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Didn't know I had tick borne illness for 30 years

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Hello, my name is Mindy and my story begins 30ish years ago when I was bitten by a tick. The problem was that I didn't realize it until now, 2024, after having years of pain, chronic auto immune issues, and advanced stage cancer were all likely due to the disease the tick passed on. I was doing all I could to address these lingering issues, thinking I had auto immune disease, but my issues kept getting weirder and more intense over the years. I was told by a friend that I should be tested for tick borne illness, which I thought was crazy, and shockingly, I didn't have just one, but three tick borne illnesses, and one was still very much active.

UGH.

On top of that, I was diagnosed with mast cell activation, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, psoriasis, SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth), and Irritable bowel syndrome.

UGH again

Tick borne illness is one of the hardest issues to resolve because the pathogens are sneaky, can hide when under attack by medication, and have many tricks that keep them from being detected by the immune system. Because of this, it can take a year or more to clear out the pathogens and the intensity of the treatments over such a long time can cause people to be exhausted to the point of not being able to work. I'm working with my practitioner to make it as gentle as is possible, but I am also the only breadwinner in the house at the moment for five people and almost none of the interventions are covered by insurance, the course of treatment is expensive, and involves visits with my practitioner every 6 weeks, long-term antibiotics and other medications, lab testing every 4-6 weeks to ensure liver and kidney function is within normal limits, regular visits with my primary Dr., mega doses of probiotics to keep bad bacteria from taking over with all the antibiotics, and support from other practitioners, such as an acupuncturist. It will be approximately $700 extra per month to pay for all of these interventions for the next year or so.

Because all of this is out of pocket for me, this fundraiser is to help with expenses of treatment, which includes having to take time off when I am not feeling well and can not work. It's not clear how often that will be, but part of the treatment plan is to rest when I need to instead of pushing through like I typically do. Do my income may go down while my financial needs go up...UGH again.

And because I know it helps when something is offered in return, I will send anyone who donates $50 a high quality, archival print of one of my new collage pieces (destined to be cards at some point). See video

And for those of you who don't know me and would like to know a bit about what I do in this life, please go to www.mindycardenas.com.





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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $100
    • 5 mos
  • Tanya Graham
    • $100
    • 5 mos
  • Katrina Wagner
    • $50
    • 9 mos
  • Stephanie Wray
    • $100
    • 10 mos
  • Sara Gant
    • $30
    • 10 mos
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Organizer

Mindy Gaumer Cardenas
Organizer
Rio Rancho, NM

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