September of 2017 was a horrible time of year. Labor Day weekend, I spent most of it very sick, and I didn't know how sick. Labor Day, I began to puke blood and was taken to the St. Vincent's Hospital in Little Rock, AR, where I was told I had a small perforation in my colon due to undiagnosed diverticulitis. Shortly there after, my colon ruptured, dumping waste into my abdominal cavity. I went septic twice, went into renal failure twice, had a white blood cell count of over 40,000 ppm, spent over a week in the ICU, and another 3 months in and out of hospitals. I was put on a colostomy bag and told that I wouldn't have it reversed until I dropped some weight, as at the time of the initial surgery I was 410 lbs, and it would be too dangerous to reverse the colostomy being that heavy. I had a goal. I began to work out, to watch what I ate, and found out that I loved to run and being out in the world. I am now 230 lbs. As you may have guessed by the title of the fundraiser, that has left me with a lot of excess skin, especially around my abdomen. This causes what I call rub blisters, which can be very painful and can cause infection. I was told by my surgeon that once I got the weight of, I should reward myself with surgery to make my life more comfortable. My health insurance begs to differ. They have told me that because it is after 6 months of my last surgery it isn't "medically necessary" and they are not going to pay any of the costs. I began to look at other avenues for relief, and have found the most cost effective way to get the results that I want. I will be going to Thailand for 14 days to have surgery, which will cost in total around $10,000.00. This includes air fare and after surgery stay. I would never ask for a free hand out, but I am asking for a little help in covering the costs of the trip and the surgery. Any and all help that you can provide is much appreciated, and I will be forever thankful and indebted to you.