One bright and sunny afternoon, Briah and I ran to the storage unit to accept some donations for our outreach ministry. It was then that I lifted a stack of empty totes out of the trunk of my van and was immediately met with absolutely unbearable pain. Turns out, I ruptured my L3 and L4 discs and either have to have lumbar spinal surgery or have to have treatments that will correct and heal the discs.
As many of you know, I have battled Late Stage Lyme Disease and Late Stage Bartonella Henselae. At times, this resulted in some very severe disorders even to the point of organ failure. (Praise be to God Most High for carrying me through so much already!) But because of my past health issues there are a lot of concerns with surgery and how my kidneys and immune system would do. So, we don't want to go the route of surgery and even if we had health insurance, the disc center is not covered by insurance. So we would still have to raise enough funds to cover the treatment I need.
As mentioned above, we don't have health insurance. And, due to all of my pre-existing conditions, we don't qualify for an affordable policy. Even if we could qualify for Obamacare care, (which I did apply for) registration is not until November 1st (when I will attempt to enroll) but benefits are not active until January 1st. The doctor said I am also at risk of rupturing my L5 disc with the strain that's on it right now. This pain is so very difficult to manage and tolerate that I desperately need treatment asap. And again, we just don't feel that surgery is the right option for me due to my past health issues.
It is speculated that the scoliosis in my spine may have been brought on by the Bartonella. There are a couple more health concerns that need to be looked into to further know what is causing what and to not just fix these ruptured discs but to also treat the root problem. So, for those who are interested in how we came up with this amount, I am going to list everything out.
Bettendorf Disc Center treatment cost:$5,000 but reduced to $3,900 if we can pay it in full up front.
MRI (lumbar spine):$150 left
Ultrasound: $350 (I have a mass in my abdomen that is very painful and they want to make sure it's nothing concerning with the health of my spine or my overall health.
Doctor's appointments:$300
MRI (cervical spine):$550 (The doctor believes I may have bad discs in my cervical spine due to having the same exact one of pain but the treatment center can only work on one disc at a time so this MRI comes after 25 treatments on my lumbar discs.
Medication:$200 (I am using natural pain medication to be able to sleep at night.)
Gas:$350 (Driving 2 hours a day, 4 days a week for 6.5 weeks)
Labs:$500 (Checking my blood and the health of my bones)
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