My name is Amber. I am a disabled single parent working part-time jobs just to try to survive and keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I am a baseball player and an umpire.

During the month of March, I went through a period of intense stress after my car died and I had to buy a new one in an emergency. I was sold a lemon and did not have the money to fix it, and still have been unable to repair and register the car because it will not pass inspection. My temporary registration expired April 3, leaving me without transportation.

During this period of stress, I began experiencing increasing fatigue that led to acute muscle fatigue and weakness, and I have now become unable to physically perform basic tasks such as bathing myself, brushing my hair, or preparing food without complete fatigue, weakness, and pain in my arms, neck, traps, shoulders, and upper back. These muscles fatigue just remaining upright and worsen when I use my arms to do anything. It is extremely painful.

I have been completely out of work for all sources of income since I was hospitalized for these issues on Sunday, April 5, 2026. I have no idea when or if I will be able to work again, and I could lose my employment being out of work for an extended period of time. I spent over a week in St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, NY, and was discharged against my will with no answers or improvement in my condition.

I am facing hospitalization again at Albany Medical Center, where they have different specialists that may be able to diagnose what is going on. I begged St. Peter's to transfer me to Albany Med, but they refused. I cannot work. I cannot umpire. I cannot play baseball, which is my only outlet that keeps me sane. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I've been doing baseball workouts 2-3 times a week since the beginning of the year, along with hitting the gym, going to the batting cages, and catching bullpens without any issue, but all of a sudden now I can barely take a shower. I'm also getting debilitating migraines every day. This is taking a huge toll on my mental health as well.

The doctors at St. Peter's had no answers for me. The neurologist there is classifying this as a traumatic spinal cord injury from a car accident in 2016, but I'm not buying that. I used to have pain and spasticity in these muscles, but it resolved. I finally got back to being able to play baseball, which is my happy place and saving grace. Why would I have been able to go 5+ years with zero issues, not even a flare up of these muscles, and that includes playing baseball on 3 teams for 3 years (averaging 3 games a week, sometimes more), going to the gym and lifting, and also moving my whole apartment almost completely by myself (loading my car with boxes at the old place, driving to the new one, and carring everything from the parking lot, down a flight of stairs, around the building, and up a flight of stairs) box by box for hours a day over the course of at least a week with not even a hint of fatigue or soreness?

I need to keep fighting for answers, and I am physically unable to work any of my jobs. I am in severe pain 24/7. I am afraid I am going to become homeless, and I need to be able to pay my bills and feed my son.

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