Help Alison find stability

Hey luvs, I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but I could really use some community help.

 

About three months ago I experienced a sudden and unexpected health crisis. I found myself unable to attend to my daily life due to extreme chronic fatigue and physical illness. I was experiencing physical and neurological fatigue so severe that I couldn't even watch a movie. Walking my dog around the block would force me to have to sleep for several hours afterward. We suspect that a cervical spine instability caused my sudden crash- overnight my neck became so weak that holding my head up for even short periods would cause disorientation and nausea and force me to lie back down. My neurological symptoms and other physical symptoms are also aligned with vagus nerve impingement, which would easily become compromised with cervical spine instability.

 

It looks likely that I’m dealing with a connective tissue disorder. The one we think I have, hypermobile ehlers danlos, is notoriously difficult to get a diagnosis, and since my tests are coming back normal, my insurance has been fighting me on basic procedures like MRI’s and seeing specialists that could give me a diagnosis. Because of this, I’m looking at many out of pocket medical costs in hopes of creating more physical stability for myself and reducing the chances of future debilitating episodes. One treatment looks particularly promising to help stabilize the joints in my cervical spine, but my insurance will not cover it and it’s a several thousand dollar procedure- and there’s no guarantee that it will help.

 

This happened at a particularly difficult time. I had just moved out of my bus and into a new apartment, and my budget was dependent on my income from the film industry. Most of my income is made here where 10-15 hour days are normal, and my role as a location sound mixer is a particularly physically demanding job. Summer is my busy season, and much of my income for the entire year is made from July- Sept. Having to cancel work and being unable to accept jobs during this period has been devastating for my financial reality.

 

To make the situation even more absurd, after just two months in my new apartment my next door neighbor sexually assaulted me by cornering me and grabbing me while I was coming back to my unit. I have reason to believe that he had been stalking me for quite a while before he attacked me. The apartment management has been accommodating, but they are not covering any of the moving expenses or the living expenses I accrued by being displaced for several weeks during my illness before a new apartment became available for me. As you can imagine, the move and these unexpected expenses have been overwhelming.

 

Fortunately I have been slowly getting better, and while I need to pace myself and I can’t accomplish much in a day, I am able to get some things done and see friends, etc. But that said, things definitely still aren’t normal- just the other night I had what appeared to be a mild seizure and ended up back at the ER, even though all tests came back normal. It’s clear that I need to continue to take things slow for a while, and it’s unlikely I’ll be able to return to making my income through the film industry any time soon. Fortunately now I'm stable enough to launch my coaching career and start down that new, exciting path.

 

While this recent health crisis was extreme and unexpected, I’ve been experiencing physical issues with the connective tissue disorder that have made it clear that I need a career path that is less physically demanding (my shoulder destabilized about a year ago and I lost most my strength and mobility). I received transformational/life coaching and death doula training this year, and my plans were to launch my new career this summer and continue working in film while I gained clients and formed a stable practice (working with me or referring me are also great ways to support me right now!) I’ve also been working to make my art more of a business, and I’ll be launching things like apparel and household items this October. Information on both coaching and my art are available at http://alisongraysonart.com.

 

The money I’m asking for is just a small fraction of what I’ve lost by not being able to work the past several months, but any bit of it would help me greatly by covering expenses while I transfer careers, paying off medical and moving bills, and helping me cover the costs of the medical procedures and specialists that aren’t being covered by my insurance.

 

I have a long, uncertain road ahead of me, and I deeply appreciate y’all for reading, donating, and sharing . It means the world to me <3