Assist Linsey Levi in Overcoming Medical Costs

If you are taking time to read this and hear my story, thank you, it means the world.

To start, a little background on myself. I was born and raised in Eureka California, and moved to Wyoming when I was 16. I've lived in Laramie for 18 years. I met my husband at Turtle Rock Coffee in 2006 when we were just babies (18 and 19). After 18 years together (10 of it married) we have two incredible children. Houston (5) and Maggie (3). I have owned my own Massage Therapy business, Give and Receive Bodyworks, for the last 7 years. I opened my doors as a small business as soon as I finished Massage school in 2017 and immediately had incredible support from this wonderful community.

In May of 2024, Evan was laid off from his job, which resulted in a loss of insurance for our family. In August, I needed to go to the doctor for a simple gyn procedure. Since I didn't have insurance, my plan was to just get this simple procedure done and be on my way. As I was chatting with the Doctor, she noticed (with her incredibly trained naked eye) a mass on my thyroid. I've been having several health issues this year (which I planned not to mention due to being uninsured) but, seemed now might be related to this mass. The suggestion was to get bloodwork, an U/S and a fine needle biopsy. All the test came back as we would hope...normal, non-suspicous mass just under 5 cm, and benign cells. The plan after these tests was to see a general surgeon and ask questions about the next best steps to take. I found out that due to the size, there isn't as much confidence they were able to get a full cellular picture from a fine needle biopsy. Anything over 4cm is highly suggested to be removed and sent to pathology as a whole. A right thyroid lobectomy is the suggested next step to rule out thyroid cancer.

The chances of this being a cancerous mass are low, but still possible. The size and location of the mass have caused me more headaches, migraines and neck pain than ever before. Having it removed will be immensely huge for those few symptoms alone, and potentially more.

With two doctors scheduled who can properly operate on a neck, and an overnight hospital stay to ensure I'm around the best people in case anything goes wrong, the cost of the surgery is large. Our amazing hospital offers a program to assist uninsured with paying for procedures like this. I have applied and been granted some of the assistance I need to pay for most of the procedure and prior necessary tests.

There are two things I have learned about myself through all of this. It can be challenging to put health first, especially when cost is a concern, and it's really hard to ask for help, even when we need it the most. The timing of these things is never in our control and it always seems to happen at just the right moment. We looked into insurance, but are unable to afford most insurance, and can't apply for cheaper insurance until Nov 1, for 2025 coverage. Plus, the reality is, insurance probably won't cover any of this at this point since its a pre-existing condition. As a small business owner, every day of work is crucial to support my business and my family. It is suggested I take 2 weeks off of work post-surgery, to allow time for healing.

As I said before, asking for help it hard, but I need to ask for help. Even with the hospitals assistance, the remaining sum of my medical bills would be a huge hit to our family. In addition, the loss of two unexpected weeks of work.

*Any* bit of financial assistance to this GoFundMe to help pay the medical bills, family bills, and office rent would be huge and greatly appreciated.

A couple other ways to help:

Buy a gift card for massage or massage package from my web site. www.LinseyLevi.com

Grocery gift card.

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With a humble heart, I extend my greatest gratitude to you for even reading through my story. If you are able to give, thank you..if not, I understand.

Sending love,

Linsey Levi