Fighting For My Health While Fighting To Be a Mom

Hi, my name is Alyssa. I’ve been a registered nurse for the past 7 years, the first 2 years helping bring new life into the world as a labor & delivery nurse, and the last 5 years caring for patients and families through hospice and home care. I’ve dedicated my life to caring for others, but now, I’m the one who needs help.

In December 2022, I welcomed my beautiful baby boy into the world. At that time, I weighed 500 lbs. I knew I needed to make a change — not just for me, but to be the healthy, present mom my son deserves. Over the next year, I worked hard and lost 150 lbs on my own through lifestyle changes. In December 2023, I chose to have gastric bypass surgery to help me lose the additional 160 lbs I needed for my health. A total of over 310 pounds lost.

Unfortunately, instead of the fresh start I’d hoped for, the last year and a half has been filled with devastating complications — multiple hernia repairs, severe strictures, chronic abdominal pain, pituitary tumor that has since been ruled out as pituitary hyperplasia, and now a diagnosis of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) that has left me dizzy, fainting, and unable to work.

In January 2025, things took an even more frightening turn. I went into cardiac tamponado— a life-threatening condition where fluid builds up around the heart. Doctors performed a pericardiocentesis, draining 500 ml of fluid to save my life. I was later diagnosed with chronic pericarditis, which still causes debilitating chest pain and requires weekly injections to control symptoms. I have ongoing follow-up appointments at Cleveland Clinic to monitor my heart and manage this condition alongside my other health challenges.

Just in the month of June I had 2 abdominal surgeries, a double hernia repair, and then 15 days later another surgery to fix a bowel obstruction. All of the physical stress and constant illness have also caused a previous ulcer (first diagnosed in June 2024) to flare up again. Recently, my surgeon performed an EGD and found both the ulcer and a stricture, which he dilated to help me eat again. Before that procedure, I had been vomiting and unable to keep food down — losing 30 pounds in just the past month.

Now, my doctors have determined I need a PICC line (a type of central line) and 4-12 weeks of total parental nutrition (TPN) just to keep my body nourished and alive while my GI tract heals. This means being hooked to IV nutrition for 14 hours a day, and being unable to eat solid food to allow the ulcer to heal. As a part time nurse, I don’t qualify for short-term disability or financial assistance — so every missed paycheck means another struggle to cover basic needs and medical costs.

The hardest part of all this? I’m a mom to a sweet 2½-year-old boy who deserves to have his mom healthy, present, and able to play with him again. Asking for help is not easy for me — I am so used to providing care and helping others— but right now, my health battle has drained my resources. I am exhausted mentally, emotionally, physically, in every aspect it feels.

If you’re able to donate, share, or just send encouragement, it means more than you know. Every bit helps me cover medical expenses, transportation for treatments and doctors appointments, my TPN supplies as I have to pay 20% out of pocket for whatever insurance does not cover, and basic living costs while I fight my way back to health and continue on trying to be the best mom I can.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading my story and for helping me keep going — for my son, for my patients, and for my life.