Brittany’s Medical Bills Fund

Last year Mike and I worked hard like anybody else we know to secure our jobs and our future. We work hard daily running our business and had been planning for 3 years to buy a home. In July we finally did. Shortly after this huge life milestone, I began to feel ill. I was going to the bathroom more frequently and my stomach was always upset. I had loose stool and cramping. I went to the doctors and there wasn’t much wrong except some irritation. Fast forward 2 months and my symptoms magnified to the point I couldn’t be more than 10 minutes between bathroom runs, blood and diarrhea, excruciating pains...i had to go to the hospital. I thought maybe I had contracted some kind of stomach parasite or ecoli and would be given antibiotics and be on my way home. Boy was I wrong. I ended up in so much pain and discomfort and so sick. While being in the hospital after lots of tests and failed medications, we came up with the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. Not only was I diagnosed in the hospital, within 2 weeks my colon was so diseased it was mandatory we remove it for the sake of my life. I had a huge surgery while weak from being sick for so long, that my hospital stay ended up lasted much longer than anyone anticipated. I was in the hospital through most of the holidays. It was about 6-8 weeks of being in the hospital, being discharged too soon, going back, being discharged again, going back due to high levels of pain, to being discharged yet again. It’s been about 4 months since I first went into the hospital and it has taken a toll on my body and my life. I lost a dramatic amount of weight which left my recovery very difficult. Loads of side effect from malnutrition, my body was in serious shock. Still is. It has taken 2 months to get back to 80% of the energy I used to have. I havent been able to work, been trying to make sure disability pays me, and in the meantime my medical bills started piling on. Not being able to work and also having medical bills and also needing to increase my insurance coverage -since I will be needing to have TWO MORE SURGERIES this year- has left me completely broke. Not only broke, but in debt. I had insurance but with a high deductible. I have never been ill before, I was healthy, active, fit... so this has been a crazy, scary, very unexpected ride. Mike and I bought a house and within one month I was hospitalized- leaving Mike alone to run our business, and me unable to help. Luckily, financially, Mike is able to take care of the bills around the home, but he cannot also tackle my medical debts on top of that. I expect to have two more surgeries this year which will leave me unable to work for another possible 12 weeks (6 weeks recovery after both surgeries) . This only means more bills and more time unable to work. I have applied for financial help through Kaiser but they have been extremely slow to get back to me and may reject my claim. I have never asked for money for myself. Never. I paid my way through college, got grants, did whatever I could and graduated without any college debt. I have worked since I was 15 yrs old and never stopped. But this- this has left me physically unable to fix my own finances. This is why I am asking for any help anyone can give so I can focus on myself. My healing. And not have to stress about paying off bills while going through the hardest time of my life. So, any amount helps. Thank you, deeply, from Mike and myself.