I got up to walk to the kitchen and my entire life changed in one step. That's all it took. One step towards the kitchen and I felt a sudden pain that could not be ignored. A pain that would change everything for me. A pain that I thought I could tough out. A pain that I thought I could solve by drinking some more water.

This wasn't a pain that would be easily solved. Here I sit in front of my laptop, 7 months, 6 surgeries, taking 5 pills 4 times a day, barely able to stand on 2 feet most of the time. Broke the rule of 3 there.

I was diagnosed with Diverticulitus and a drain was installed to drain an abcess and a month later a colonoscopy would tell us more. That's when things went from bad to worse. It was November 10th and I started that day with hope, and ended it thinking I was going to die.

Opening my eyes from the sleep of the anesthesia I had a brand new definition of level 10 pain. Something was very wrong. I knew it and I immediately cried for help as a panic started controlling my body from the pain in my abdomen. I was pumped full of painkillers, morphine, then dilaudid, then fentanyl. They told me the pain was normal and sent me home.

Within hours I was septic, fighting for my life, and calling 911.

Our system is so messed up that even during this time I thought, "I hope they believe me. I know something is wrong, but, maybe they think I just want more painkillers?"

Imagine literally dying and just hoping that someone believes that it's happening. That's the state of our healthcare system in this country. It's not please help me.

It's please believe me.

Within a day I was having emergency surgery- an 8 hour operation that would remove large portions of my insides to fight an infection that was killing me. I woke up with tubes sticking out all over my body. A catheter, a drain, an ileostomy, 2 IVs and a bunch of new bruises and scars.

7 entry points. 6 from laproscopic cuts and 1 large one under my naval that extended around 8 inches. I was disoriented, happy to be alive. in an panic from my new body. What would my life be like now?

My fight was just beginning and I would do everything I can to be a positive light in that hospital room every trip I was there. Keeping a smile on my face, trying to make the nurses laugh, and challenging myself to start walking as quickly as possible.

I'd return a few times, including a week long stay in February when my kidneys started failing from severe dehydration. More operations and a soon to be reversal of my ileostomy have left a bill of over $200k, but more immediate needs are in front of me.

My surgeon has recommended aftercare from my next big surgery on May 6th that I can't afford. I've been unable to work for months, so my family is struggling to make ends meet as it is.

I'm in need of $15,000 to get the supplies, and changes to my home, to care for myself over the next few months and beyond, so that we can hopefully prevent any infections and make sure that my recovery story is focused on just that.

Recovering.

I thank you for reading this far. Writing is one of the only things I'm capable of doing these days, so hopefully you can share this story and we can hit my goal.

One last thing- PLEASE GET A COLONOSCOPY IF IF YOU ARE OVER 40. Don't let my story prevent you from getting this done. It's important and can be life saving!