To anyone that takes the time to read this... thank you,

My name is Kay, I'm 27 years old and mom to one beautiful little 8-year-old girl named Lilah Belle. She has Autism and loves Science, Animals, Art, and Reading and has a special place in her heart for Lake Days and Movie Nights. At the time of originally writing this, it was June 3rd, 2022. Only six months into that year, and I had been in the hospital with a medical emergency four times. One of those times was for a ruptured cyst that I'd unknowingly walked around with for 11 days, which caused me to become violently ill; I'm always in that much pain, so I can't tell when something is wrong. I've battled with severe endometriosis most of my life, I was told the early onset of endometriosis was due to scar tissue that began to develop as a small child due to trauma I had endured. When it became life threatening was in 2021 when it was discovered that it had began spreading to other organs in my body, particularly my kidney. It was very concerning and the hospital insisted that I begin seeing a specialist as the dreaded conversation of potential Ovarian Cancer began. The horror of not knowing how I was going to pay for any of this or what to do set in the day I was rushed to the hospital from work in a state of near death because I'd had a ruptured cyst that had gone untreated and it had set up infection in my body. My lips and nails turned blue and they said even an hour longer and I would've been dead. They did a surgery that essentially was an attempt to remove as much as they could and save the additional effected organs. At that time, they did not want to completely remove my ovaries or perform a hysterectomy due to my age and the fact that I only had one child, despite my pleas. Due to not having insurance at that time or being able to afford the medical care afterward, I never went back for a checkup. It seems I've made a hobby of unknowingly rupturing cysts since then, and for anyone that has experienced that- the pain is no joke. But I spend every day of my life feeling that way. Fast forward, I'm continuously experiencing life threatening medical emergencies and have been referred to several specialists. Some of the abnormal proteins found in my tests have been: high levels of CA-125, CEA Protein, HE4 and after being given contrast and performing a CT Scan, my female reproductive area glowed alongside cysts all over my ovaries. After that trip to the hospital, I got referred to what's called a Gynecological Oncologist, which is a specialist in female reproductive cancers along with a few other specialists. Between my rising cost of medical bills despite the insurance I now have and the cost of medical treatment I urgently need to pursue, I had decided to make this GoFundMe as a last ditch effort. The goal amount is simply the total costs of pending surgeries I am going to need and doesn't include my pre-existing medical bills that have me in severe debt or the costs of visits to the specialists prior to surgeries that are extremely expensive out of pocket. This effort is for my daughter mostly, as she was raised by a single mom and she needs me. I’m all she’s got and my heart is heavy imagining what could possibly happen to her if I leave this world before she’s ready. Every little bit will help, to anyone in a position to donate anything- I will be forever grateful as the longer this is put off, the less likely it is that something can be done.

Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read this, shares it or makes a donation.

*edit added 4/7/23* - the original amount earned by this gofundme was just over $3k and it was a good start as it got me into the women’s health specialists, covered my first round of blood tests, imaging and ultrasounds as well as getting me into my 2nd and 3rd appointments but after that point I ran out of money from my fundraiser and was honestly feeling so defeated and hopeless that I quit trying and sadly accepted I’d most likely just have to die… my days right now begin and end with me being in extreme pain and violently ill. I’ll spare everyone the details, but I can assure you my health has continued to decline. The likelihood of me dying due to not being able to afford the medical interventions I need and help I really need is high (I don’t get any sort of benefits as I work for an educational publishing company and do make okayish money, too much to qualify for help and not enough to survive this economy by myself much less face these medical emergencies that WILL leave my child without a mother eventually if something is not done alone). I’ve been encouraged to publish this again and not give up as my kidney has now worsened on top of the other issues. I can feel my body shutting down and getting weaker every day. I need help. Anything helps.

Edit Added: it was brought to my attention that GoFundMe charges fees for people that try to donate and they recommended I add other payment methods for people that aren’t comfortable with donating that way. Venmo: LilahsMomKay Cashapp: $LilahsMomKay (if you’ll just put a little note that indicates it’s for a medical donation to my fundraiser so it can be transferred to the correct savings account)