Donate to Help Dedicated Nurse

Hi, my name is Sara, and I hope to get some needed support for a close family member. She has been a dedicated nurse for over 16 years, she has shown compassion and empathy to strangers and their loved ones regardless of their situation or status. She embodies all of what nursing stands for and has held hands and hearts of many and now it’s our time to hold hers.

I am fundraising because this selfless person showed up every day during the most difficult times for people who needed her, and our healthcare system is now failing her in her time of need.

In July, she was suffering, not sleeping, and struggling with mental health issues, and her job told her to take the time she needed to get healthy. A week later, they fired her. When she filed for unemployment, they declined her claim stating that her employer said she had quit, which is not true, and I witnessed it myself. She was immediately left with zero income and zero health insurance, and the added stress created a downward spiral into a more profound health crisis.

After much consideration, we persuaded her to go to the hospital, ask for help and safely get off most medications. Additionally, two other nurses and a doctor were being treated for the same illness in the hospital, so the struggle is real for our healthcare workers! While in the hospital, the doctors decided to treat her aggressively and would continue treating her as an outpatient. After two treatments and seeing positive results, they discharged her. When she arrived for her subsequent treatment, she was told that the new insurance (which the hospital helped her get) would not cover the treatment, and she would be responsible for the full cost, which is $4K per treatment. She couldn’t afford to do that, so she went without treatment. Can you imagine?

She quickly began struggling again, and we were able to find another location to treat her, but only if an outpatient doctor could sign off and follow up. Her doctor didn’t take the insurance and explained that they couldn’t treat her even if we paid out of pocket.

As you may or may not be aware, finding a mental health provider right now is nearly impossible. Most are at total capacity with their patient load, and very few are taking new patients. Finding a new provider can take months, and when you face mental health challenges, months are not an option.

She is in immediate need of care and is overwhelmed by the daily financial burden, with no ability to earn an income right now. We are trying to focus on getting her the help she desperately needs while knowing she can’t manage the stress of bills, looking for a job, while having no safety net of unemployment coming in to bridge the gap.

We all know someone who has needed help at one time or another. It’s never easy to ask. This person you are helping has been the most caring, attentive nurse you will ever meet. The nurse you HOPE your loved one has by their side. She sits with every dying person and holds their hand when no family shows up for them. During the past several years, when the hospitals were inundated, she pushed thru extreme exhaustion, sleepless nights, extra hours, and being on call. The patient-to-healthcare provider ratio was enough to push anyone over the edge, but she stayed, did the work, and showed up every day because she CARED.

I am hoping to raise enough money just to help get her back on her feet while we find her a mental health care provider. Any help will be appreciated and not taken lightly. This is one of our special nurses- who gives selflessly, and I hope to show her that there are people who will give that back to her.

Thank you for reading this, and thank you for any kindness you can offer. Sara Mangiaracina