Help fund my sisters surgery for her brain tumor

Hello all,

Welp, I never thought that I would have to do this, but this is what is going on with me. A couple years ago, I noticed that I was losing my hearing in my left ear. My primary physician said there was no visible obstruction, and it was probably a "polyp or something", and was no big deal. Well, over the last couple of years, I noticed that my hearing was getting worse and worse. Since I have been off work for the last month, I decided to take care of health needs that I had been putting off for some time, my hearing loss included. I went to a specialist who noted that I had moderate to severe hearing loss for no apparent reason. Just as a precaution, she sent me for an MRI. I got the MRI, and was contacted by the radiologist later that week to tell me that it showed I have an acoustic neuroma aka vestibular schwannoma, behind my inner ear cochlea, and was pressing against my inner ear and brain stem. In other words, she called to tell me that I have a brain tumor. A brain tumor... That was the last thing I was expecting. My whole world has been turned upside in one phone call, but at the same time I had answers to not only the hearing loss, but other symptoms I had just brushed off, like: headaches, sudden onset of fatigue, eye twitching and some balance issues that I sometimes get.

I discussed my options with the neurosurgeon the next day. We talked about radiation therapy, but the side effects are very severe, and the success rate was not too promising. We then discussed surgery to remove the tumor whole, which has more favorable outcomes. We decided that neurosurgery was the best option for my particular case. Since then, I have been physically and mentally preparing myself for the long road ahead. The surgery will be about 4-5 hours long, and afterwards I will spend about a week in the ICU to monitor the pressure in my brain. Then it's about a month + of recovery, laid up at home. My amazing husband, Chad, will have a lot on his plate during this. He works full time, and he will be taking care of our 2 boys essentially by himself, not to mention taking care of me. It's a huge job, but he said he will do anything and everything to manage our family until my full recovery. I am so blessed to have him.

The hardship comes with our insurance, in which I have a $6,000 dollar deductible before any payments kick in. Between the MRI, bloodwork, medication and visits, I have already racked up over $2,000 in bills in which I will not be eligible for reimbursement. Since I have been off work for the last month +, we are barely scraping by to stay afloat, and are already in the negative with our bills and medical debt. That, partnered with the fact that I have $4,000 left in my deductible before insurance pays for my care, means that our financial issues will only be getting worse. As a Registered Nurse, and the breadwinner in our home, I never thought that I would be in a financial and medical predicament like this. I thought we would always be aware and prepared, but unfortunately, sometimes the system is set up against us. I fear for the security of our family during the long road ahead, and am already in panic mode trying not to lose our house.

We are humbly asking for donations to help us keep our home and bills paid while we are going through this unexpectedly hard time. The bills don't really care about medical, personal, or financial hardships. The worry is taking a mental, physical and emotional toll on my husband and I while we try and keep our family afloat, and our kids reassured that mommy is going to pull through this and be ok. I have to keep that strong face and big smile on for them, because they should never know the worry that these situations bring, even though I'm emotionally falling apart inside.

Any help, no matter how small is so appreciated. I don't think anyones knows how much it truly means to us in this hard time. Thank you so much if you can give, and if you can't we completely understand. Please share this anyway, as any help is one more step to calming my increasing anxiety and sense of desperation that I am feeling right now.

Please keep our family in your prayers, as we need as many as we can get. Bless you all.