I'm embarrassed that I need to do this, and asking for help is very hard for me. I like to be the one helping. Unfortunately, the last few months have been quite the medical and financial adventure.

Many of you know that a couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis as well as severe Fibromyalgia and Gastroparesis. Recently, I have been battling Diverticulitis with an abscess. Treatment for this has been a nightmare, and I won't bore you with the details. One thing that has made it the hardest is I can't take the medications that help the AS because they are immune-suppressing meds. I can't have those when I need to heal. Results are horrible, painful, and not to mention exhausting.

As of now, the abscess is gone, but I'm waiting to see the surgeon again to confirm and talk about next steps. Once I've healed from this, I'll most likely be needing surgery on my neck and then shoulders to hopefully repair some of the damage the AS has caused. All of these funds will be used for my bills and medical needs.

The road is going to be a long and uncertain one, but I got this.

This has all led to much time lost and time I'll continue to lose at work. Unfortunately, and not without a lot of 'what else can we do' talks, I have lost my FT status at work, including my benefits. My employer has honestly gone over and above to support me by keeping my status as long as we could. That being said, I'm not working, so financially I'm hurting. My bills aren't huge, but they are my bills, and here I am asking for help. I'm working with disability and some other options out there, but as some of you know, this is NOT a fast process.

I know times are hard these days, so if you can help, my heart is grateful, and if you can't, I understand and am still grateful for you.