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As many of you have probably heard, I recently experienced a Splenic Artery Aneurysm and Splenic Infarction. I was hospitalized for 6 days in critical care at Vanderbilt Medical Center. I am beyond thankful to be back at home and on a ( very winding) path to recovery. The doctors have found no underlying causes for this to have happened (so far) and have described it as a “lightning strike occurrence”. I will need pretty extensive testing and monitoring over the next 6 months to a year and I will be on blood thinners to hopefully prevent this from happening again.
This medical emergency came out of nowhere and complicated an already very fragile medical history. I was diagnosed 14 years ago with Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylosis of my spine. I have required extremely expensive medical intervention to maintain mobility and dexterity and to relieve pain, most of which have not worked or only marginally worked. I have been on a seemly never-ending merry-go-round of treatments that cost upwards of $500 per month with insurance and $3000-$8000 without insurance. I am one of the lucky ones though, I do have insurance.
This latest emergency has upended everything. I recently started a new job after looking for work for over a year and everything was finally getting back to normal. I was able to start paying off some debt (mostly medical) and was optimistic that things were going to work out. I have had to take 2 weeks off of work without pay and I’m looking at a $8867 hospital bill after insurance pays their part. On top of that I still have my autoimmune treatments to pay for, about 5 new specialists that I will see because of this incident to pay for, and in January my deductible starts all over again.
I have never asked for help. In fact, it’s a personality flaw of mine. I’m the “Helper” and that’s where my comfort level is. But...I need help and now I’m asking for it. I cannot do this by myself. I will be able to go back to work soon (thank goodness!) but with lost wages and ever increasing and accumulating medical costs I can not do on my own.
For those of you that don’t know me:
My name is Heather and I am a single mom of 4 AMAZING kids living in Nashville. I’ve dedicated my life to serving underprivileged, underserved, and vulnerable populations. I’ve been in nonprofit management for over 20 years in addition to volunteering regularly in my community. I am a advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, food/housing/water access, and true racial equity within our communities.
Donations in any amount will help and will go directly towards my medical expenses and general living expenses. If you can help, you can donate here or on Venmo. Good juju is also always greatly appreciated!
Venmo: @Heather-Norman-17
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
This medical emergency came out of nowhere and complicated an already very fragile medical history. I was diagnosed 14 years ago with Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylosis of my spine. I have required extremely expensive medical intervention to maintain mobility and dexterity and to relieve pain, most of which have not worked or only marginally worked. I have been on a seemly never-ending merry-go-round of treatments that cost upwards of $500 per month with insurance and $3000-$8000 without insurance. I am one of the lucky ones though, I do have insurance.
This latest emergency has upended everything. I recently started a new job after looking for work for over a year and everything was finally getting back to normal. I was able to start paying off some debt (mostly medical) and was optimistic that things were going to work out. I have had to take 2 weeks off of work without pay and I’m looking at a $8867 hospital bill after insurance pays their part. On top of that I still have my autoimmune treatments to pay for, about 5 new specialists that I will see because of this incident to pay for, and in January my deductible starts all over again.
I have never asked for help. In fact, it’s a personality flaw of mine. I’m the “Helper” and that’s where my comfort level is. But...I need help and now I’m asking for it. I cannot do this by myself. I will be able to go back to work soon (thank goodness!) but with lost wages and ever increasing and accumulating medical costs I can not do on my own.
For those of you that don’t know me:
My name is Heather and I am a single mom of 4 AMAZING kids living in Nashville. I’ve dedicated my life to serving underprivileged, underserved, and vulnerable populations. I’ve been in nonprofit management for over 20 years in addition to volunteering regularly in my community. I am a advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, food/housing/water access, and true racial equity within our communities.
Donations in any amount will help and will go directly towards my medical expenses and general living expenses. If you can help, you can donate here or on Venmo. Good juju is also always greatly appreciated!
Venmo: @Heather-Norman-17
Thank you for taking the time to read my story.