Help Ally Fight Lyme Disease & Pay Medical Bills

For over one year now, I have suffered from debilitating Lyme Disease, on top of an existing slew of medical problems and financial insecurity in the wake of COVID-19 layoffs. As if the severe symptoms weren't bad enough, the burdens of medical debt and being unable to earn a livable wage has been horrendous for my mental health. Throughout the course of 2020, I have accumulated massive amounts in medical debt from a spinal injury, kidney infection, Lyme Disease, and ovarian cysts.

HOW IT STARTED:

COVID-19 had left me unemployed, without health insurance, and massively in medical debt from some emergency room visits earlier in the year for a bad kidney infection and some spinal problems which left me temporarily unable to use my right arm. In May 2020, I was bit by a tick and contracted Lyme Disease, which failed to respond to treatment and became a chronic debilitating issue. My initial symptoms were so severe that I often could not could out of bed, was unable to care for myself or my pets, and struggled to make it through a few hours of work. Then on Thanksgiving evening, I was rushed off to the ER due to ovarian cyst pain which was so severe I vomited and nearly passed out. All these chronic health issues and their symptoms make it so difficult just to get through the day. The immense stress from the mountain of medical debt makes me feel hopeless.


SYMPTOMS I GET:

I have had Lyme Disease for over one year now. I am in Stage II of the disease, meaning it has spread to my joints and my brain. The medication and supplement regimen I am on has definitely helped reduce general severity of symptoms, but I still have a baseline level of fatigue, joint pain, and brain fog each day. If I overexert myself or just have a random flare up, my symptoms intensify greatly.

The fatigue I feel throughout the day is often quite severe. It's like my body is going to fall asleep whether I want it to or not, and I am viciously fighting to stay awake. I often have to take naps throughout the day just to function. During a bad flare up, I feel as though I may collapse at any moment due to fatigue. Not to mention the brain fog and memory problems I also deal with. Some days I feel like I can barely remember anything. I will start to do something and totally forget what I was in the middle of. I will begin a sentence and forget what I was talking about. It's incredibly frustrating and upsetting to experience.


Things take me longer than they used to. I can't do nearly as much as before. I am still learning my limits. My joints ache and creak. I get searing pains throughout my hips, ankles, and wrists, it feels like fire crawling underneath my skin. Walks with my rescue dog, something I look forward to every day, have gotten shorter and shorter because I just can't physically make it that long. Some days I will have a really good day where I almost feel normal. But if I overdo it even the slightest bit, I suffer severe fatigue, pain, and nausea for at least a week after. I dream of being able to take my dog on a nice long walk again without it making me sick.

WHERE I AM NOW:

I work as much as my symptoms will allow me as a social media content creator. This is independent contractor position so the income is unreliable and inconsistent, and I simply do not make enough to afford all my regular bills PLUS pay off my medical debt. In January 2021, I finally acquired health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and although Lyme Disease treatment is not covered by insurance, I will finally be able to seek treatment once again for my other chronic health issues including migraines and ovarian cysts. However, insurance does not work retroactively and I am still left with thousands to pay for from last year.

With your continued help and support, I will be able to pay off the remainder of my outstanding medical bills, keep up with my medications and supplements, seek out specialists, and complete some procedures such as a tonsillectomy that have been recommended to me. I know my life may never be anything close to "normal." But I have to keep fighting this fight. I will not let this disease and debt win.



With your help, I am hoping I can take my life back from Lyme Disease and debilitating medical debt.




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