Help Laura Heal
Donation protected
Many of you know some of the journey I have been on for the last few years. My husband, Wes, and I have decided it’s time to ask for help towards my healing. Thank you for reading my story.
Four years ago I was a healthy wife and mom of three young kids. I barely visited the doctor and other than hypothyroidism, some annoying gut issues and picking up strep throat from my kids here and there, I was strong. Or so I thought. Today, at 38, I am very far from healthy. The last 2.5 years have been a whirlwind of symptoms, blood tests, scans, and supplements. The summer of 2016 I realized that the stiff joints, sore hips, debilitating fatigue and brain fog/mood swings I had been experiencing may be related and, I requested blood work from my primary doctor. The test results started a year of autoimmune symptom chasing as specialist after specialist couldn’t tell me what was going on in my body. When medical doctors couldn’t help, I turned to natural doctors. The array of diagnosis include: tendinitis, an SI joint issue, parasites, adrenal fatigue, leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, Lyme disease, co-infections, mononucleosis, herpes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MTHFR gene mutation and Candida. Some were accurate and some were not.
My life has completely changed in the 2.5 years since the symptoms surfaced. I have changed my diet. Shopping is more expensive and difficult and cooking takes more time. I now eat preservative free with lots of restrictions. When I don’t eat well, my body reacts and all of my symptoms flare. My lifestyle has changed; I stepped down from the board of the Chester County Down Syndrome Interest Group and teams at church. I stopped hosting events, one of my favorite things to do. The stress of hosting events affected me as it was difficult to find the energy and I could rarely eat what I wanted to serve our guests. Even dining out or having a typical busy day now causes pain in my gut and body and fatigue. I do physical therapy daily and take hot baths every night to combat chronic pain. I can’t hold my kids like I used to, or run around with them. Our son (7.5) has Down Syndrome and is the sweetest little boy, but he has some tricky behaviors. It’s difficult to change diapers, chase him when he elopes or give him the extra help he needs to get dressed, eat and do life when I feel so weak. Our daughters understand that I am not well, but they are still kids and they need their mom. Through this time my husband has cried with me as I broke down feeling so desperate for answers. Nevertheless, I have also grown in faith as I faced unimaginable fears, but I am weary and ready to be well.
I write this Go Fund Me because I am at a point in my healing journey where I know I am close to getting to the bottom of my health issues but I need help. Our family life feels like it has been on hold because of my health. We have spent our savings on it, received help from family members and now are unable to keep up with the monthly payments. With some financial help, we can move ahead with our lives with less stress. With some financial help I can get the treatment I need to reclaim my strength and energy to do life, to begin rebuilding the life I know was meant for me.
In November (2018) I started seeing a new doctor who helped me see the big picture of my health story. She is a Functional Holistic doctor who was a Medical doctor for many years prior. She uses western and alternative medicine to holistically treat patients and gives each patient an hour of her time every visit. She has confirmed that I have Lyme disease with multiple co-infections associated with Lyme disease, due to my weakened immune system. My body is creating autoimmune responses of unknown origin, including stiff joints, gut sensitivity, moving pain, sore hips, weakness, crawling-face and eye pressure, fatigue, headaches and hormone imbalance. I need to settle the autoimmune responses and keep my body from attacking itself and then we need to fight these infections. Like many of the doctors who helped me along the way, this doctor is not covered by our insurance. We have exhausted all options for getting treatment through insurance. I have been to every medical specialist covered by insurance and no one could help me. I have filled out every form possible to get reimbursed from our insurance company for the out of network doctors. Perhaps some day insurance companies will cover the kind of care I need, but right now this is my only option. I believe God has connected me to this reputable doctor. She has helped countless others with stories similar to mine. We are so excited to be working with a doctor who has a plan and is confident that it will yield results! No one has ever given us this amount of confidence before. Her plan includes IV treatments that have a great track record but are very costly. We want to raise $30,000 to help towards covering the costs of appointments and treatments. We believe this course of action will bring the healing we have been longing for. We are praying my youth is restored and I can feel like I am in my thirties again (or even younger) before my forties begin! Thank you for considering my need.
Four years ago I was a healthy wife and mom of three young kids. I barely visited the doctor and other than hypothyroidism, some annoying gut issues and picking up strep throat from my kids here and there, I was strong. Or so I thought. Today, at 38, I am very far from healthy. The last 2.5 years have been a whirlwind of symptoms, blood tests, scans, and supplements. The summer of 2016 I realized that the stiff joints, sore hips, debilitating fatigue and brain fog/mood swings I had been experiencing may be related and, I requested blood work from my primary doctor. The test results started a year of autoimmune symptom chasing as specialist after specialist couldn’t tell me what was going on in my body. When medical doctors couldn’t help, I turned to natural doctors. The array of diagnosis include: tendinitis, an SI joint issue, parasites, adrenal fatigue, leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, Lyme disease, co-infections, mononucleosis, herpes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MTHFR gene mutation and Candida. Some were accurate and some were not.
My life has completely changed in the 2.5 years since the symptoms surfaced. I have changed my diet. Shopping is more expensive and difficult and cooking takes more time. I now eat preservative free with lots of restrictions. When I don’t eat well, my body reacts and all of my symptoms flare. My lifestyle has changed; I stepped down from the board of the Chester County Down Syndrome Interest Group and teams at church. I stopped hosting events, one of my favorite things to do. The stress of hosting events affected me as it was difficult to find the energy and I could rarely eat what I wanted to serve our guests. Even dining out or having a typical busy day now causes pain in my gut and body and fatigue. I do physical therapy daily and take hot baths every night to combat chronic pain. I can’t hold my kids like I used to, or run around with them. Our son (7.5) has Down Syndrome and is the sweetest little boy, but he has some tricky behaviors. It’s difficult to change diapers, chase him when he elopes or give him the extra help he needs to get dressed, eat and do life when I feel so weak. Our daughters understand that I am not well, but they are still kids and they need their mom. Through this time my husband has cried with me as I broke down feeling so desperate for answers. Nevertheless, I have also grown in faith as I faced unimaginable fears, but I am weary and ready to be well.
I write this Go Fund Me because I am at a point in my healing journey where I know I am close to getting to the bottom of my health issues but I need help. Our family life feels like it has been on hold because of my health. We have spent our savings on it, received help from family members and now are unable to keep up with the monthly payments. With some financial help, we can move ahead with our lives with less stress. With some financial help I can get the treatment I need to reclaim my strength and energy to do life, to begin rebuilding the life I know was meant for me.
In November (2018) I started seeing a new doctor who helped me see the big picture of my health story. She is a Functional Holistic doctor who was a Medical doctor for many years prior. She uses western and alternative medicine to holistically treat patients and gives each patient an hour of her time every visit. She has confirmed that I have Lyme disease with multiple co-infections associated with Lyme disease, due to my weakened immune system. My body is creating autoimmune responses of unknown origin, including stiff joints, gut sensitivity, moving pain, sore hips, weakness, crawling-face and eye pressure, fatigue, headaches and hormone imbalance. I need to settle the autoimmune responses and keep my body from attacking itself and then we need to fight these infections. Like many of the doctors who helped me along the way, this doctor is not covered by our insurance. We have exhausted all options for getting treatment through insurance. I have been to every medical specialist covered by insurance and no one could help me. I have filled out every form possible to get reimbursed from our insurance company for the out of network doctors. Perhaps some day insurance companies will cover the kind of care I need, but right now this is my only option. I believe God has connected me to this reputable doctor. She has helped countless others with stories similar to mine. We are so excited to be working with a doctor who has a plan and is confident that it will yield results! No one has ever given us this amount of confidence before. Her plan includes IV treatments that have a great track record but are very costly. We want to raise $30,000 to help towards covering the costs of appointments and treatments. We believe this course of action will bring the healing we have been longing for. We are praying my youth is restored and I can feel like I am in my thirties again (or even younger) before my forties begin! Thank you for considering my need.
Organizer
Laura DiNatale Yoder
Organizer
Downingtown, PA
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