Hi, I’m Shannon. I live in Abilene, Texas and am married to my wonderful husband Frank and we have 4 children. My husband and I both work full time to support our family. My husband remodels homes and I clean houses. We both have to work very hard in order to pay all of our bills and feed our family. We do not have medical insurance, so we pay all Dr. Visits with cash up front as self-pay patients. This is very difficult at times, but with God’s grace, we have always somehow managed. On Tuesday, May 15th I was on my way home from work when I started experiencing severe back pain slightly to the left middle section of my spine area. It’s something I’ve never felt before, and it scared me enough to call my chiropractor’s office to see if I could get an appointment. They were able to get me in within the next 30 minutes of me calling. I actually drove straight there and by the time I arrived, I could barely get out of my car. I didn’t understand what was happening. I hadn’t had a fall or injury and I’ve been doing the exact same routine for the past 3 years. Cleaning 1-3 houses per day and going home to take care of my children as they arrive home from school. After being seen by the chiropractor, he had done some adjustments, done stimulation treatment and cortisone cream treatment, applied ice packs, etc. I had no relief in sight. He feared it may be a kidney problem or something else going on, so he recommended I go to the non-emergency clinic for further treatment and evaluation. I had to be wheeled out of the office and out to the car where my husband had to pick me up. I could no longer walk unassisted and couldn’t even stand up straight. I was seen at the walk-in clinic and the Dr stated that my back was in fact swollen in that area and he thought it was most likely a muscle spasm that had gotten that muscle so hard, it was like a rock. He gave me a steroid injection and a pain killer injection and sent me home with a prescription for muscle relaxers and an order not to work but to just rest. I’ve been doing just that. I made it through the night unable to move without the help of my husband. Nothing has helped my condition, not the injections I’ve had, nor the chiropractic care, not the prescribed muscle relaxers. Wednesday, I decided to try Chinese acupressure. I had a great experience at a local massage place and they took great care of me, however I still felt no change. I was able to walk on my own Wednesday afternoon and felt like maybe I was getting better, until I stood in my kitchen Wednesday around 5pm and started feeling several stabs to my back. I screamed out in pain. It literally felt like I was being stabbed with a knife. My posture quickly went down and one of my daughters got me a step stool to sit on. I sat on that stool in my kitchen, hunched over and unable to even sit up. I felt paralyzed. By 7pm I was checked into the ER and seen by a Dr. She gave me a muscle relaxer injection and ordered X-Rays. The nurse came in and said I was being discharged and sent home with a prescription of naproxen, Tylenol with codeine and another muscle relaxer. When I asked about my X-Rays, she said they didn’t see anything and they can only see skeletal stuff and they know I don’t have any broken bones. She said: “you’re going to need an MRI, and since your condition isn’t life-threatening, we can’t do it here, so you’ll need to get a referral from your Dr. to get one.” I don’t have a Dr. We don’t have insurance.. We picked up my prescriptions on the way home, along with an electric heating pad that would stay on me all night. I’ve also had my tens unit attached to my back since Tuesday. Nothing has helped! I had to cancel working the rest of this week and I honestly don’t know when I’ll be able to work. I desperately need an MRI and we have spent almost every dime in our bank account on all the medical treatment and prescriptions I’ve had to get thus far. All I want to do is to be able to function properly and work again to take care of my family, but I can’t. I need an MRI to find out what’s wrong so I can get the proper treatment. I have no choice but to ask for help! I need to be seen at Abilene Bone & Joint and for self pay patients, just to get in to be seen is $100. I do not have that. After the initial $100 visit fee, I will need the money for the MRI and I don’t know how much that’s going to cost yet. With me not working just one day, it significantly affects our income. I can’t afford to not work. We are getting to a point to where we can’t buy groceries or pay bills. As of right now, I’m at a loss of what to do. I am helpless and desperate and that’s not easy for me to say. I’m the kind of person who never asks for help, but I’m asking now. Please help! If you can’t donate, then please pray for me! I truly believe and trust in the Lords plan for my life and I know that with his Grace, I can get through this. Prayer warriors, please unite! I need prayers for healing so I can get back to work to take care of my family! My husbands income alone can’t fully support us right now.