Medical Bills Suck, Please Help Jennifer!

UPDATE: Jennifer has been in hospitals for a little over 5 weeks and is into her fifth week of IV treatment to get rid of the MRSA infection. While she’s still experiencing a lot of pain, there is optimism that she should be feeling some improvement soon. After 6 weeks of treatment, more tests will be done, at which time, the doctors expect to see that the abscesses have shrunk and that the MRSA in the bone is hopefully inactive. They will see leftover scarring from what the MRSA managed to do before it was caught and treatment started. Until then, she is in a nursing facility to do PT and OT, to help her walk again and do other daily self-care. Recently, Mark was able return to work a full day, and he switched to visiting Jennifer in the evenings for dinner.

ORIGINAL POST: My cousin Jennifer has been in the hospital almost a month, and though she moved to a nursing facility this week, it will be several more weeks before she can return to the comfort of her home with her beloved husband Mark and their cats Loki and Leo. In addition to the several co-morbid, chronic diseases she lives with every day, Jennifer is currently fighting off a MRSA infection in her blood, which has moved to her spine and surrounding area. While trying to fight off a life-threatening infection that is difficult to cure, Jennifer is also trying to manage the intense amount of pain it’s causing her.

Jennifer is a medical mystery and often stumps doctors with new and rare diseases, so when it comes to physical pain, she is one tough cookie. When Jennifer said to me, “this is the most painful and scariest thing I’ve ever been through,” I knew it was serious and became very concerned for her. In addition to the pain and fear from the infection, the medical bills are also adding up, which is a whole other level of scary, especially with Mark needing to take time off of work to care for her needs.

Jennifer could use a little help to ease her financial stress so she can focus on healing. If you are able, please consider contributing any amount to assist her with medical bills so she can get to healing! If that’s not an option for you right now, she could also use some collective love, good vibes, and healing thoughts and prayers. Much love to you all!