Help Barbara Gulan with preparation for surgery

Hello Dear Ones,

In the midst of a global recovery from the pandemic, and while so many are still privately figuring out how to balance and normalize life, humbly, I ask you to consider supporting me for an upcoming medical procedure.

Many of you may know that I have been a Chronic Lyme sufferer for long over a decade now, and am permanently disabled. Any funds I had gathered previously in life from my house or 401k have been long depleted in search of treatments that might make a difference. I tried everything I could afford and many things I could not afford. Once my divorce went through, I lost my house and insurance while receiving antibiotic treatment with a pic line. It was removed from me the day I lost that insurance, and I never quite had the ability to coordinate or receive proper care since then. This is what has happened to much of the Lyme community. They lose their homes, work, friends, support systems and the ability to receive proper care. It is a devastating condition on all fronts.

I have been so fortunate to have found a wonderful career later in life. I had transitioned away from acting, directing, arts administration and teaching into writing and making my own art. Too: I work as a Salonniere for a truly beautiful gallery. My colleagues and the owners are generous to the fullest. They allow me down time if I am ill and go out of their way to make sure my disability issues are accommodated. This has not been true for many other jobs I have had. Failure from past employers to assist me with my disability has impacted my health greatly and created a downward spiral that I work very hard to overcome each and every day.

I am a Medicare recipient. But because I need (and love) to work, I have not been able to receive additional benefits that might assist me. So I have not been going to doctors for years because I just can’t afford the copayments. I had been living in incredible medical debt and was focusing more on paying it off than on my own wellness. Three years ago, I had emergency gallbladder surgery. I spent five days alone in the hospital, recovering from a botched job. Surgical glue, something I am seriously allergic to, was used in lieu of stitches and I had a dangerous reaction. This compromised the internal stitches. And the result was coming out of that surgery with an umbilical hernia that grew bigger and more painful with each day. I never sought to sue. I just kept trying to pay those bills.

I had been putting off this necessary procedure. I was traumatized from the last surgery. And I just did not have a way to pay for it. Miraculously, it looks like I qualify for a new special program because of my disability. This means that my August 3, 2021 procedure will be paid for. And through this new network, I may again see neurologists and rheumatologists, get back to long overdue testing, and even receive physical therapy, and mind body therapy again. Too, the network may be able to lift a portion of my accumulated medical debt. Not all of it. But enough to make me smile and feel like an actual human being.

So here’s the rub. Even with all of this going on, I still give back to community by volunteering at a local food pantry by creating their website and offering pro bono not for profit advice I often help former students, friends and colleagues find creative solutions to their challenges. Many of them have gone on to blossom in incredibly moving ways. And I’m still a very good listener, a tireless arts advocate, and I paint and write. So, even though I am disabled, I do everything I can to work outside of the box that I have been given. I say this so that you know I am not asking lightly for your support.

My car is in the shop. It will cost a few thousand dollars more than I was counting on to fix it. And I’ve been putting off a painful dental issue. Both need to be addressed before August 3rd. I don’t have the funds to do either. And I will lose wages in my recovery time. And I am humbly asking for your help.

I am a person who is genuinely happy and supportive for my friends and colleagues. I love seeing them do well in life. And I am also someone who can be counted on when the goings are tough for my dear ones. Asking for help myself was the last thing I ever wanted to do.

If you have a few dollars to spare, warmly, I thank you. And if you don’t, or can’t, I thank you for taking the time to read this. My son Paddo will be staying with me for the month of August so I can mend, heal properly. This request is as much about him as it is about me. I want him to see and have the experience of a healing, healed, healthier mother. Its the greatest gift you can help me give him.

Thank you. Bless you from the bottom of my heart.

Barbara Gulan