Hi, I'm Carolyn Bartek and I am raising money to help my very good friend, Lauren Shultz. Lauren is 30 years old. She was an extremely bright, active girl before she was diagnosed with Lyme disease 15 years ago. Since then, she has received treatment but ended up getting worse with crippling pain that limited her mobility and stole her quality of life. She has been bedridden for the last 10 years and has suffered from burning feet that are red and cracked.

Along with Lyme disease, Lauren has been diagnosed with Bartonella, Babesia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, vasculitis, and erythromelalgia, a rare condition that causes intense burning, swelling, and discoloration in her limbs—often making it too painful to even touch the floor.

Between 2017 and 2020, Lauren has spent more than 200 days and nights in the hospital, underwent two major surgeries, and saw 49 different doctors—including top institutions like Mayo Clinic, Columbia, NYU, and Mount Sinai. Despite all of that, she was left without lasting answers or effective treatment.

After suffering and dead ends, her family has finally found a doctor who is making a real difference. But the care she needs is not covered by insurance and comes at an extremely high out-of-pocket cost. The road to healing will take many months of therapy, medication, and intensive support.

We are raising $25,000 to cover the cost of: