Help Josh Make it Through!

Hi, my name is Josh and I run the online business Mini Painting Studio. I am an artist by trade and operate quite a few 3d printers as a part of my business. Unfortunately, a week ago I was sent to the ER from an Urgent Care facility with concerns of a possible heart attack and/or issue. After testing, the ER doctor came to the conclusion that I was experiencing pleurisy in my left lung.

Pleurisy is a condition in which the pleura — two large, thin layers of tissue that separate your lungs from your chest wall — becomes inflamed. Also called pleuritis, pleurisy causes sharp chest pain (pleuritic pain) that worsens during breathing. In my experience, this was blinding pain that lasted for around 40 minutes, with reoccurring pain daily ever since.

While I haven't had a repeat attack of the same strength, non-infection-based pleurisy can take a few weeks to a month or so to resolve itself. As for how it happened? The ER doctor said it most likely was a combination of factors and irritants that triggered the inflammation to happen.

This is a huge problem because as a part of my business I am exposed to irritants daily. Whether I am applying paint through an airbrush while teaching painting classes or processes 3d printing orders with 99% IPA my lungs are always dealing with not-so-great air daily. While I was using a respirator, I am now going to have to use a really intense respirator for every little small instance of exposure moving forward.

My business has been taking a hit since the start of the pandemic getting very unpredictable causing lots of stress and struggle. Because of this, I lost my insurance in July. The hospital has billed me in full with a slight self-pay discount. On top of this, I am now behind on 3d print orders, my painting class schedule, and generally everything related to the business.

I am asking for help to catchup/refund some orders while I wait to heal, pay my medical bills and help me recover financially from the hit of not being able to work during this process. I am most likely having to shut down the business nearly entirely from a production standpoint in the future if I am not able to be exposed, even with a respirator, to the fumes associated with 3d printing. This puts me in a dangerous situation of shutting my business down and finding employment elsewhere after not being in the workforce for nearly 6 years.

With the total GoFundMe goal I can :

• Pay the medical debt entirely without entering into a 2-year payment plan with the hospital.
• Pay for expenses in August 2021 lost due to not working.
• Pay for the cost of cancellations and catchup work through the store.
• Transition away from parts of my business that potentially caused this medical emergency.

Thank you so much for your help and kindness -

Josh