Help me get treatment recommended by Mayo Clinic...

I'm Carissa. Five years ago, I was in a severe car accident that left me with a TBI. Little did I know that was going to be the start of a very long, hard journey in life... I noticed after my accident I wasn't kicking my dizziness, and it was hard for me to even go on walks with my kids anymore. I begged doctors for answers. I kept getting written off as having "anxiety" and that it would get better... it only got worse.

The next year, 2021, I got COVID. While having it, I noticed a lot of brain fog and increased dizziness and thought this would pass. It didn't. All my symptoms got worse. Then I got COVID two more times in the next few years to follow. Still begging doctors for answers, I was getting nowhere. After 12 specialists, 4 primary doctors, and a lot of ER visits, I finally found one who was willing to listen. I was sent to an electrocardiologist who confirmed I had POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). I had been researching this for the last few years and was pretty sure I had it; I just needed someone to listen. After being diagnosed and getting into a POTS specialist, I learned my head trauma caused my nervous system to dysregulate, and each time I had COVID or a small infection or illness (even pregnancy), it was making it all worse. The POTS specialist ran a bunch of autonomic testing and pretty much said, yup, you have POTS. Drink more water, wear compression garments, and up your salt intake. This was not helping... each year I have been getting worse. I am to a point where I am no longer driving by myself because of dizziness/lightheadedness and occasional fainting episodes. Being in a car makes me throw up. I have adrenaline surges which send my heart racing into the 200s just sitting. Constant tremors. Migraines for weeks at a time and much, much more. I am unable to attend school events, holidays, or even run errands. Bright lights and noises also make me faint. I now have PCA care at home to help me manage as showers and baths also make me faint. After more begging doctors to listen and being unheard and still having multiple ER visits telling them I'm not managing life nor functioning on a daily basis, I finally got recommended to a functional neurologist center in the cities. This gave me so much hope. I called the center, read the reviews, and it sounded amazing. I was still skeptical until I heard from someone who actually went there that their experience was 1000/10 recommended for POTS. This is all great news; however, since it's functional medicine and not modern Western medicine, it's not covered by insurance. This was very discouraging. They would want to do a 5-10 day whole body intensive therapy. This means getting to the cities, staying in a hotel for a week, and arranging for my 5 kids to be taken care of so I can get the care I finally need to be able to function and be a mom again.

This 5-10 day intensive treatment plan costs $6000, and I need half of that just to schedule my first day... living on just disability at this point, I am really struggling to even make ends meet, but I'm ready to be better and I want to be better for my kids and myself. Any little thing will help me find me again and be able to function and be who I was intended to be as a mom. This has been a difficult journey, and as if the physical wasn't enough, it seems like my mental health is following suit and taking a huge toll on my life as I'm trying to learn how to adjust to having a chronic physical illness. If you can't donate, please share! I really appreciate any and all of who takes a minute to read, donate, or share. ❤️