Amber's Lung Surgery

Hello, my name is Amber Fox.  I am a kindergarten teacher and have been a teacher for more than 10 years which I love.  Seven years ago I was diagnosed with a Calcified Amorphic tumor on my right heart valve.  While this was a very special case of which I am only one of 13 documented cases for this particular tumor, I was fortunate enough to be able to have the surgery to remove the tumor and move on.  Unfortunately, I developed Pulminary Hypertention after the surgery which was to last me the rest of my life with proper monitoring but I had already been told that this would significantly shorten my life span.  While I have gone on with my life, the use of oxygen, physical limitations and many medications also became a part of my life.

After seven years of all this there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel.  Through my new doctor it has been discovered that the true name for my condition is Chronic Thromboembolic Pulminary Hypertention which is a fancy name for a lot of blood clots and scar tissue throughout my lungs.  While this is a newer diagnosis in the medical community I now have the opportunity to go to  the University of California San Diego for a very serious surgery to have this corrected.  There are a very limited facilities in the country along with qualified doctors that are able to complete this type of surgery and that means that it will be very expensive.



My family and I will need to relocate to San Diego for three weeks at the beginning of April, leaving us out of work for this time as well as myself needing the continued time off to fully recover.  This will make living difficult as we will need to pay for food, lodging, hospital bills and all other necessities while in San Diego along with the bills that are not going to go away back home.  After having gone through one major surgery in the past I am aware of the toll that this will take on my family and myself financially, emotionally and physically.  Any help that is offered will be greatly appreciated in this stressfull time. 
Thank you all for taking the time to read my story and consider my situation.