Help Diane Overcome Her Medical Challenges

Hi, my name is Diane. I am an almost 70-year-old woman from Fort Wayne, Indiana. I had spent the last decade in my hometown after living abroad in Hong Kong and Shanghai. I came to the realization that I was ready to strike out on another adventure and to find a place and a way to enjoy my retirement. I chose Nairobi, Kenya. Nairobi has a lot of the things I look for in a home city. First of all, it is big! Almost 6 million people is just about the right size for me. There is a vibrant culture for me to get to know, food and customs that are intriguing, and if I am to be honest, it is not Fort Wayne. So having made the decision to go, it was just a matter of putting all of the wheels in motion and with any luck, everything would fall into place and I would be off on the next leg of my life. Nairobi had other plans for me.

Deciding to move meant planning to move my beloved cats with me. Trust me when I say that international pet relocation is not for the financially faint of heart! All told, it was close to $9,000 to move my pets, Phoebe and Taydoh. We did it, but within a month's time, it was clear that Taydoh was not happy with the food available here and he was not eating as he normally would have been. By the end of the second month, my 15-pound 'Big Boy' had lost so much weight. I had him back to the vet again and we did x-rays only to discover that my baby had a mass on his liver and within another week, at only 6 pounds, Taydoh lost his life to liver cancer. Phoebe and I are doing the best we can to get along without him, but it is not easy. I mourn for him daily. In truth, he would have died no matter our location; his little liver was consumed with the cancer, but Nairobi takes this one as its first blow to me.

Shortly after arriving, I began to complain of an aching back. I chalked it up to the 4 oversized and overweight suitcases that I traveled here with. I lived in an Airbnb for a month and I swung those bags on and off the bed daily as I searched for clothes to wear and the things I needed to live my life. Those bags were just a part of the problem as it turns out. I got settled into an apartment and got my things unpacked, yet the backache persisted, so I made an appointment to see a spinal specialist just as a starting point. He ordered up an MRI and lo and behold, I have a broken L4 vertebra. I planned and hoped to return home to Fort Wayne to have treatment, but in just a matter of days, the pain went from 'ouchy' to 'Oh My God!' It was decided best that I get checked into a hospital and a spinal block would be done to give me some relief so I can fly home and get further treatment. I plan to have a vertebroplasty done in Fort Wayne. The doctor here wanted to do a full-blown spinal surgery with screws, bolts, braces, bed rest, and who knows what else. I think the vertebroplasty will give me relief and good results. My mom had the procedure a couple of times and had very good outcomes. I have checked and Medicare will cover the procedure, but my out-of-pocket at 20% will be between $1,600 - $1,800 USD. Nairobi takes round two.

On the way home from the hospital, we stopped at the grocery store to get some cat food and a couple of other things. I got out of the car while my friend pulled over to park. I decided to go on into the store and wait inside the door for her to join me. It is 2 large steps up into the store. Me and my cane asked the security guard for a hand up, but my idea and his were not in alignment, and when I grabbed his hand and pushed down on the cane, he lost his grip on me and, yep, you can see this one coming, I did the 'crash and burn' right there in the entrance to the grocery, landing on my knees, and struggling to comprehend what just happened. Round 3, Nairobi.

So, now I need to fly home. I think it will be best to fly all the way to Fort Wayne rather than stopping in Chicago and switching to Amtrak for the rest of the trip. The bags, the Blue Line train ride to Union Station, and the ride to Waterloo, Indiana, the closest train stop to my hometown, is just too much. Flying all the way makes more sense. I expect airfare for this to run around $1,900 USD.

All told, I think this is not an insignificant amount of money for me. With medical deductibles, airfares, incidental costs, boarding Phoebe while I am gone, and leftover medical bills yet to be paid here in Nairobi, I am looking at close to $6,500 or more. So, here I am with this GoFundMe request.

I am not the kind of woman that finds it easy to ask for help. All my life I have pretty much been on my own and had to rely on my own skills to get things taken care of. I guess I am just getting a bit older now or I am off my game, but this has me caught off balance. So, I am asking you for help. It is not a cliché to say that any bit can help, that is for sure true. I have only my heartfelt thanks to offer in return for your generosity. I plan to return to Nairobi once the procedure is completed and I am comfortable enough to travel. I will still have one cat waiting for me here in Nairobi and she needs me as much as I need her.

I am not giving up. I am just asking for your help.

Thank you.

Diane