<div>This is really hard, to reach out and ask for help, to admit that we need help, but the fact is - <strong>We DO!</strong> The past year and a half has been a HUGE challenge for us, we have exhausted all options, and now we just need to ask for help. <strong>It all started March of 2024, when Matt got hurt at work.</strong> Prior to that, we had been a two-income family and things were going pretty well. We became a one-income family and that depleted our savings pretty quickly. There have been numerous doctor visits in St Louis, months of excruciating pain that is going untreated, because workers comp is fighting it. Most days it is hard for Matt to even walk across the house he’s in so much pain. We do have a lawyer working on it, but it has been an extremely stressful situation.
</div>
<div>Fast forward to this year, where my medical issues have gone into overdrive. I haven’t felt well for a very long time; well, this year we found out why. In June, I ended up in the hospital with what felt like ‘stroke-like’ symptoms. After two days in the hospital and tons of tests, I was sent home clear; the only issue was low magnesium. Two weeks later, I was back in the hospital with basically the same symptoms. All the tests were run again, and once again, the only result was low magnesium. During this time, from June through the end of July, I missed many days of work. The symptoms were very difficult to deal with. Severe brain fog, numbness and tingling in my face, arms and hands, legs and feet, some days I had chest pains or trouble breathing, migraine headaches, one day as Matt was driving me to the hospital I started having tremors in my legs! (Those come and go now). The doctors kept telling me to make sure I was limiting my stress. Yeah, ok sure, no problem ! Meanwhile bills were pouring in that I could not pay, because my checks were getting smaller and smaller due to missing days or partial days. For the next few weeks, I was missing work, exhausted, not feeling well; some days I could not even sit up. Visiting my doctor constantly and just kept telling her, something just isn’t right! She decided it was time for more tests!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Numerous blood tests later, we started getting some answers. Autoimmune disease positive, and a double genetic mutation which was preventing me from being able to absorb vitamins. I was deficient in Magnesium, B12, B1, B2, B6, B12, Potassium, Ferritin, D3, Iron. Completely anemic.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Referrals were made for Neurology, Rheumatology, Gastroenterology (I could no longer take the antacid I had been on for years - it also blocked the vitamins). The neurologist started B12 shots weekly, the rheumatologist ordered more tests, and the gastroenterologist said I would need to have surgery. With all the other issues, there were no antacids I could take, and the acid was eroding my esophagus. My boss at work reached out to me around this time (end of July) and suggested I file for short term disability FLMA. She said this would protect my job, and give me a guaranteed amount of pay during this period. 60% of my actual pay. Ok, so now I have just over half of what I’m used to bringing home, and we were already struggling with.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Fast forward to Sept 19. I go to the hospital for what was supposed to be a very routine surgery (I will never use that term again!), and as soon as the doctor begins, my heart stops! 20 minutes of CPR, and life-flighted to Evansville, IN. I was on a ventilator for 24 hours. When I finally woke up, all I could remember from the day before was hearing the anesthesiologist in my ear, “Karen, your heart stopped beating but we got it going again, and now you’re going to another hospital.” One of the doctors at the hospital in Indiana said to me, “Well, you look pretty good for a girl that was dead for 20 minutes yesterday!” Uhm, ok!?! A couple of days later, while still in the hospital, they performed a cardiac catheterization and found a 95% blockage of one of my main arteries, and also found that I have a birth defect on my heart.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My husband was amazing through the whole ordeal! He is my rock! We spent 6 days at the hospital. We are yet to see the final expenses from all of that, but just the little things were difficult. The gas for a long, unplanned trip, meals for Matt(he kept skipping meals to save $), a change of clothes for him, you can only wear the same things so many days before you HAVE to change! Those little expenses add up quickly, especially when you’re not planning for them.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I still have a long way to go! I will have cardiac rehab, physical therapy, occupational therapy, numerous doctor appointments; they still haven’t figured out how to fix some of the issues. <strong>AND, I still need to have the original surgery I went in for, and a couple of others.</strong> Filing for actual disability has been suggested, but that can be a long process. Still, we are looking into all options.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>At any rate, with Matt unable to work due to his back injury, and me on short-term disability from work, things have gotten more than just a little tight around here. We have sold a lot of our belongings and continue to do so. Matt has been selling many of his tools, and still has quite a few, so if you or someone you know needs something, give him a shout! We had a yard sale the week before my ‘surgery’. We have extended as far as we can on pretty much everything.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We also know that times are tough for everyone! If the only thing that you can do to help is pray for us, that is awesome! If you are willing to share this with others you know, that would be great! <strong>And if somehow, you are able to make a donation to help us out financially, we thank you more than words could ever say!</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you are still reading this, thank you for taking the time to try and understand. We appreciate all of our friends and family so very much!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With much love and appreciation!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Karen and Matt Williams
</div>

Tim & Mindy Tennant

Michelle Dagenais

kendra ziems

David Tindall

Sally Nabors

Lloyd Houghland

Michelle Cancilla

Michael Williams

Kristan Rowland

Anonymous

Carol Arechiga

Keri Schulz

Sherilyn Bundy

Help Karen and Matt Overcome Health Challenges

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Karen and Matt Overcome Health Challenges

Still $1,145 to go. Help us build momentum.