A Cure For Shelby
Donation protected
Hey guys, this GoFundMe is for one of my favorite people on the planet, Shelby Vaughn. A few years ago her whole world got flipped upside down- she went from being a healthy, hardworking, lover of all things outdoors and traveling, to waking up and being bed ridden and suffering with debilitating chronic pain every day. After seeing many doctors, being in and out of hospitals constantly, and having no real diagnosis in sight, we are trying to raise the funds that will allow her to pay off her medical debt and afford to reach someone, anyone, who will help her, believe her, and get to the bottom of what is causing this immense pain and suffering.
Here is Shelby's story:
"I was in Birmingham, AL for a best friends wedding and everything was completely fine. I had just started my career as a counselor in a psychiatric residential treatment facility, and spent 12-13 hours a day working a very physically demanding job. I still made time to work out, spend time with friends, and explore the outdoors. I was living a very active lifestyle. Unfortunately I went to bed that night not knowing that I would wake up so sick that I could hardly walk.
I spent the first two days thinking may have a stomach virus, and was told I had gastritis. After a week of not being able to keep water down, I slowly started to feel okay. I had a week where I returned to work although I still felt horrible. After about one more week my symptoms started building one by one again until I was in a state of constant pain and suffering and decided I needed to go to the ER.
I was admitted to the hospital for a week which little did I know would be the first or many hospital stays and the end of my life as I once knew it. There I was diagnosed with POTS which means my autonomic nervous system is failing. This causes my heart rate to sky rocket just from standing and my blood pressure is always extremely low. Although this illness alone causes lots of debilitating symptoms, most people get relief laying down . I however do not and so this does not explain the answer to my unbearable suffering . POTS is a syndrome secondary to another illness or infection which we have yet to find. Still to this day we have no clue how I was perfectly healthy one day, and so sick the next.
My suffering is unrelenting and I have not seen the slightest bit of relief in my symptoms for the last couple years and they are getting worse as time goes on. I have spent nearly two years trapped inside my room laying in bed screaming for help or answers. I have lost 70 pounds since this has began. The moment I wake up, before even lifting my head off the pillow, it feels as if someone has hit me in the back of the head with a bat. I deal with a 24/7, unbearable migraine headache that makes it hard to see. I am dizzy every minute of the day and feel like I am spinning in circles. The nausea becomes so unbearable all I can do is grip my sheets and scream out in pain and suffering . My entire body aches, deep into my bones. The worst symptoms are the neurological symptoms that make me feel completely disconnected from the world. I can no longer see normally, and have a feeling of being crosseyed 24/7. Everything is blurry and I am so out of it I can hardly do much of anything. It is a feeling as if I am about to faint constantly leaving it hard to even lift my head or hold a conversation with anyone. I live in a constant fog and feel trapped in my own body. It is like being stuck in a burning building I can’t get out of. The constant dropping sensation and shocking sensations in my brain almost knock me to the ground in horrific pain. My ears and head hold so much pressure as if I am on an air plane and they just won’t pop. I live in pain and suffering all day everyday and have not seen any relief for even a split second. The suffering is truly unimaginable and I am not sure how much longer I can continue to push on. I need help so desperately . . I truly feel like I don’t have long to live and I am a medical mystery. I try to put this sickness in words but I truly can’t . It is so severe and so intense I truly didnt know a sickness like this existed. To have an illness steal your life overnight is devastating enough as it is, but to not have a proper diagnosis leaving no end or cure in sight is truly unbearable. I desperately need answers so I can try and fight for any quality of life back at all. Living stuck in a human torture chamber is the scariest thing I could ever explain and I just want even a split second of relief from this nightmare . Someone has to have an answer for my overnight neurological decline."
Here is Shelby's story:
"I was in Birmingham, AL for a best friends wedding and everything was completely fine. I had just started my career as a counselor in a psychiatric residential treatment facility, and spent 12-13 hours a day working a very physically demanding job. I still made time to work out, spend time with friends, and explore the outdoors. I was living a very active lifestyle. Unfortunately I went to bed that night not knowing that I would wake up so sick that I could hardly walk.
I spent the first two days thinking may have a stomach virus, and was told I had gastritis. After a week of not being able to keep water down, I slowly started to feel okay. I had a week where I returned to work although I still felt horrible. After about one more week my symptoms started building one by one again until I was in a state of constant pain and suffering and decided I needed to go to the ER.
I was admitted to the hospital for a week which little did I know would be the first or many hospital stays and the end of my life as I once knew it. There I was diagnosed with POTS which means my autonomic nervous system is failing. This causes my heart rate to sky rocket just from standing and my blood pressure is always extremely low. Although this illness alone causes lots of debilitating symptoms, most people get relief laying down . I however do not and so this does not explain the answer to my unbearable suffering . POTS is a syndrome secondary to another illness or infection which we have yet to find. Still to this day we have no clue how I was perfectly healthy one day, and so sick the next.
My suffering is unrelenting and I have not seen the slightest bit of relief in my symptoms for the last couple years and they are getting worse as time goes on. I have spent nearly two years trapped inside my room laying in bed screaming for help or answers. I have lost 70 pounds since this has began. The moment I wake up, before even lifting my head off the pillow, it feels as if someone has hit me in the back of the head with a bat. I deal with a 24/7, unbearable migraine headache that makes it hard to see. I am dizzy every minute of the day and feel like I am spinning in circles. The nausea becomes so unbearable all I can do is grip my sheets and scream out in pain and suffering . My entire body aches, deep into my bones. The worst symptoms are the neurological symptoms that make me feel completely disconnected from the world. I can no longer see normally, and have a feeling of being crosseyed 24/7. Everything is blurry and I am so out of it I can hardly do much of anything. It is a feeling as if I am about to faint constantly leaving it hard to even lift my head or hold a conversation with anyone. I live in a constant fog and feel trapped in my own body. It is like being stuck in a burning building I can’t get out of. The constant dropping sensation and shocking sensations in my brain almost knock me to the ground in horrific pain. My ears and head hold so much pressure as if I am on an air plane and they just won’t pop. I live in pain and suffering all day everyday and have not seen any relief for even a split second. The suffering is truly unimaginable and I am not sure how much longer I can continue to push on. I need help so desperately . . I truly feel like I don’t have long to live and I am a medical mystery. I try to put this sickness in words but I truly can’t . It is so severe and so intense I truly didnt know a sickness like this existed. To have an illness steal your life overnight is devastating enough as it is, but to not have a proper diagnosis leaving no end or cure in sight is truly unbearable. I desperately need answers so I can try and fight for any quality of life back at all. Living stuck in a human torture chamber is the scariest thing I could ever explain and I just want even a split second of relief from this nightmare . Someone has to have an answer for my overnight neurological decline."
Organizer
Steph W
Organizer
Asheville, NC
