Hi, my name is Kendall. Im making this gofundme on behalf of my fiancé, Rowan. Last May they woke up saying their legs felt heavy, and within 48 hours they were no longer able to use their legs— they’ve been wheelchair bound ever since.

We ended up having to move, ending our lease under the ADA. They started experiencing seizure like symptoms, hot and cold flashes, and raging pain in all of their joints. Suddenly becoming disabled was jolting— and we’ve had to spend lots of time and money not only adjusting to their new needs, but on testing and doctors & specialists appointments to figure out what happened to them to cause all of this.

After months of testing, we finally found out they have Lyme disease, as well as EDS, POTS & Cranial Cervical Instability. Of course the latter problems are made worse by the Lyme.

Towards the end of last year we both thought we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as we had found a treatment that was working to help all of Ro’s symptoms— it even helped them start to stand for longer than 10 seconds. However… the treatment was penicillin shots weekly, which was horrifically painful for Ro but at the beginning of the year when our deductibles rolled over that we couldn’t actually afford to continue aggressive treatment. We switched to another option we could afford, but it’s not working & their health has MAJORLY regressed. We’re looking at either starting their penicillin shots again, or Ro getting a port installed, so we can do at home IV treatment— which we can only afford with your help.

It has been hell watching my fiancé suffer so much. I can help around the house, and cook, although it can be hard to balance with work but I feel so helpless that I can’t take their pain away.

For the most part it’s just the two of us, and as I’ve been working as their caretaker for the better part of the last year you can imagine we’ve both ended up taking lots of time off work. To be honest we weren’t doing the best financially before this, but it’s put us into endless debt— I hate having to ask for help but at this point we need help from our community to keep us housed and fed.

Things that this fundraiser will be going towards:

• $1500 to restart some form of aggressive treatment

• Emergency time off from work for both of us

• Food, housing. We’re getting farther and farther behind on payments.

Things this fundraiser has helped us accomplish so far!

• Ro’s wheelchair

• Security deposit on our new apartment

• Paying for movers to help me move

• Exhaustive testing. I really didn’t expect us to be able to get a diagnosis within a year.

If you’ve made it this far I’m very grateful for you to have taken the time to read all of this. Rowan means the world to me, and has given me so much love— and space to truly be myself. We’ve been through a lot worse in the time we’ve been together, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to make them feel an ounce of comfort. It’s hard to see your partner in pain from the moment they wake up, but after seeing what’s possible with treatment I’m feeling positive that if we can get their treatment started again, that they’ll be in a way better spot before the end of the year and we can go back to being 20 somethings.