Donation protected
For over 2 years, I have been dealing with serious, chronic gastrointestinal illnesses that have severely impacted my quality of life. I have sought medical assistance for years with varying results, the most recent medical intervention being the installation of a nasal feeding tube. This feeding tube had, importantly, allowed me to regain some nutrition and quality of life, but nasal feeding tubes are a temporary solution, meant for the short-term use of only around 4–6 weeks.
In my 8th month of enteral nutrition, after having had my feeding tube replaced 5 times due to various complications, doctors have been working to find a more long-term system. Luckily, after a period of medical limbo, my medical practitioners were finally able to schedule a more long-term feeding tube placement (a GJ tube) for me this January 2025.
Once placed, this tube must remain in place for at least 8 weeks to allow the skin to heal. This surgery has allowed me to have a much more streamlined feeding system; my new feeding tube will help in both nutritional areas as well help with symptoms of gastric distress.
Surgical feeding is not a medical treatment but rather a way of managing lack of nutrition. That being said, I have had to take unpaid time off work in order to recover.
I work at an NGO that specializes in situations of food scarcity for people in the community. At my job, I organize and facilitate food workshops, help with the NGO's programs, and do manual work in the community garden. This work is only WFH for part of the week, with 2-3 days of the work schedule occurring in person and on-site. As you can imagine, this is very physical work, and I will not be able to do it or the rest of my job while recovering from my surgery. Additionally, I have already been working consistently with a nasal feeding tube, and it has caused exhaustion and burnout I would like to avoid when recovering from this most recent medical intervention.
The recovery time for Gastrojejunostomy Tube installation is, on average, around 6–8 weeks without any complications, and unfortunately, complications are quite common with this type of surgery. I am asking for expenses to cover 6 months worth of care, so that I can have the amount of recovery, rest, and healing that I desperately need.
Below is an expenses overview so that you can see what your donation to my campaign will go towards covering.
Expenses overview (6 months):
Medication:
- 400-500$ a month
- Breakdown by medication:
- Fasttab : 90$
- Jamp-dicylomine : 80$
- Thiamine solution: 114$
- Zofran 150$ (20 pills)
- Sterile water
Food and supplies:
- Tube feed copay: 100$ a month
- Tummy-friendly snacks and drinks: 150$ a month
- Pedylate bottles : 30$ a month
Transportation:
- Opus: 100$/ per month
- Ubers for medical appointment: 100$ / per month
Cost of living:
- Living expenses (ie: rent, utilities, bills) x 6 months: $6000
Total requested: $11,700
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Other ways to support:
You can also help by buying from my wishlists on Amazon and Etsy; these are primarily for medical equipment and would be particularly helpful to get before the end of this GoFundMe campaign.
Etsy registry (includes a new infusion backpack, feeding tube port pads, stoma pads and clips:)
500ml feed bags (40$ for 4)
Elemental feeds (40$ per box)
Organizer and beneficiary
Marcela Huerta
Organizer
Montréal, QC
Tabitha Rosembert
Beneficiary