Help Christi Pay Her Medical Bills

My name is Christianne Benedict. I work in a library by day and as a cartoonist and artist by night. In February, 2018, I was hospitalized for eight days with acute pancreatitis, resulting from undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.  While I have insurance (which is why my ask is relatively small for a medical fundraiser), I have been struggling to pay the remaining medical bills not covered by my insurance--my deductible being relatively high. This expense is compounded by the prescription meds I now take to control the diabetes. Insulin alone is nearly $200 a month, in addition to the other associated meds (metformin, astorvostatin, fenofibrate) and equipment (glucometer test strips, needles). Additionally, my ongoing hormone replacement therapy was found to be affecting my diabetes. When I was taken into the hospital, my triglyceride count was so high that it could not be measured, a side effect of the oral estrogen that I've been taking for the last eleven years. So my HRT has gone from being relatively cheap to moderately pricey.  My take home pay from my day job is less than $1500 a month, depending on whether I have any freelance work at the moment. This puts a huge burden on my household expenses.

At the time I was hospitalized, I had been saving for the surgical deposit for my gender confirmation surgery (my insurance covers the surgery, but not the deposit or travel expenses). That savings has been wiped out by my current medical bills. What I intend to do with the money raised in this campaign is pay off my outstanding medical bills from my hospitalization (currently about $1100) and restore the money I was saving for my surgical deposit (the deposit is $1000, the travel expenses are currently unknown to me because I do not know how long I will be, but I'm guessing at least another $1000).  My current campaign target is $2500, which is the barest minimum of what I need, but more would be better.

While I'm doing this on Go Fund Me, I would be more comfortable providing incentives for donors, which Go Fund Me doesn't seem to allow. I am a working artist and cartoonist, and would be willing to take a commission rather than a donation. If you would prefer to support me that way, please feel free to contact me by email . You can see some of my work at my art blog , or you can buy something from my Etsy store  .  If you want to support me but don't have the financial means, please consider sharing this campaign on social media.

Thank you very much for your time and, I hope, your support.

Christianne