Collins Reconstructive Foot Surgery

I have Charcot Marie Tooth type 1A, which is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy.  It affects about 1 in 2,500 people worldwide.  Charcot is slowly progressive and it is not life threatening and does not directly affect life expectancy; however, there is no present cure or drug treatment for the disorder.  Charcot causes gradual foot and hand deformities, muscle wasting and nerve loss in the extremeties and can be very painful.  My Charcot is very painful and I have been in moderate to severe chronic pain for about 10 years.  Medication, rest and love helps but they are all bandaids and Charcot controls my life in a great many ways.  I have had four foot surgeries on my right foot and three foot surgeries on my left foot since 2009.  The surgeries have been a minor to moderate success and my mobility is improved, but my feet and legs continue to hurt all the time.   My mom has paid for many of my foot surgeries, but this most recent (and hopefully last) foot surgery bill, I have taken on.  I am registered as disabled even though you may not know it if you saw me. There is an element of shame in being disabled, and being desperate enough to ask for help, but I qualified according to the disability guidelines and the insurance that comes with it is my lifeline.  My quality of life would plummet without the help.  I hope one day to never need it again and to be self sufficient, but that day is not today.  I am asking for $1,450 because that is what I owe creditors from my most recent right foot surgery done at Mercy Medical in Baltimore Maryland.  I was wrongly told that my insurance would cover this expense, but then after the surgery, discovered that I had been given incorrect information and now have a bill that I am unable to pay.  
 I started UNCA in Fall 2005 and got three years towards a Biology degree, but had to drop out in 2009 because of foot surgeries and Charcot symptoms.  I just couldn't keep up.  I finally returned to UNCA this fall after many foot surgeries and tried treatments and just finished my first part time semester back!  It is a point of pride to return to my goal and continue to work at what I started.  This last foot surgery was paramount in my return to school and an eventual career.  Without this recent foot surgery I would not be in school now.  It is often a physical struggle to undertake a full days activities, but I am in the best place I have been in, since this all began.  Just to have people read this is appreciated.  I am lucky in more ways than I know.  My goal is to finish my education and find the energy to spread my love for trees into the world.  One step at a time, one cell division at a time.  Thanks for reading.