My name is Sara Kramer & I live outside of Chicago, IL. Thanks to my sister Emily for helping me set this up. 

In March of this year my doctors at Northwestern Medicine  confirmed that I have some form of upper motor neuron disease  - it's not classical ALS, but it's a little similar because ALS also affects the upper motor neurons. They don't know how or why I have this or what's causing it. 
In a matter of a few years I went from being a very healthy, active person who loves spending time outdoors, going to the frog pond, long nature walks, & mountain climbing, to limping while walking , difficulty climbing stairs, & muscles so spastic on the right side of my body the fingers on my right hand have started to curl & the tendon by my thumb bulges out (I'm right handed). Climbing Chimney Rock in NC a few years ago (I loved it!)
My hand now, with bulging tendons 
Due to so many visits to different specialists & tests trying to figure this out, I've aquired a fair amount of medical debt despite having insurance & have already exhausted all of my savings & retirement.  I'm also on medical disability from my job as a lab tech since the end of February of this year. I now have a wonderful team of physicians working to help me, & we're hopeful of my current progress. I'm still able to do so much & plan to eventually return to work.
My most immediate need is the amount of debt from previous doctor visits & tests that my insurance didn't cover (about $8,000).

The rest of the donations will go to the following:
- Physical, occupational & psychotherapy to help me retain as much of my mobility as possible, learn to compensate for the things that have gotten difficult (e.g. learning to write with my left hand) & emotional support for dealing with a debilitating disease.
- Copays for doctor appointments & the medications I'm on to help control my symptoms.
- Travel expenses to/from appointments, especially the ones in downtown Chicago (I live way out in the suburbs).
- Ancillary day to day expenses since I'm on disability & living on a reduced income from medical disability.
- If enough money is donated, I'll pursue a second opinion (at either Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins).

This means everything to me  - my entire life has been affected by this illness, & your help will enable me to pay back my previous medics expenses, get better & back to doing the things I love like saving frogs, science, mountain climbing - so many things. I appreciate anything at all that you can donate as every little bit is a huge help - more than I could ever express with words. 

Thank you so much! 
Sara