*****7/24/2024- will have a new update soon. I had a Major surgery at Mayo Clinic yesterday 7/23/2024 and I'm feeling pretty rough. I'm hoping to go home Friday at which time I'll have access to a computer to type an update******

**SEE UPDATES BELOW**

Hello Friends and Family, as most of you know, for the last year I've been having some significant medical problems; after years of PCOS and endometriosis pain that was worsened by my weight, that would hinder my ability to start a family, I underwent gastric bypass surgery. Two weeks into my recovery things took a drastic turn, and in the year since my initial surgery, I have had to have many different procedures that have resulted in multiple hospital stays. I have been in a constant state of nausea and pain that is worsened with eating and drinking, which induces vomiting and has led to rapid and dangerous weight loss. This has classified me as being severely malnourished and needing a feeding tube 24/7. The aforementioned issues have accumulated in a significant amount of medical bills. I'm about to start a highly intensive program at Mayo that's going to require a 3-4 week stay. The focus of this program is to help me live a more fully balanced life without constant debilitating pain and to teach my body how to manage my symptoms. Because of the amount of time that I'll be at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, I won't be able to work during the duration of my treatment which means I won't be able to bring an income in for that time. The insurance will not be covering any lodging for this stay, which is roughly anywhere from $1300-$3000 for the time spent depending on what's available for the time I'll be there. This is why I'm reaching out and asking for help in any form that people are willing and able to give. I'm not a person who asks for help, I tend to play things close to the vest, but we're at a point in this journey where financially I have to put aside my feelings of being a burden and ask for help from others. I have a wonderful support system by my side, my parents and Jason have been such a blessing and huge help during all of this and my hope in starting this GoFundMe is to help lessen the financial burden on us all.

The video link provided is what my doctors at Mayo Clinic believe could be causing some of my issues. It is still unknown what exactly is the cause since numerous imaging, labs, testing and surgeries have not led to an answer. I'm hopeful this program can help since countless treatments have failed. Thank you for reading about my situation and for your consideration to help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJNhdnSK3WQ

****UPDATE****

I apologize for not updating sooner but it seems like the last few months have been a roller coaster. Unfortunately, the Pain Rehab program we were hoping to help me, made me worse. Thier methods are targeted more towards people with musculoskeletal issues. Even though they claimed they had experience with people that have the issues I have, once I was there and admitted into the program, they told me they really didn't have experience with someone like me and had no idea what to do with me. It was torture - making my pain worse which in turn decreased what little I already was attempting to eat. They were forcing me to do strenuous activity and cardio every day - even though I was getting minimal calories, and it was advised by my doctors to not do the physically demanding part of the program. This resulted in me fainting a few times while in the program and really struggling throughout it. Doing this program also left me struggling financially since getting out of the program in April 2023. A couple weeks after returning home from the program, my dad unexpectedly passed away. We were all devastated, yet I still had to go up to mayo mere days after his death for more doctors visits and surgeries. In September, my mother broke her dominant hand making our roles reverse - she was taking care of me, and now I had to take care of her. I've also found out that the chance of having kids (which was one of the main reasons for getting the surgery in the first place) is greatly diminished due to the issues I've been facing (we learned my right ovary is completely 'obliterated' was the doctors words due to my endometriosis and the malnourishment). Also, due to the persistent vomiting my teeth are rotting which has also caused a lot of work needed which isn't cheap. In November I met with my bariatric doctor at Mayo who wanted me to see another surgeon for a second opinion but was informed by Mayo, due to bills from the program, that they couldn't see me anymore until the bill was paid. My insurance company and I had to fight with Mayo for MONTHS (almost an entire year) to get the bills from the program paid. It finally got sorted out last week (Feb 2024) and I had to pay almost $1,000 out of pocket on 2/4/2024 for them to finally agree to schedule my appointments. I'm scheduled to see the surgeon, my bariatric doctor, nutrition and also going to get my tube exchanged since it's flipped into my abdomen and causing severe pain since December. Unfortunately, all these visits are bunched together between Monday 2/12 through Wednesday 2/14. We're going to have to stay at a hotel for those dates, but after dropping the large, unplanned amount of money to be seen, it's left me pretty strapped for money. I have a couple days to come up with money for the hotel and travel. If you can spare anything, its greatly appreciated.

Update 2/25/2024

So we went back to Mayo 2/13 and 14th. I had surgery with my tube exchanged and more cauterized granulation tissue. We also saw the second surgeon to see what out options were. Leaving there without feeling too great still - no diagnostic laparoscopy to see what the issue is of if there's possible adhesions causing issues. They are, however, having me see a GYN to see if my endometriosis is part of the issue. The last week or so I've been declining again and back to barely eating anything so we're going back up to Mayo 3/6-7 to have tons of visits, labs, procedures and studies done. I have an MRI scheduled, I'm seeing the GYN on 3/6, more labs, another barium swallow study on 3/6 and then an EGD on 3/7. Again, we're going to have to stay up there since it's there's multiple days I have to be there. Hopefully these studies will give us some kind of answers or direction at least.

Again, if you can donate anything to help towards the costs of all these studies and surgeries, it'd be greatly appreciated. If you can't donate, I would really appreciate you sharing and spreading the word. Love you all