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We met April on a very joyous occasion... the birth of our twin grandbabies!
April was professional, compassionate, attentive, caring, kind and knowledgable about all things "mother & baby-related".
April is "that person", the one people realize after they leave the hospital, "it takes someone SPECIAL to do what she does, day after day". We feel very Blessed to have met her, "that SPECIAL PERSON".
During our time with April, we came to learn she had a health battle going on and we have stayed in touch with her so we know she has been on a horrific roller coaster with health issues. She is facing medical bills and needs medications and Health Care which are not covered by her insurance. Because April has touched our lives so deeply, we started this fund to help her achieve her dream for a HEALTHY Life!!
We ask for YOUR help for April and her three Beautiful children. Thank YOU!!!
Here is April's story:
What would you do if you had it all but slowly and painfully it was taken away? Would you succumb to the pain, give up, lose yourself & all you've ever wanted to be?? Or would you try to grab life by the horns and fight with every bit of your self-worth...even on the days when you feel like you barely exist. This is my life. I grew up as a happy, healthy, active and vibrant girl. I was motivated to always do my best in whatever I did, whether it be sports or school or just life in general. I dreamed of becoming a mother. I felt that I was here to do this job and do it well, with all my heart. The next thing I dreamed of was becoming a Labor & Delivery Nurse so I could help other people bring joy into their lives with grace and ease. By the time I was 22, I had obtained this. I was married, I was a Labor and Delivery Nurse and I was pregnant with my first little girl who made me a mommy. Within a few years, I was blessed with two more babies, another daughter and then a son. Wow I was lucky, truly Blessed!!!
But then my life as I knew it came crumbling down. Two months after my baby boy was born in 2012, my battle began and I certainly had no idea what was coming my way. NO IDEA!! It started with debilitating headaches. I mean the type of headaches that bring you down on your knees begging for mercy. They consumed me. My whole head felt like it would blow up, the ringing in my ears, the nausea, vomiting, dizziness, brain fog, blurred vision for hours upon hours, days and nights. This was what I was suffering with while trying to take care of three babies who needed me. Trying to maintain a job where it was my responsibility to take care of other people who were in pain. Doing the best I could when I felt like I was dying inside. All I could do was SUFFER in SILENCE.
Over the past two years, my journey has been one of seeing doctor after doctor, having test after test, medication after medication and all the while I continue to suffer. Nobody knew what was wrong with me. Maybe migraines? Maybe Multiple Sclerosis? Maybe lupus? Maybe anxiety? Maybe a rare disorder called hypokalemic periodic paralysis? These are just a few of the diagnoses I received. I started losing hope. I became aware of people close to me starting to give up on me, so I felt I needed to keep all of my pain, symptoms and suffering to myself.
I had the headaches, numbness & tingling in my arms, legs, hands and feet most days, extreme fatigue and weakness, scary bouts of arm and leg paralysis, panic attacks, severe chest pain daily, rapid heart beats, palpitations, shortness of breathe, severe pain in my legs and feet, blurred vision, fevers, muscle twitching, mood swings, a lightheaded feeling of passing out. I woke up every morning hoping my legs were going to hold me up. I am only 30 years old but I feel like 90.
None of the specialists could tell me what was wrong. My fear of not knowing what was causing my body to experience all these horrific symptoms consumed my days. My mind was racing with thoughts of: it must be something terrible. Am I dying? What will happen to my children if I die? The fear set into panic because it was unknown what was happening to my body. Neurological symptoms set in. I was often feeling confused about simple tasks. Things I had done thousands of times before became complicated. This was not like me. I "was" a sharp person. I would find myself driving but have to pull the car over and stop because I had no clue where I was going. I would have to wait and eventually it did come back to me. Talk about scary! I found myself getting up in the morning, having to put on my "fake" brave face, do my makeup and go about my day in the shell of a body that barely "worked". I keep a brave face because I have three little sweet Angels always watching me, needing me, counting on me, loving me with their sweet, innocent & unconditional love.
Most days I feel like I am dragging 100 lb weights on each arm and leg so it takes all I can do to get through my days. But why?? I'm 30!!!! Why does just taking a shower tire me to the point I have to sit down for 20 minutes afterwards. Some days it was hard work just to breathe. Every night I pray I could wake up and the symptoms would all be gone. Sleepless nights were spent in sheer terror wondering what was happening to me. People would look at me and say, "well you look good" and I'd just say thanks, but in my head I was thinking well thank God whatever "this is" has spared me my physical appearance. One of the only things I feel I still have control of is I can put some pretty clothes on and a little makeup to "look good." But even this makes me sad as I feel like maybe if I "looked bad", people would better understand and believe I was ailing.
My symptoms worsened although I would have a "few good days" in my world but then I'd get "sick" again and be devastated over and over again.
After seeing countless doctors with no definitive answer, I realized I was going to need to become my own advocate and take matters into my own hands, myself. I got all my medical records, spent countless hours reading and researching. The one diagnosis which kept coming up over and over was Lyme disease. "Well geesh, I didn't think Lyme Disease was this bad." That was until I read hundreds of stories of people begging and pleading for medical help which lead me to watch the movie "Under our skin". I felt like I was watching a documentary made about MY life. After watching that film, I called a Lyme Specialist, even though I'd been told by numerous doctors I did NOT have it, I KNEW I did. In June 2014, I met DR H. who for the first time in years gave me hope! He said, "April, you are not crazy, you are very sick." He said, "you have FOUR nasty infections that have had years to wreak havoc in your body." It was determined that I have Lyme disease and 3 other infections which are also transmitted by a tick. I have never seen a tick on my body nor did I have a bullseye rash. The other infections are babesia, bartonella and anaplasmosis. I looked at DR. H and said, "So now what doc"? Well, it's advanced into chronic Lyme Disease, so it's going to be very hard to get under control. We started trying to fight it. I have been through multiple oral antibiotics and anti-malaria drugs to try to combat this disease which has caused heart and brain inflammation. As you can imagine, taking multiple high strength medications comes along with its own array of problems, side effects, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, yeast infections. Also, every time I start new medication my body has a sudden dramatic reaction called Jarisch Herxheimer to all the toxins dying off in my bloodstream so I become very sick while I'm trying to get the toxins out of my body. I am now into my 4th month of treatment and it seems I take a few steps forward but then a few steps back. It's very discouraging.
The unpredictability of the disease has been so trying on me and my family. I could be feeling "ok" one minute but the next minute be a complete mess.. It is so hard to organize my life never knowing when the worst will strike again. My doctor wants me to get the intravenous treatment but that's where I have run into a problem, my health Insurance doesn't want to cover it?!! What?! The one thing that can help me, they don't want to cover?!! Wow that was a huge reality check for me. So I have been having Intramuscular shots in my butt each day but its just not cutting it ...the intravenous medication is $1000-$2000 a month, who has that?? Ugh, not me.
My dream is to someday really soon go back to a good quality life. I want to be the best mom, to be able to take care of my three beautiful babies I brought into the world, to give them a happy, fun and fulfilling childhood. I love every aspect of my job as a Labor & Delivery Nurse. It has been such a rewarding part of my life and I dream of getting back to helping women who are at their most vulnerable time in their lives. I know I will look back on my medical nightmare with a whole new perspective for people and the different shoes we are all forced to walk in. The answer to my success, I pray is getting these IV treatments. I truly am buried in medical bills and the rest is adding up very quickly. My ultimate dream would be to have enough money to go to the Hansa Center in Kansas which costs $10,000 for a two week treatment program (not including travel expenses from Maine to Kansas plus the supplements needed). At Hansa Center for Optimum Health, (their site is listed under Dr. David Jernigan on FB) doctors provide treatment and education that works with God’s natural design of the body, empowering the body to heal itself. The doctors at Hansa Center believe that true healing cannot occur by simply masking symptoms, so they seek to treat the cause of the illness, utilizing extensive non-invasive treatments in conjunction with supplements to help the body rid itself of disease. Their initiative of “treating the whole person” has resulted in thousands of success stories. The Hansa Center basically takes a more natural approach to reset your own immune health so you can fight this disease with power.
With all this being said, I had no idea how strong I really am considering I don't feel physically, mentally nor emotionally strong at all, but as I read this back, I say "wow I managed all of this while still maintaining some sanity and keeping a pleasant environment for my children." My sweet children are my reason for living, for breathing, for enduring my pain, for fighting to beat this illness. What I truly dream of, is to be able to do this with that real sparkle back in my eye, with real happiness in my heart, with a clear mind. I will not give up!! The blessings I do have will make me fight as hard as I'm capable of.
The support and prayers of all my friends and family means more then I could ever express.
Dunkin Donut Franchise Owners Ed Wolak and Kim Garrett of The Wolak Group wishes to help their friend and former employee April Gerry reach her goal and get well. Accordingly, we agree to match every donation made to this GoFund account up to $5,000 commencing November 13 until Christmas Eve!
April was professional, compassionate, attentive, caring, kind and knowledgable about all things "mother & baby-related".
April is "that person", the one people realize after they leave the hospital, "it takes someone SPECIAL to do what she does, day after day". We feel very Blessed to have met her, "that SPECIAL PERSON".
During our time with April, we came to learn she had a health battle going on and we have stayed in touch with her so we know she has been on a horrific roller coaster with health issues. She is facing medical bills and needs medications and Health Care which are not covered by her insurance. Because April has touched our lives so deeply, we started this fund to help her achieve her dream for a HEALTHY Life!!
We ask for YOUR help for April and her three Beautiful children. Thank YOU!!!
Here is April's story:
What would you do if you had it all but slowly and painfully it was taken away? Would you succumb to the pain, give up, lose yourself & all you've ever wanted to be?? Or would you try to grab life by the horns and fight with every bit of your self-worth...even on the days when you feel like you barely exist. This is my life. I grew up as a happy, healthy, active and vibrant girl. I was motivated to always do my best in whatever I did, whether it be sports or school or just life in general. I dreamed of becoming a mother. I felt that I was here to do this job and do it well, with all my heart. The next thing I dreamed of was becoming a Labor & Delivery Nurse so I could help other people bring joy into their lives with grace and ease. By the time I was 22, I had obtained this. I was married, I was a Labor and Delivery Nurse and I was pregnant with my first little girl who made me a mommy. Within a few years, I was blessed with two more babies, another daughter and then a son. Wow I was lucky, truly Blessed!!!
But then my life as I knew it came crumbling down. Two months after my baby boy was born in 2012, my battle began and I certainly had no idea what was coming my way. NO IDEA!! It started with debilitating headaches. I mean the type of headaches that bring you down on your knees begging for mercy. They consumed me. My whole head felt like it would blow up, the ringing in my ears, the nausea, vomiting, dizziness, brain fog, blurred vision for hours upon hours, days and nights. This was what I was suffering with while trying to take care of three babies who needed me. Trying to maintain a job where it was my responsibility to take care of other people who were in pain. Doing the best I could when I felt like I was dying inside. All I could do was SUFFER in SILENCE.
Over the past two years, my journey has been one of seeing doctor after doctor, having test after test, medication after medication and all the while I continue to suffer. Nobody knew what was wrong with me. Maybe migraines? Maybe Multiple Sclerosis? Maybe lupus? Maybe anxiety? Maybe a rare disorder called hypokalemic periodic paralysis? These are just a few of the diagnoses I received. I started losing hope. I became aware of people close to me starting to give up on me, so I felt I needed to keep all of my pain, symptoms and suffering to myself.
I had the headaches, numbness & tingling in my arms, legs, hands and feet most days, extreme fatigue and weakness, scary bouts of arm and leg paralysis, panic attacks, severe chest pain daily, rapid heart beats, palpitations, shortness of breathe, severe pain in my legs and feet, blurred vision, fevers, muscle twitching, mood swings, a lightheaded feeling of passing out. I woke up every morning hoping my legs were going to hold me up. I am only 30 years old but I feel like 90.
None of the specialists could tell me what was wrong. My fear of not knowing what was causing my body to experience all these horrific symptoms consumed my days. My mind was racing with thoughts of: it must be something terrible. Am I dying? What will happen to my children if I die? The fear set into panic because it was unknown what was happening to my body. Neurological symptoms set in. I was often feeling confused about simple tasks. Things I had done thousands of times before became complicated. This was not like me. I "was" a sharp person. I would find myself driving but have to pull the car over and stop because I had no clue where I was going. I would have to wait and eventually it did come back to me. Talk about scary! I found myself getting up in the morning, having to put on my "fake" brave face, do my makeup and go about my day in the shell of a body that barely "worked". I keep a brave face because I have three little sweet Angels always watching me, needing me, counting on me, loving me with their sweet, innocent & unconditional love.
Most days I feel like I am dragging 100 lb weights on each arm and leg so it takes all I can do to get through my days. But why?? I'm 30!!!! Why does just taking a shower tire me to the point I have to sit down for 20 minutes afterwards. Some days it was hard work just to breathe. Every night I pray I could wake up and the symptoms would all be gone. Sleepless nights were spent in sheer terror wondering what was happening to me. People would look at me and say, "well you look good" and I'd just say thanks, but in my head I was thinking well thank God whatever "this is" has spared me my physical appearance. One of the only things I feel I still have control of is I can put some pretty clothes on and a little makeup to "look good." But even this makes me sad as I feel like maybe if I "looked bad", people would better understand and believe I was ailing.
My symptoms worsened although I would have a "few good days" in my world but then I'd get "sick" again and be devastated over and over again.
After seeing countless doctors with no definitive answer, I realized I was going to need to become my own advocate and take matters into my own hands, myself. I got all my medical records, spent countless hours reading and researching. The one diagnosis which kept coming up over and over was Lyme disease. "Well geesh, I didn't think Lyme Disease was this bad." That was until I read hundreds of stories of people begging and pleading for medical help which lead me to watch the movie "Under our skin". I felt like I was watching a documentary made about MY life. After watching that film, I called a Lyme Specialist, even though I'd been told by numerous doctors I did NOT have it, I KNEW I did. In June 2014, I met DR H. who for the first time in years gave me hope! He said, "April, you are not crazy, you are very sick." He said, "you have FOUR nasty infections that have had years to wreak havoc in your body." It was determined that I have Lyme disease and 3 other infections which are also transmitted by a tick. I have never seen a tick on my body nor did I have a bullseye rash. The other infections are babesia, bartonella and anaplasmosis. I looked at DR. H and said, "So now what doc"? Well, it's advanced into chronic Lyme Disease, so it's going to be very hard to get under control. We started trying to fight it. I have been through multiple oral antibiotics and anti-malaria drugs to try to combat this disease which has caused heart and brain inflammation. As you can imagine, taking multiple high strength medications comes along with its own array of problems, side effects, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, yeast infections. Also, every time I start new medication my body has a sudden dramatic reaction called Jarisch Herxheimer to all the toxins dying off in my bloodstream so I become very sick while I'm trying to get the toxins out of my body. I am now into my 4th month of treatment and it seems I take a few steps forward but then a few steps back. It's very discouraging.
The unpredictability of the disease has been so trying on me and my family. I could be feeling "ok" one minute but the next minute be a complete mess.. It is so hard to organize my life never knowing when the worst will strike again. My doctor wants me to get the intravenous treatment but that's where I have run into a problem, my health Insurance doesn't want to cover it?!! What?! The one thing that can help me, they don't want to cover?!! Wow that was a huge reality check for me. So I have been having Intramuscular shots in my butt each day but its just not cutting it ...the intravenous medication is $1000-$2000 a month, who has that?? Ugh, not me.
My dream is to someday really soon go back to a good quality life. I want to be the best mom, to be able to take care of my three beautiful babies I brought into the world, to give them a happy, fun and fulfilling childhood. I love every aspect of my job as a Labor & Delivery Nurse. It has been such a rewarding part of my life and I dream of getting back to helping women who are at their most vulnerable time in their lives. I know I will look back on my medical nightmare with a whole new perspective for people and the different shoes we are all forced to walk in. The answer to my success, I pray is getting these IV treatments. I truly am buried in medical bills and the rest is adding up very quickly. My ultimate dream would be to have enough money to go to the Hansa Center in Kansas which costs $10,000 for a two week treatment program (not including travel expenses from Maine to Kansas plus the supplements needed). At Hansa Center for Optimum Health, (their site is listed under Dr. David Jernigan on FB) doctors provide treatment and education that works with God’s natural design of the body, empowering the body to heal itself. The doctors at Hansa Center believe that true healing cannot occur by simply masking symptoms, so they seek to treat the cause of the illness, utilizing extensive non-invasive treatments in conjunction with supplements to help the body rid itself of disease. Their initiative of “treating the whole person” has resulted in thousands of success stories. The Hansa Center basically takes a more natural approach to reset your own immune health so you can fight this disease with power.
With all this being said, I had no idea how strong I really am considering I don't feel physically, mentally nor emotionally strong at all, but as I read this back, I say "wow I managed all of this while still maintaining some sanity and keeping a pleasant environment for my children." My sweet children are my reason for living, for breathing, for enduring my pain, for fighting to beat this illness. What I truly dream of, is to be able to do this with that real sparkle back in my eye, with real happiness in my heart, with a clear mind. I will not give up!! The blessings I do have will make me fight as hard as I'm capable of.
The support and prayers of all my friends and family means more then I could ever express.
Dunkin Donut Franchise Owners Ed Wolak and Kim Garrett of The Wolak Group wishes to help their friend and former employee April Gerry reach her goal and get well. Accordingly, we agree to match every donation made to this GoFund account up to $5,000 commencing November 13 until Christmas Eve!