Brookline's Mom would appreciate your assistance!
Hi, my name is Amy and this isn't one of those Go Fund Me campaigns to beat cancer, for heart surgery, or for an organ transplant. I am just a single Mom (of a very adorable soon to be 9 year old girl) who suffered an injury in the midst of a World Wide Pandemic. I am trying to raise enough money to get the medical care I need, not the crappy care that my HMO covers, and to make ends meet while I (hopefully) recover.
I, like the overwhelming majority of the world population, have been fumbling my way through this Pandemic. I wasn't thriving, but I was doing ok, thanks to savings, stimulus checks, family, friends, and even some strangers. I was making it through. That all changed on March 12, 2021, when I began suffering excruciating pain in my right arm. It felt like someone was stabbing me with a cattle prod into my fingertips, through my hand, up my arm, and into my shoulder, while simultaneously trying to rip my arm out. As long as I do next to nothing, it's almost barable, kinda like a fire burning too close to my arm. If I do much of anything, well, as they say in New York "foget about it." (I am not from New York.)
The doctors are still unsure what is causing the extreme pain. They all seem to think it's a pinched nerve, but aren't sure where it is pinched. Maybe my cervical spine, maybe the brachial plexus, maybe at my elbow or wrist. Who knows? Apparently ,not my doctors.
I had an X-ray of my neck, and MRIs of my cervical spine and my right shoulder. I am scheduled for nerve conduction testing in mid-August. My neurologist wants to refer me to an orthopedic specialist (he wonders why my primary care physician hasn't already done this, as do I). My pain doctor wants to refer me to a neurosurgeon (I don't think that is currently necessary at this time and neither does my PCP). The diagnostic testing so far shows that I have a few tears in my shoulder/rotator cuff, tendonosis (not to be confused with tendinitis), osteoarthritis, several small cervical disc bulges, a small herniated disc, and some disc degeneration. It doesn't fully explain the excruciating pain.
I have had 4 steroid injections that haven't helped. I had 8 weeks of physical therapy. The first 3 weeks were at the facility my HMO covers and it was a joke. The last 5 weeks I received excellent PT care, but I paid out of pocket and can no longer afford to continue. My neurologist wants to refer me for more physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy. As I mentioned, the PT my HMO is contracted with is a joke. If I want to get better, and I do, I need care from the facility that isn't covered by my insurance.
I need help making ends meet, as well as help paying for the medical care that I need to get better and back to being a productive member of society. I cashed out my 401k and sold all of my stocks. I am tapped out and my only current source of income is child support. I need around an additional $1,500-$2,000 each month to pay for my living expenses and my medical treatments. My doctors have no idea how long it will be until I am better. It could be a few months, it could be years. I am hoping and praying it's only months.
In the mean time, I am trying to find work that I can do that doesn't require the use of my right arm, fine motor skills, lifting more than 10 pounds, twisting or repetitive motions.
As an aside, I had my first job when I was 9 or 10 delivering newspapers in Northern Maine (in all the weather), I picked potatoes seasonally. I have babysat, worked in a gas station/deli, worked in an assited living facility, worked retail, and most recently worked in law offices. I worked through high school, college, and professional school. I am no stranger to hard work. I like having my own money and really would rather be on the giving end than a story on GoFundMe.
PS. I will always love the Red Sox, even though I no longer recognize any of the players. My daughter is even named after 1 of the cross streets outside Fenway Park.
Thank you for your time and generosity.