E. Coli & Blood Clots

As some of you may already know, I had two life threatening incidences last year. The first incident was with E.Coli poisoning and the second bout with death was from a tag team of my Autoimmune disease, Lupus, and my blood clotting disorder, Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome.

E. Coli: They found me with barely a heart beat and undetectable blood pressure levels. This resulted in a 7 day stay at Denver Health (I celebrated my 30th birthday there) and almost a month without work. 

Lupus: A few months after my E. Coli, my Lupus flared up. Every single one of my joints felt arthritic (from my jaw bone all the way down to my toes), making me immobile and feverish for 3 months. I made several trips to the emergency room on my own, but they said they couldn’t help me. I became suicidal and suffered from an extreme bout of depression. Due to my immobility for such an extended amount of time, I ended up with two large arterial blood clots in both legs. The scariest blood clot was the one in my right leg that spanned my entire thigh, up to my hip bone.

With countless visits to the emergency room, piles of medication, and appointments with specialists, I racked up a substantial medical bill and was unable to pay most of them because I had to miss so much work. (Unfortunately, due to my conditions, I have to continue to see/pay two separate specialists and a primary care physician on a regular, as well as pay for regular lab work. It isn’t cheap!)

And guess what?! The first round of bills are hitting collections, and debt collectors are a nightmare. I know my goal is high, but anything would help. I’m feeling so stressed and I’m not sure what else I can do.

Thank you for reading! Typing all this was kind of therapeutic, I love you all.