Donate to Help Our Mom Fight Polymyositis

My mom began to get very sick and weak in 2017. I remember the day it started; she got stuck in the bathtub, and we had to help pull her out. Her body declined from there. She started not being able to do everyday tasks like driving, laundry, cooking, bathing, dressing, etc. She was barely able to take care of me and my brother. We took care of her, trying our best. It wasn't easy. I was only 13 in my last year of middle school, and my brother was 11, still in elementary.

Once COVID came, she had to stop working. From there, things got even worse. She got stuck outside on the stairs. I had to bring blankets around her body so she wouldn't freeze until the paramedics came. She would roll out of bed and was not able to get herself off the floor. The paramedics would help her countless times to get up. One day, we called 911, and when they came to help, they took her. She was admitted and hospitalized.

They began to give her lots of tests and biopsies. A host of doctors saw her. They said she had a rare muscle disease called Myositis. They began to start treatments that they thought were best. We also thought the treatments were helping as well, but we later realized that they were not helping. She received the treatments over the course of two years, but over these two years, she still did not return to her normal self.

We knew there had to be an answer somewhere. We wanted to get a second opinion, but to our surprise, the same results came back. At this time, she was so sick she was not able to come home. She spent 2 years in and out of hospitals and nursing homes. She saw countless doctors, still with no answers. I don't know if the hardest part was that most of our family and friends left us alone to care for ourselves or thinking my mom would die. Who would take care of us if she did? I prayed a lot. She would tell us how she felt like a rat in a cage, aka test dummy. How could one of the best hospitals in the world not know what this was? They even told her she was crazy and it was all in her head. So many things happened so fast over the course of 7 years, we didn't know where to turn.

We miss our mom. We want her back. I still wonder sometimes when she goes to the hospital if she will make it back. I knew we had to do something to help, so we began to do research and found a hospital that specializes in Myositis. It's in Baltimore, Maryland. It's called John Hopkins, and they have a center for Myositis. It's the only one in the world.

With the research that we did and with what the doctors say, she has what's called Polymyositis. It's rare; fewer than 25 out of every 100,000 people each year are affected by this.

The problem is we live in Minnesota, and the center is in Baltimore, Maryland. We need the money for traveling expenses. We need to rent a car because our car is too small for my mom's wheelchair and walker and all of our things as well. Also, gas. We also need to pay our rent where we currently live. We don't plan on making Baltimore our home at this time. We also need to pay for living expenses while in Baltimore. They said they want to do all the testing for themselves. I'm not sure how long this will take—weeks, days, or months—so we want to make sure we have enough to cover living expenses while we are there. Also, we need the money for food, laundry, and toiletries.

We are asking for your help with this. Anything will help. Thank you so much!!