Help Alyssa Pay for Physical Therapy

When I was 17, I started to feel pain in my right knee. When I saw the doctor, I was told that he couldn't see anything wrong and that some people just get chronic pain and it can't be explained. He suggested that I try losing weight (despite the fact that I was of an average weight at the time), and reluctantly prescribed physical therapy. While the therapy helped at the time, I soon went away to college and wasn't able to continue with treatment.
Over time the pain worsened until it severely affected my everyday life-- I began using a cane and even then could only stand for short periods of time without rest. In addition, the ways in which my body compensated for the pain began to affect my back and my other knee. 

At a routine doctor's appointment with a new primary care provider in March I mentioned my pain while listing underlying health conditions. The doctor offered to refer me to a specialist to look at my knee again. 

When I saw the specialist, the doctor diagnosed me with patellofemoral pain syndrome and chondromacia, both of which can be treated with physical therapy. 

I have started seeing a physical therapist and I am already seeing improvement. However, due to the long-term nature of my injury and the ways it has affected the rest of my body, the therapist has recommended that I continue with my course of treatment three times a week for 2-3 months. This is starting to take a toll financially, especially because my fiancé was recently laid off due to the pandemic, and overtime opportunities that were available tome prior to the pandemic have been cancelled. 

My therapy costs $80 per week, and since starting physical therapy, I have been struggling to cover all of my bills and groceries, and am faced with the possibility of having to stop therapy to make ends meet. After 7 years of severe pain, this is extremely disheartening, especially as I have already started to see improvement in the 7 sessions I have had.