My name is Amy‑Ranee. I’m 46 years old. I’m a Mom, a Grandma, a daughter, a granddaughter, a partner to Justin, a friend to many and a coworker.

A lot of people depend on me, and right now I need help!

Towards the middle of August, my life and my health changed overnight.

After lots of cardiac testing and procedures, in late October, I learned I had extremely rare and strange combination of congenital heart defects that had gone undetected my entire life. My doctors believe the only reason I made it this far was because of an abnormal membrane in my heart that hid and/or helped my body compensate for decades-until it suddenly ruptured, triggering severe symptoms and revealing the true extent of the defects.

I was diagnosed with a large ASD (atrial septal defect) AND a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) with a massive/complex 25mm long tunnel.

A transcatheter (Heart Cath through the groin) repair was attempted on December 5th with implantable devices, but the procedure was unsuccessful and had to be aborted when I became unstable.

I was then scheduled for robotic heart surgery on December 26th-with the whole shebang, collapsing my lung, heart/lung bypass machine, stopping the heart etc.) But my insurance plan, denied the prior authorization, repeatedly. They finally reversed their denials in January seemingly after pressure from me and NBC News getting involved. 

Their basis for denials?

-I had not YET had a cryptogenic stroke. Given the complexity and size of the tunnel alone a stroke would be catastrophic or fatal

-I had not YET developed pulmonary hypertension (irreversible heart and lung damage).

-I had not YET gone into right‑sided heart failure…

These are the very outcomes this surgery was meant to prevent! It’s why they move so quickly on infants and children to repair!

Because of these denials and delays, my surgery was cancelled and pushed into 2026. It was first scheduled for March 4th, and then rescheduled to 3/6 but had to be rescheduled again due to reasons FAR beyond my surgeons control to Monday 3/16/2026. 

The procedure was successful and while I immediately felt better a few days out from surgery, I still have a twelve week recovery period. Just because my chest wasn’t opened doesn’t mean this wasn’t a heavy duty surgery.

The delays has caused a significant financial crisis for me.

My short‑term disability ended on January 20th, leaving me with ZERO income, and the protection for my specific position under FMLA ended on January 13th. On top of that, my deductible and out‑of‑pocket maximum reset on January 1st, meaning I now need $9,000–$12,000 just to access the surgery and follow up care which the bulk of would have fallen  under last year’s coverage. I still owed about $3,000 from 2025 when all of this began. I’ve sold my car and personal items to stay afloat, but it isn’t enough.

As of today I have less than 20 days of FMLA protection before my employer is legally permitted to terminate my employment. I am unable to return to any kind of work until 6/8. 

My partner, Justin, is also unable to help financially as he is handling the estate and expenses following his mother’s recent passing after a brave and brutal 3 month battle with pancreatic cancer. He and I are not married and we each pay our own bills. 

I’m raising funds to cover:

-My 2026 deductible and out‑of‑pocket costs as I drained my savings to cover last year’s.

- Basic living expenses to cover my bills while I have no income. 

-Potential legal fees

I continue to share receipts and updates so you can see exactly where your support goes.

If I receive more than I need, every remaining penny will be used to start “Ginny’s Good Fight”a 501(c)(3) in Justin’s Mom’s

memory and honor to offer financial assistance to Ohio cancer patients and their families, provide hospice comfort kits and to help offer compassionate support to those navigating complex insurance and legal issues.

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for helping me through the most frightening and overwhelming time of my life. ♥️