Support Jennifer's Battle with FMD - FMD STRONG!

I wouldn't be writing this if time weren't of the essence or a huge emergency. If you ask anyone who knows me, I am notorious for not asking for help.  I'm that stubborn. We are at a crossroads though and time is not on our side. We are in desperate need of funds for a decent health care plan so specialist will see my better half Jennifer, medical expenses already incurred, and for relocation expenses as we were supposed to be out of our townhouse by the 1st of this month but were paid till the end of August so technically have till the end of this month. The landlords, like everyone else, are selling the place and want to start showing the place. Meanwhile, I have an adorable, loving 9-year-old son and a bedridden wife who has recently been diagnosed with Carotid Artery Dissection , CAD for short, and Fibromuscular Dysplasia, FMD, both of which cannot be cured, only managed. FMD is extremely rare, (only 250K people diagnosed in the USA), and both can be fatal with symptoms ranging from stokes, blood clots, aneurisms and permanent brain damage. We are told if symptoms change that it is imperative immediate medical attention is administered because every second counts when having stroke symptoms.

She requires 24/7 supervision, in fear she might have a stroke at any minute and is in too much pain to do much of anything right now. My son starts a new school on Monday so between him and taking care of Jennifer I'm unable to work and need some kind of health care for her during the day if I could even find someone I trust if I were to go back to work. I implore anyone who is able to, to please help us out! Any and all money, prayers, advice, blessings and wishes would be very very much appreciated. If you would like more of an idea of what my last month has been like and how we got here, please feel free to read on, God bless you and thank you.

My better half, Jennifer, had been experiencing discomfort and her neck and back throughout our short summer vacation and by the 4th of July, a day before her birthday, was in extreme pain in what I thought might be a migraine, neck and back pain, loss of feeling, trouble speaking and seeing, and a handful of other symptoms all congruent with signs of a stroke. In case you don't know Jennifer personally, she would rather chew on tin foil all day then go to the hospital, especially the ER, so was in bed for four days, including her birthday when finally on Friday, July9th, I noticed her right eye severely drooping and knew this to be a definite sign of a stroke so we embarked on our first ER visit to the nearest Sutter hospital. Of course it had to be a Friday night and the ER was like Woodstock for the ill and injured, and took some time getting seen. Once she did, they performed an array of exams and tests including an EKG or three, a few CAT scans, chest x-rays, and a brain MRI, which provided us with some initial crucial information. After the MRI, a doctor came and told her she was being admitted to the hospital and wasn't going anywhere only to be discharged a couple hours later by another doctor who was on duty. The final results on line where a sinus infection and a more daunting carotid artery dissection with tears in 3 of her 4 arteries going from her heart going to her brain. I didn't know too much about CAD, meaning I had never heard of it before nor knew that things like that even happened to people, and a suggestion of possible fibromuscular dysplasia. Why they discharged her I have no idea but the ER will only keep you long enough to make sure you don't die on the way home. Once your vitals are stable you are discharged with orders to see your primary care physician and to take medication. She was prescribed an antibiotic for the sinus infection, aspirin, blood thinner Plavix, prednisone, potassium, and a high blood pressure medication. From there began the painstaking and frustrating task of trying to schedule a visit with a vascular surgeon and or a neurologist as ordered by the doctor in our post ER instructions. We had attained an urgent referral to see a vascular surgeon immediately, and pursued the hospital's vascular surgeon as well as a few others only to be told they either didn't take her insurance, or we're not accepting new patients, or were booked for the next two months. Even if we were able to schedule an appointment, the insurance was unwilling to immediately approve any urgent referrals nor imaging which seems ridiculous and unhuman to us. But we continued to try and try and try. A week went by and she stayed in bed and symptoms and her state were not improving and finally got to the point where she was having symptoms of a stroke and had to go to the ER a week exactly from her first emergency room visit. This visit entailed much of the same thing although we did get seen a little faster and a couple less tests yet amazingly again, she was still discharged the next day with the same advice. We were frustrated to say the least. After getting discharged the next day at 3:00 in the morning we have had enough and had to do something. We drove two and a half hours to Stanford medical where I knew she would get some expert care and someone who would possibly be sympathetic with her situation. This would be our third emergency room visit in a little more than a week but at least we felt we had made some progress at the end of this visit. They did the whole nine yards again with most of the tests and all, we trusted their opinion ,the results, care, and she felt comfortable with the staff.. We were assigned a vascular surgeon and a neurologist and after we left the hospital felt like we at least had some kind of plan of attack. That didn't last too long for when dealing with the insurance company, we experienced the same reluctance and opposition to clear our urgent referrals and much needed immediate imaging and test s. We spent the week in Palo Alto in hotel rooms which we can't really afford now, waiting for these referrals to get cleared and schedule an appointment, but were fruitless. We drove back home which took about 6 hours as opposed to two and a half because of how much discomfort Jennifer experienced even in the backseat driving home. About another week went by and we were able to actually schedule an appointment with the Stanford vascular surgeon in Pleasanton California about a 2 hour drive from home this last Monday. We also had an appointment on Friday with the neurologist and that got canceled till the 13th of August a week from today. The Stanford vascular surgeon was great, yet she was diagnosed with carotid artery dissection and fibromuscular dysplasia and besides taking blood thinners, ruling out surgery and putting in a stent to open the artery , there's little we can do about the situation because it is so far developed. We have a directive to get a few more tests and imaging done which has been an act of Congress and as a son of a retired surgeon am personally appalled and disgusted in the numerous breakdowns in our current healthcare programs.

Mind you, all this is happening under the stress of knowing our landlord wanted us to vacate our residence by the first of August even though we're paid till the end of the month. They have been pressuring us for a while and we are nowhere near being able to relocate immediately. I have been unable to work obviously during this whole process and am in desperate need of help for our family. I accidentally left out maybe a visit or two with other doctors and some details, but this is a basic recount of what the past month has been like and how we got here.

Sincerely,

David Murphy