A Mother's Battle: assistance with medical costs for Bea

Hi, my name is Bea. Between 2017 and 2018, I had two hemorrhagic strokes and a craniotomy. My brain was bleeding in my brain stem pons area. I was told I’d never walk or talk again. By a miracle of God, after a craniotomy and metal mesh implanted in my brain, I’ve fought to recover. In 2020, I lost my eyesight and within ten days found a specialist who installed two punctal plugs in my eye to produce tears in my right eye, since my eye would no longer do it itself. I regained my sight and since then I’ve had minor complications, but I could now see. I do not feel the right side of my face, entire scalp, center of spine, and certain toes and fingers. Recently, after losing my mother, my health declined due to stress; my eyesight went out again. The punctal plugs are not enough, and I will need full-blown surgery in addition to weekly visits to Bascom and Palmer in Miami. I’ve spent so much on procedures and eye drops not covered by insurance at $450 a month. In total I’ve spent over 3,000 in 6 months on just meds, procedures, and visits in closing gas to doctors several miles away. The numbness in my faces caused a condition called Anesthesia Dolorosa, that services from a numb area in the face (trigeminal nerve) This nerve was severed, to get to my bleed. I cannot drive at night and I cannot see a thing out of my right eye since then. My day-to-day is a struggle and my health declines daily. Some days my leg doesn’t want to work with me as my center or thoracic area of my spine has gone numb. On Saturday, while asleep, I had multiple focal seizures. I woke up feeling really weak, had extreme muscle pain, and my memory was off. My back felt painful to the touch. After considering all this weakness and discomfort, I went to the hospital where they performed several CTs, MRIs, an Echo, and several other exams. They discovered an enzyme was off in my heart and an area of my brain. In the hypothalamus, a centralized area was shutting off, causing moments of blankness and the seizures. Doctors said my reticular activating system was not responding. This was all caused by my strokes, and they made it clear that complications were to come. There are several procedures, one in particular I need, along with four types of physical therapy all over again. Yes, I have insurance, but between meds and the deductible for each visit and procedure, it is hurting me financially and hindering the care my son deserves. They recommend a nurse, in addition to therapy, come once a week to monitor my vitals. Lately, my right side is weaker than ever and all I want to do is fight for my health. Losing my dear mom and other things have caused great stress which exacerbates my stroke post-op issues. I cannot afford certain meds nor the treatments recommended. I was told I had to be consistent in my PT, especially my pons and hypothalamus need to be stimulated as much as possible, and my right leg is already dragging. Anesthesia Dolorosa is a painful neurological disease, incurable and extremely painful as zone 12 of my brain gets no response from the tri nerve, in anger it send electric painful shots to the face. I had to stop therapy for it as pricy is an understatement for each visit. I tried 22 different meds most not covered by insurance and to no avail. But there is a Mayo Clinic in GA that is will to deep dive into a possible repair. This is embarrassing to do but every bit helps. I simply want to balance my personal life and the joy I get from being a mom. Rents are high and most jobs are not a fan of all my appointments. Please forgive this request but if you can, I know life will bless you tenfold. God bless you all. I just want to go to all appointments asked, take the meds needed, and get strong.

Sincerely and with Love,

Bea - a mom trying to make it work.

*If needed, I have this all medically documented if you are in need of seeing.