Amy Willard needs your help with medical expenses!

Hello, friends (or shall I say “mes amies?”)

As many of you know, I moved to France almost 2 years ago to, retire and live out my childhood dream of la vie en France. Underlying that decision was also the fact that the cost of living in the US had become prohibitive. I have an Etsy shop in the US (that I manage from my home office in France) and it is my only source of income, as I am not allowed to work “in” France.

I recently fell very ill, and discovered that I have a bleeding ulcer in my stomach. The resulting severe blood loss landed me in the hospital for 9 days, plus a second visit for recurrent bleeding. This came as a shock, as I had no symptoms of an ulcer before the bleeding. During my hospitalization, an endoscopy was performed, which revealed a large tumor underlying the ulcer.

I am in the process currently of getting the tumor biopsied, while awaiting medical decisions on how to proceed. It is all but certain that I will need complex surgery to remove the tumor and repair my gut.

The care I have been given in France has been truly wonderful, and far beyond what I could even hope for in the US, but it will not be without cost to me. Many believe that French healthcare is ‘free,’ but I am not a French citizen. I qualify for their healthcare program as a foreigner, but at a discounted rate, not fully ‘free.’ I will have to pay out of pocket for the medical bills, and then be reimbursed—that’s just how it works in France. Because I live in a small village, I will also need to pay for transportation to and from the hospitals and doctors providing my care- and they are up to 2 hours away.

While my Etsy shop has seen some success, it still requires my full attention, to keep the wheels greased and stay in business. Being in the hospital slows things down—like “closing” for a while—and I am no longer front of mind for Etsy shoppers. Staying current is paramount for success on Etsy.

Your help will keep me from depleting my savings even further in order to pay my medical and transportation bills. It may also prevent me from being sent back to the US, where I absolutely don’t have the financial means to continue my medical care and get healthy again.

It’s a bit of a sticky situation. I live cheaply, don’t have a car, and mostly just hang out and work, but I do still have rent, food and utilities to pay for, on top of what looks to be significant medical expenses over an extended period of time.

If you can help, no matter how little, I would be incredibly grateful and appreciative. It’s a bit awkward crowd-sourcing your own healthcare, but I wouldn’t be doing it if I had other options. I will provide regular updates via Facebook and will never forget your kindness at the time I need it the very most. Thank you!!