis
Donation protected
My name is Anne and I am in crisis - I urgently need help for unanticipated medical costs so that I can recover from unexpected emergency medical surgery in December 2018 and get well.
You may know me as she who broke every single finger on her right hand in August 2017. I’m almost completely healed from the fractures, but I still struggle with pain and inflexibility and other symptoms, but on December 18th, 2018 I start experiencing really severe stomach cramps and bloating. I was in so much agony that I thought I had appendicitis. I was panicking about going to the hospital because I’ve never been hospitalized before and I was also extremely, extremely anxious about my money situation due to already draining medical debt.
A friend finally took me to the hospital on December 20, 2018. A few hours later I was in surgery for a complete intestinal obstruction, a type of the obstruction called a cecal volvulus. What that means is that one of my intestines was turned back around on itself and twisted – yes, my guts were literally twisting - blocking the intestinal track. Emergency room physician as well as the surgeon told me that if I hadn’t come in, I probably would’ve been dead within four more days.
The surgeons took out over 1 foot of my descending right colon well as my appendix. They had to cut through my stomach muscles – they had to open me up because they couldn’t do a laproscopic surgery. I was in the hospital for 11 days and was discharged in January 2019 . My wound got infected in the hospital, so they had to open up some of the sutures to let it drain – and recovery has been long and slow, because I’ve been having to apply a wet to dry pack on those still open wounds.
I’m being attended by a home healthcare nurse and physical therapist that is partially paid by Medicare. My hospital bill arrived and it’s $110,000. Medicare will cover about 80 % of that less my deductible for January 2019. So I’m left with quite a bit of substantial medical debt on top of already trying to survive just on disability.
Your donations could mean that I can continue to make my hospital bill monthly payments, make my credit card payment so that I can survive from month to month without destroying my credit,, help me to pay my power bill by March 8th, 2019 so that I can keep my power on which is absolutely necessary to survive, as well as pay for my monthly prescriptions. Right now my bank account is at zero and I urgently need $300 hundred dollars to get by till March 20, 2019.
I will happily answer all questions and show documentation upon request.
I don’t want to go through medical bankruptcy. That’s what I’m facing if I can’t get help with my monthly payments and living expenses. My medical payments are absolutely draining me and I’m already on severe caloric restriction, eating just one full meal a day on top of a protein shake for breakfast.
I want to pay it forward. I want to educate people about the signs of a volvulus-type intestinal obstruction and how people can recognize the early warning signs. Your donations can help me survive, get well and hopefully get back to full functioning within a few months, and start to do that.
You can read more about my medical history below. Thank you so much for reading this far and I really, really appreciate it!
*****
I took a bad fall on a broken piece of city sidewalk in August 2017, sustaining multiple severe injuries and fractures to both of my hands. You can find photos and the details of my injuries using the hashtag #ShatteredHandChronicles on Twitter. Because I am under insured, I have sustained huge medical debt which I need help with beginning to pay off so that I can continue rehabilitative treatment for my hands.
Right now my most pressing need is to get new prescription glasses. I am wearing glasses that are nine years old – the prescription is nine years out of date! Unfortunately my frames are in such bad condition that I cannot simply replace the lenses in the frames that I currently have. I have EyeMed vision insurance, but as most of you will know, that barely covers anything. Even with applying my insurance benefits, the current total I need to get my glasses is $699.60. I have explored other options such as using Zenni optical, due to your kind suggestions, but unfortunately my prescription is such that they are unable to fill it. Your donations will mean that I’ll be able to see so that I can continue to research my so that I can continue to drive, which means I can continue to get medical treatment, and I’ll be able to read and further research so that I can get a definitive diagnosis.
I also need to pay off $397 to my hand therapist so that I can continue hand rehabilitation treatment and pain treatment, as well as over $1097 to my neurologist, who is giving me CALMARE treatments to prevent development of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in my right hand.
Additionally, in 2015 I developed quite suddenly body wide agonizing neuropathy. I was diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy as a partial diagnosis but have yet to get a definitive diagnosis. This means that I had to leave work and I’m currently surviving on disability. It’s been very, very hard to try and keep my head above water as my medical debt grows. My medical providers have kindly agreed to work with me, but they will no longer give me treatment if I do not begin to make regular payments on the amounts that I owe them. This is the harsh and unforgiving reality of healthcare in United States.
August 24th, 2018 was the one year anniversary of me taking such a bad fall that I broke four fingers on my right hand, sustaining severe fractures and injuries to the tendons and ligaments, as well as sustaining tendon and ligament injuries on my left hand. Again, can find the details of my injuries using the hashtag #ShatteredHandChronicles hand on Twitter .
It’s over twelve months later and both my hands are still causing me pain. My right hand is in pain.
I only am still wearing the casts on the fingers of my right at night. Without diligently doing hand therapy every day, the tendons in my right hand risk pretraction. As it is, I have permanent disfigurement and impaired use of the fingers in my right hand. My hand surgeon estimates that it will be up to two years before the swelling fully goes down and up to *five* years before my fingers knit smooth completely, and even then I will likely be left with a permanent lag in one or more fingers.
I am on Medicare and although I do have secondary insurance with Aetna, I just found out that Aetna will not be paying any of the costs related to this fall. Medicare only pays up to 80% (and that is only if your provider is in Medicare's network).
I need your help so that I can regain full use of my hands and heal. I cannot make a living without my hands - and I am out of work as it is. I am not going to survive this without your help.
I need:
- $397 to cover the co-pays for my hand therapy with an occupational therapist to date (this isn't even covering the months of future therapy that I will need)
- $1,459 to cover my bill with my primary care doctor (MD), who is not an in-network provider
- $730 to cover co-pays for all of the prescription anti-imflammatory medications and topicals that I have had to purchase for my hand that weren't covered by insurance
- $1,097 to cover CALMARE treatments that my neurologist administered to help with the agonizing pain and swelling in my right hand - this is not covered by Medicare
- $400 to cover hand massages to help keep my hands mobile and to reduce the swelling - the swelling is still significant, and I wake up every morning unable to move my right hand
- $533to cover my co-pays thus far to my hand surgeon's office for dozens of x-rays/imaging, therapy management, and cast creation for my fingers
- $75 to cover my co-pay for my emergency room visit on the evening of August 24th, 2017 where I was treated
- $400 to recover the unanticipated cost of transporation (Lyft, taxis) to and from almost daily medical appointments, grocery shopping, etc. because I was not able to drive for three months
Your donations will mean that I can avoid bankruptcy and homelessness, and continue to get the care I need for my hands so that I can return to work.
On top of that, you can help me with my other medical condition: severe chronic pain:
Two years ago I started to get sick with burning, agonizing nerve pain all over my body, vision problems, muscle pain, unexplained cognitive impairment, pain in my right eye when I tried to look to the right, balance problems, chronic insomnia, unexplained skin lesions, sudden mood swings, and a host of awful other symptoms that I would not wish on anyone. I am unable to work and am living on federal disability and trying to survive on Medicare, which is not enough for me to get a diagnosis and care for my mystery condition.
After a long search I found a really good neurologist, who has begun the long process of trying to diagnose me and refer me to specialists. She did two nerve conduction studies, a small fiber biopsy, lots of blood labwork, and wants to do a genetic test that will cost $600 which might be key to diagnosing me. The nerve conduction studies were not covered by insurance and cost me close to $3,500.00 which I now owe to my neurologist and cannot pay.
Additionally, my highly competent primary doctor has been trying to diagnose me, working in tandem with my neurologist. She needs me to do a test for Lyme and parasitic co-infection, food allergy testing (this will cost $500.00 and is not covered by Medicare), testing for autoimmune disorders, more genetic testing to see if I have various possible rare conditions, and also has me on supplements which are helping my pain, but which are not covered by insurance. I currently owe my doctor $2,500.00.
Because of the severe pain in my right eye, after a long search I was referred to a very promising neuro-opthamologist who can help me, but who has opted out of Medicare - this will cost at least another $1,000.00.
My vision problems mean that I need new glasses and contacts so that I can continue to see well enough to research my condition, and search for possible treatments online. My vision insurance will not cover the cost of new glasses (lenses only) and contacts. That will cost another $699.60. All I want is to be able to see well enough so that I can be a vigorous advocate for myself and get well so that I can return to being a productive member of society.
My trusty five-year-old laptop completely failed on me two weeks ago and I urgently need a new one, which will cost $1,000. (It is very hard to research medical conditions on a smartphone when you have trouble reading even the largest print.)
I will also need to pay for my neurologist-recommened occupational therapy and neuro-plasticity therapy for my pain management so that my pain level can be lowered.
Because a working car is crucial to traveling to my medical appointments, I need to get my car repaired. It needs new brakes, a service, and a new battery. This will cost around $450. This will also mean a new auto insurance policy. The cheapest quote is about $840 for the next year with Triple AAA.
I also very much need help with rent payments, help with groceries (I have skipped countless meals and been on caloric restriction due to finances), a trip to the Stanford Sleep Lab, counseling to deal with my chronic pain, help with staying on my supplements, and help for the trauma that this all has caused to me and my bank account.
Your donations will help me avoid homelessness, navigate the incredibly complex medical system, be able to drive to doctor's and specialist appointments, get the tests that I need, get to the Stanford sleep lab to get help with my debilitating insomnia, and get a diagnosis for my illness. All I want is to get well.
Thank you so much for reading. <3
You may know me as she who broke every single finger on her right hand in August 2017. I’m almost completely healed from the fractures, but I still struggle with pain and inflexibility and other symptoms, but on December 18th, 2018 I start experiencing really severe stomach cramps and bloating. I was in so much agony that I thought I had appendicitis. I was panicking about going to the hospital because I’ve never been hospitalized before and I was also extremely, extremely anxious about my money situation due to already draining medical debt.
A friend finally took me to the hospital on December 20, 2018. A few hours later I was in surgery for a complete intestinal obstruction, a type of the obstruction called a cecal volvulus. What that means is that one of my intestines was turned back around on itself and twisted – yes, my guts were literally twisting - blocking the intestinal track. Emergency room physician as well as the surgeon told me that if I hadn’t come in, I probably would’ve been dead within four more days.
The surgeons took out over 1 foot of my descending right colon well as my appendix. They had to cut through my stomach muscles – they had to open me up because they couldn’t do a laproscopic surgery. I was in the hospital for 11 days and was discharged in January 2019 . My wound got infected in the hospital, so they had to open up some of the sutures to let it drain – and recovery has been long and slow, because I’ve been having to apply a wet to dry pack on those still open wounds.
I’m being attended by a home healthcare nurse and physical therapist that is partially paid by Medicare. My hospital bill arrived and it’s $110,000. Medicare will cover about 80 % of that less my deductible for January 2019. So I’m left with quite a bit of substantial medical debt on top of already trying to survive just on disability.
Your donations could mean that I can continue to make my hospital bill monthly payments, make my credit card payment so that I can survive from month to month without destroying my credit,, help me to pay my power bill by March 8th, 2019 so that I can keep my power on which is absolutely necessary to survive, as well as pay for my monthly prescriptions. Right now my bank account is at zero and I urgently need $300 hundred dollars to get by till March 20, 2019.
I will happily answer all questions and show documentation upon request.
I don’t want to go through medical bankruptcy. That’s what I’m facing if I can’t get help with my monthly payments and living expenses. My medical payments are absolutely draining me and I’m already on severe caloric restriction, eating just one full meal a day on top of a protein shake for breakfast.
I want to pay it forward. I want to educate people about the signs of a volvulus-type intestinal obstruction and how people can recognize the early warning signs. Your donations can help me survive, get well and hopefully get back to full functioning within a few months, and start to do that.
You can read more about my medical history below. Thank you so much for reading this far and I really, really appreciate it!
*****
I took a bad fall on a broken piece of city sidewalk in August 2017, sustaining multiple severe injuries and fractures to both of my hands. You can find photos and the details of my injuries using the hashtag #ShatteredHandChronicles on Twitter. Because I am under insured, I have sustained huge medical debt which I need help with beginning to pay off so that I can continue rehabilitative treatment for my hands.
Right now my most pressing need is to get new prescription glasses. I am wearing glasses that are nine years old – the prescription is nine years out of date! Unfortunately my frames are in such bad condition that I cannot simply replace the lenses in the frames that I currently have. I have EyeMed vision insurance, but as most of you will know, that barely covers anything. Even with applying my insurance benefits, the current total I need to get my glasses is $699.60. I have explored other options such as using Zenni optical, due to your kind suggestions, but unfortunately my prescription is such that they are unable to fill it. Your donations will mean that I’ll be able to see so that I can continue to research my so that I can continue to drive, which means I can continue to get medical treatment, and I’ll be able to read and further research so that I can get a definitive diagnosis.
I also need to pay off $397 to my hand therapist so that I can continue hand rehabilitation treatment and pain treatment, as well as over $1097 to my neurologist, who is giving me CALMARE treatments to prevent development of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in my right hand.
Additionally, in 2015 I developed quite suddenly body wide agonizing neuropathy. I was diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy as a partial diagnosis but have yet to get a definitive diagnosis. This means that I had to leave work and I’m currently surviving on disability. It’s been very, very hard to try and keep my head above water as my medical debt grows. My medical providers have kindly agreed to work with me, but they will no longer give me treatment if I do not begin to make regular payments on the amounts that I owe them. This is the harsh and unforgiving reality of healthcare in United States.
August 24th, 2018 was the one year anniversary of me taking such a bad fall that I broke four fingers on my right hand, sustaining severe fractures and injuries to the tendons and ligaments, as well as sustaining tendon and ligament injuries on my left hand. Again, can find the details of my injuries using the hashtag #ShatteredHandChronicles hand on Twitter .
It’s over twelve months later and both my hands are still causing me pain. My right hand is in pain.
I only am still wearing the casts on the fingers of my right at night. Without diligently doing hand therapy every day, the tendons in my right hand risk pretraction. As it is, I have permanent disfigurement and impaired use of the fingers in my right hand. My hand surgeon estimates that it will be up to two years before the swelling fully goes down and up to *five* years before my fingers knit smooth completely, and even then I will likely be left with a permanent lag in one or more fingers.
I am on Medicare and although I do have secondary insurance with Aetna, I just found out that Aetna will not be paying any of the costs related to this fall. Medicare only pays up to 80% (and that is only if your provider is in Medicare's network).
I need your help so that I can regain full use of my hands and heal. I cannot make a living without my hands - and I am out of work as it is. I am not going to survive this without your help.
I need:
- $397 to cover the co-pays for my hand therapy with an occupational therapist to date (this isn't even covering the months of future therapy that I will need)
- $1,459 to cover my bill with my primary care doctor (MD), who is not an in-network provider
- $730 to cover co-pays for all of the prescription anti-imflammatory medications and topicals that I have had to purchase for my hand that weren't covered by insurance
- $1,097 to cover CALMARE treatments that my neurologist administered to help with the agonizing pain and swelling in my right hand - this is not covered by Medicare
- $400 to cover hand massages to help keep my hands mobile and to reduce the swelling - the swelling is still significant, and I wake up every morning unable to move my right hand
- $533to cover my co-pays thus far to my hand surgeon's office for dozens of x-rays/imaging, therapy management, and cast creation for my fingers
- $75 to cover my co-pay for my emergency room visit on the evening of August 24th, 2017 where I was treated
- $400 to recover the unanticipated cost of transporation (Lyft, taxis) to and from almost daily medical appointments, grocery shopping, etc. because I was not able to drive for three months
Your donations will mean that I can avoid bankruptcy and homelessness, and continue to get the care I need for my hands so that I can return to work.
On top of that, you can help me with my other medical condition: severe chronic pain:
Two years ago I started to get sick with burning, agonizing nerve pain all over my body, vision problems, muscle pain, unexplained cognitive impairment, pain in my right eye when I tried to look to the right, balance problems, chronic insomnia, unexplained skin lesions, sudden mood swings, and a host of awful other symptoms that I would not wish on anyone. I am unable to work and am living on federal disability and trying to survive on Medicare, which is not enough for me to get a diagnosis and care for my mystery condition.
After a long search I found a really good neurologist, who has begun the long process of trying to diagnose me and refer me to specialists. She did two nerve conduction studies, a small fiber biopsy, lots of blood labwork, and wants to do a genetic test that will cost $600 which might be key to diagnosing me. The nerve conduction studies were not covered by insurance and cost me close to $3,500.00 which I now owe to my neurologist and cannot pay.
Additionally, my highly competent primary doctor has been trying to diagnose me, working in tandem with my neurologist. She needs me to do a test for Lyme and parasitic co-infection, food allergy testing (this will cost $500.00 and is not covered by Medicare), testing for autoimmune disorders, more genetic testing to see if I have various possible rare conditions, and also has me on supplements which are helping my pain, but which are not covered by insurance. I currently owe my doctor $2,500.00.
Because of the severe pain in my right eye, after a long search I was referred to a very promising neuro-opthamologist who can help me, but who has opted out of Medicare - this will cost at least another $1,000.00.
My vision problems mean that I need new glasses and contacts so that I can continue to see well enough to research my condition, and search for possible treatments online. My vision insurance will not cover the cost of new glasses (lenses only) and contacts. That will cost another $699.60. All I want is to be able to see well enough so that I can be a vigorous advocate for myself and get well so that I can return to being a productive member of society.
My trusty five-year-old laptop completely failed on me two weeks ago and I urgently need a new one, which will cost $1,000. (It is very hard to research medical conditions on a smartphone when you have trouble reading even the largest print.)
I will also need to pay for my neurologist-recommened occupational therapy and neuro-plasticity therapy for my pain management so that my pain level can be lowered.
Because a working car is crucial to traveling to my medical appointments, I need to get my car repaired. It needs new brakes, a service, and a new battery. This will cost around $450. This will also mean a new auto insurance policy. The cheapest quote is about $840 for the next year with Triple AAA.
I also very much need help with rent payments, help with groceries (I have skipped countless meals and been on caloric restriction due to finances), a trip to the Stanford Sleep Lab, counseling to deal with my chronic pain, help with staying on my supplements, and help for the trauma that this all has caused to me and my bank account.
Your donations will help me avoid homelessness, navigate the incredibly complex medical system, be able to drive to doctor's and specialist appointments, get the tests that I need, get to the Stanford sleep lab to get help with my debilitating insomnia, and get a diagnosis for my illness. All I want is to get well.
Thank you so much for reading. <3
Organizer
Anne M.
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
