Help Anna with Medical Bills & Chronic Fatigue Treatment

Hi, readers. My name is Anna, and I’m 25 years old. I’m a disabled, chronically ill, complex trauma survivor. I’m a therapist, writer, artist, and proud parent of a chronically ill cat. When I started graduate school in 2021, I began experiencing debilitating fatigue. I found myself unable to stay awake or even get out of bed 1-3 days per week. Despite this, I pushed through, hoping it would get better, and I got my master's degree while interning as an unpaid therapist. It was only after I graduated that I found out that I had been suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) as a part of Long COVID.

** If you're reading this and you are currently one of my clients, please bring it up and we can discuss it when we meet next***

It feels like my body is fighting me. Every week or two, depending on how much I exert myself, emotionally, physically, or mentally, I crash. On these days I cannot stay awake or get out of bed until the evening or late evening. The fatigue has complete control like sleep paralysis but all day long and it often comes with nightmares and fever-like symptoms without the fever.

In addition to ME/CFS, I am struggling with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), IBS, cystic acne, muscle weakness, chronic pain, and foot bone pain and growth issues, which I need surgery for in the next year.

I do not have family or much social support nearby and have been scraping by almost completely alone for years now. I have tried to make it work for the past three years because I care deeply about my clients. I hate to take time away from them, but I’ve arrived at the decision that I need to take disability leave. I need time to rest, figure out how to move forward, and work toward financial stability.

The proceeds from this GoFundMe will go towards medical treatment and survival costs, like medication, rent, groceries, and a care worker to assist me at home. I have considered moving somewhere less expensive than NYC, but have found that I need to stay in the New York area to access doctors who specialize in my condition. I have seen the providers who my insurance accepts in-network, and they do not understand my condition nor are they aware of treatments. Unfortunately, knowledgeable specialists in this condition are all out of network with my health insurance (Medicaid). The initial consultation with an ME/CFS specialist is $1430, and follow-up visits are $430 each.

It is difficult for me to ask for help like this. Since I was 16, I have devoted my life to moving to New York and becoming financially independent. I am Autistic, and I’m Trans, Non-Binary, and Queer, and a trauma survivor, and all of these parts of me are intertwined with my disability and chronic illnesses. I wanted to be a therapist so that I could give others the support I wish I had in the past. Now I'm asking for myself.

Your contribution means the world to me. Thank you.

Goal: $15K

Deadline: November 1

(Huge thanks to my marketing icon friend, Flavia for helping this fundraiser become a reality for me).