Hi! We have made the difficult & humbling decision to create a GoFundMe to help raise the amount of money it will cost for me to travel to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL to receive a treatment that could greatly improve my quality of life & condition.

 

If you are new around here & unfamiliar with my medical journey for the last three years here is a quick background. I have dealt with ovarian cysts issues since I was in my lower twenties. This, along with a very challenging pregnancy led us to make the decision of me having a total hysterectomy at age 34. This surgery was meant to be a complete hysterectomy- removing my ovaries, tubes, all of it. We were hoping this would solve the issue of the recurring cysts & pelvic pain. About 3 months after my surgery I began to have very severe and different pelvic & back pain. This landed me in the hospital multiple times with MANY different doctors trying to figure out what was happening with my body. It was then that we discovered a large mass in the left side of my pelvis. I did finally have a surgeon agree to try and go in to remove it. Due to its location he was only able to debulk it. I was diagnosed then with endometriosis. Since then things have just continued to go downhill. Due to my surgical history I cannot find a doctor willing to attempt to open me back up to do further treatment. I was referred to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. My wonderful doctor there ordered tests (along with LOTS of other things) and we discovered my left ovary is actually still in my body. So my left ovary is still producing estrogen which is feeding the endometriosis in turn causing the pain I live with daily & the flare ups that occur once or twice a month. The official diagnosis is Ovarian Remnant Syndrome in addition to the Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis.

 

Just to give you insight on my daily life. On a pain scale of 1-10, I live at a 4 at all times. I honestly cannot remember what it feels like to not be in any pain at all. When the flare ups occur it is debilitating. The majority of the time I have to be hospitalized for days to get the pain under control with IV medications. This is time away from my son, my home, my family. I am not able to do things I enjoy like going for long walks, working out, carrying my child, cleaning my house, gardening, playing with my son. These things and more very easily trigger a flare up. I try to live as cautiously as I can to avoid having to leave my family & enter a hospital again.

 

Mayo Clinic has an outpatient program for about 3 and a half weeks specifically for chronic pain. I am tentatively scheduled to begin this treatment the last week of January 2022. (Pending approval from my insurance company. We are not concerned that they will deny it. It’s just a formality.) This treatment is meant to help me learn different techniques in dealing with the chronic pain that will improve my quality of life. It is a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy & medicinal intervention. This treatment is my last hope in improving my quality of life. Without this treatment the only option left is an extremely risky surgery that my doctor really does not want to do. We are all concerned that given my history & current condition the surgery will do more harm than good.

 

We have currently set the goal amount for $5,000. Since this is an outpatient program I will be responsible for my travel, lodging, food, medicine costs, all day childcare costs for Bennett (including getting him ready for school, then to school and everything after school until Taylor gets home), & any fees I will owe Mayo for the actual program. We have calculated a ballpark figure for lodging for the 28 days needed. At this moment I do intend to travel there in my own vehicle so I will have transportation to and from the hospital daily. The program is Monday-Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm on Mayo Clinic campus. I have reached out to my insurance company to see if they will help cover any of the travel & lodging expenses. Unfortunately since we are still waiting for the approval process they were unable to answer my questions. We are praying they will be able to in which case the goal amount for our campaign will be lowered.

 

We will be doing multiple fundraisers with suggested donation amounts in the near future which we will keep everyone updated on. Any money donated through the fundraisers will go directly into this campaign. Please be in the lookout for an announcement on the first fundraiser soon!

 

It has been extremely difficult for me to agree to this program and agree to being away from my son & husband for a long period of time like this. But I want to do everything in my power to get better and be the mother, wife & person they deserve. We are very open about this and will happily answer any questions you have regarding the treatment program & my medical conditions.

 

We do keep a CaringBridge page with an online journal about my doctors visits, tests, results, etc. This is the link if you would like to read more in detail about the journey so far.

Visit Chelsea's Site: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/missionovaryeviction

 

 

If you are unable to donate please consider sharing our link, helping with meals for my family while I am away, & helping my husband with Bennett while I am away.

 

Current Prayer Requests:

Peace regarding our decision

Pain relief or fewer flare ups from now until Jan 2022

Comfort for Bennett (Watching me go through all of this has been very hard on him.)

A plan for help with Bennett while I am away

 

Thank you all so so much. We do have an incredible village around us. I for sure don’t know how I would have survived this last year with Taylor gone if it wasn’t for the amazing people we have around us. Every single thing you have all done has not gone unnoticed & we greatly appreciate it.