Medical Bill Overload
Donation protected
I have been told by a number of people, both friends and family, to do this. After over a year of being pestered, it is with great humiliation that I give in and set up this GoFundMe account. Since I have no clue how this works, I’ll just start off by giving you a little background as to what I’ve been dealing with this past year. By doing this, I am opening the door to things that not even my children and parents are fully aware of, not to mention many of my friends and extended family. Hopefully getting all of this out will provide me with some sort of relief, as I will no longer have to hold this in and hide certain aspects of my health from those I love.
Okay…let’s get started…
More than a year ago, I was dealing with a great deal of emotional and physical issues, both at home and work. Trying to keep things quiet from my children and most of my family members proved to be more stressful on me than I had anticipated. Now, here comes the part that very few people were aware of with regards to my health. In 2014, I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer. With the exception of a handful of people, no one knew. Not my parents or my children were informed. My in-laws only found out because my husband was having such a hard time dealing with everything, he had a little breakdown of his own at work and it came out to his boss, which eventually came out to his father. He was promised to keep it to himself, as MY family was not aware and I was not going to make them aware any time soon. I guess they know now.
After a number of painful procedures, missed work, used up PTO days, medications, and a lot of tears and pain, I privately completed my treatment without anyone being the wiser. I was able to keep my anatomy which still makes me a woman, but not without a great deal of damage and residual pain in certain situations. I was also left with a very large medical bill. Health insurance can only go so far when you’re dealing with numbers in the 10s of thousands. It’s still not paid off in full, but has successfully maxed out the only 2 credit cards I have.
After that issue, I started 2015 with a great deal of emotional damage. I was still holding the secret of my past illness, dealing with a negative and hostile environment in the workplace, and a doctor who seemed to get his enjoyments from altering my medication as often as he changed his socks. Not too far into the month of January of 2015, I was admitted to the hospital, via the emergency room, for reactions pertaining to the mixture of medications. That’s the official story given to work and certain friends and family. The true reason is much worse, but still pertains to my medications. I’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions.
From the hospital, I was transported to a facility where I could have someone review all of my medications and see why I was constantly getting them changed and to help me figure out what would work. I was away from my children for 3 days and the only thing they knew was what I wanted them to know and that was that I was being monitored to make sure there was no further reactions to the new medications I was put on. Not 100% the truth, but far from a lie. I think they know where I was, but not exactly the real reason as to why.
After being released, I was not permitted to return to work right away. I was put on Short Term Disability Leave until my new physician deemed it the right time to return to work. In March, I finally walked back into the same hostile environment I had walked out of prior to my hospital admittance. The only thing that changed was the pity look that I got from almost everyone I came in contact with. Then the rumors started, the questions behind my back, the “investigation”, and finally I was informed by someone close that people were fishing for information to release me from my position. After realizing that was true and not another rumor in the pool of toxic waste that company came to be, I turned in my resignation in early May. When I wasn’t allowed to complete my 2 weeks and was told that I could leave that day with pay for the 2 weeks, I realized just how much they were eager to get me out of there. So much so, that I was immediately locked out of my computer prior to my leaving for the day. It was later that I found out my medical situation was a topic of public discussion and it was suggested that I pursue legal action. I decided against it, for the obvious reason that my family was not aware of the truth and that was not the way I wanted them to find out. I guess neither was this, but considering the situation, it is what it is.
Long story short, I started another job and in early October, 2015, I was called into the office and told that the position was a temporary one and that I was no longer needed. I, along with a group of other people were unemployed. Since then I have been applying, interviewing, and emailing resumes to every company that has an opening. It has been almost 5 months and I have yet to find another job. As a result of my being unemployed, my medical bills, from 2014 have gone into collections, as well as the ones from 2015. Legal action is being threatened for lack of payment on some of them. I cannot pay my personal bills, I can’t pay for the necessities for my children with regards to school, I’m barely making ends meet with the little bit I get for unemployment, which is really only 2 checks a month since one goes to my car note, which is needed so my youngest daughter can get to and from school and practice. The other is paying a loan that Jason and I got over a year ago to cover previous medical bills for what we thought was behind me. I do not have health insurance and have not returned to the doctor for any follow up examinations due to the lack of funds to pay 100% out of pocket. ObamaCare would have cost me over $400 a month for myself, which is impossible to pay.
I know that this is a long and drawn out story and really no one’s problem but my own. I am sinking with no visible means to get out. We are a single income family with 3 kids in the household. While we do have the assistance of someone who is extremely close to the family, eventually they’re going to need to use their paycheck for themselves rather than to support someone else’s family.
I tell you all of this while I humbly and with a heavy head ask for help. Time is running out on certain things and the amount that I am requesting is simply to bring my head above water and to completely remove certain bills that I can no longer afford to let go unpaid. I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this. I humbly apologize for having to do this at all, but as I said, I am sinking without any means of support.
Okay…let’s get started…
More than a year ago, I was dealing with a great deal of emotional and physical issues, both at home and work. Trying to keep things quiet from my children and most of my family members proved to be more stressful on me than I had anticipated. Now, here comes the part that very few people were aware of with regards to my health. In 2014, I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer. With the exception of a handful of people, no one knew. Not my parents or my children were informed. My in-laws only found out because my husband was having such a hard time dealing with everything, he had a little breakdown of his own at work and it came out to his boss, which eventually came out to his father. He was promised to keep it to himself, as MY family was not aware and I was not going to make them aware any time soon. I guess they know now.
After a number of painful procedures, missed work, used up PTO days, medications, and a lot of tears and pain, I privately completed my treatment without anyone being the wiser. I was able to keep my anatomy which still makes me a woman, but not without a great deal of damage and residual pain in certain situations. I was also left with a very large medical bill. Health insurance can only go so far when you’re dealing with numbers in the 10s of thousands. It’s still not paid off in full, but has successfully maxed out the only 2 credit cards I have.
After that issue, I started 2015 with a great deal of emotional damage. I was still holding the secret of my past illness, dealing with a negative and hostile environment in the workplace, and a doctor who seemed to get his enjoyments from altering my medication as often as he changed his socks. Not too far into the month of January of 2015, I was admitted to the hospital, via the emergency room, for reactions pertaining to the mixture of medications. That’s the official story given to work and certain friends and family. The true reason is much worse, but still pertains to my medications. I’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions.
From the hospital, I was transported to a facility where I could have someone review all of my medications and see why I was constantly getting them changed and to help me figure out what would work. I was away from my children for 3 days and the only thing they knew was what I wanted them to know and that was that I was being monitored to make sure there was no further reactions to the new medications I was put on. Not 100% the truth, but far from a lie. I think they know where I was, but not exactly the real reason as to why.
After being released, I was not permitted to return to work right away. I was put on Short Term Disability Leave until my new physician deemed it the right time to return to work. In March, I finally walked back into the same hostile environment I had walked out of prior to my hospital admittance. The only thing that changed was the pity look that I got from almost everyone I came in contact with. Then the rumors started, the questions behind my back, the “investigation”, and finally I was informed by someone close that people were fishing for information to release me from my position. After realizing that was true and not another rumor in the pool of toxic waste that company came to be, I turned in my resignation in early May. When I wasn’t allowed to complete my 2 weeks and was told that I could leave that day with pay for the 2 weeks, I realized just how much they were eager to get me out of there. So much so, that I was immediately locked out of my computer prior to my leaving for the day. It was later that I found out my medical situation was a topic of public discussion and it was suggested that I pursue legal action. I decided against it, for the obvious reason that my family was not aware of the truth and that was not the way I wanted them to find out. I guess neither was this, but considering the situation, it is what it is.
Long story short, I started another job and in early October, 2015, I was called into the office and told that the position was a temporary one and that I was no longer needed. I, along with a group of other people were unemployed. Since then I have been applying, interviewing, and emailing resumes to every company that has an opening. It has been almost 5 months and I have yet to find another job. As a result of my being unemployed, my medical bills, from 2014 have gone into collections, as well as the ones from 2015. Legal action is being threatened for lack of payment on some of them. I cannot pay my personal bills, I can’t pay for the necessities for my children with regards to school, I’m barely making ends meet with the little bit I get for unemployment, which is really only 2 checks a month since one goes to my car note, which is needed so my youngest daughter can get to and from school and practice. The other is paying a loan that Jason and I got over a year ago to cover previous medical bills for what we thought was behind me. I do not have health insurance and have not returned to the doctor for any follow up examinations due to the lack of funds to pay 100% out of pocket. ObamaCare would have cost me over $400 a month for myself, which is impossible to pay.
I know that this is a long and drawn out story and really no one’s problem but my own. I am sinking with no visible means to get out. We are a single income family with 3 kids in the household. While we do have the assistance of someone who is extremely close to the family, eventually they’re going to need to use their paycheck for themselves rather than to support someone else’s family.
I tell you all of this while I humbly and with a heavy head ask for help. Time is running out on certain things and the amount that I am requesting is simply to bring my head above water and to completely remove certain bills that I can no longer afford to let go unpaid. I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this. I humbly apologize for having to do this at all, but as I said, I am sinking without any means of support.
Organizer
Melissa Serpas-Sepulveda
Organizer
Covington, LA