Help keep Jill alive

For those who don’t know me, my name is Jill, I’m a 48 yr old mother (of adults), wife, and grandmother, currently living in Seattle, Washington, USA. I have multiple diagnosed auto-immune diseases, including Celiac disease and Crohn's disease (both attack the digestive system). Both diseases mentioned, have changed my life in ways that I didn't know were possible over the last 16 years. I am currently 5’7” tall, and weigh 98 lbs (7 stone/44.4 kg).

For over 5 years, I have been without medical insurance and care, due to not qualifying for state coverage and assistance. For multiple reasons, this is very risky for me, not the least of which is the screenings for other fatal diseases that have a higher likelihood of developing due to the type of AI diseases I currently live with.

My husband’s employer was recently able to provide medical insurance coverage, and after a few hiccups, the paperwork has been processed and I will now have medical insurance beginning this week. Unfortunately, even with the subsidy from his employer, the monthly premiums are going to wipe us out after we pay rent. There is a $2900 deductible, in addition to an $8200 out-of-pocket maximum, that must be reached before the insurance covers my care 100% for the remainder of the year. There is also medication, transportation to and from the appointments, my medically required diet, and more, that we must now find a way to provide. This has been a hard struggle just to get medical coverage, and my journey to healing is only beginning. I must have many diagnostics and imaging done, bloodwork, and more. I will require close monitoring by my doctors until my diseases are much more manageable.

Over 5 yrs ago, I was on an immunosuppressant drug to manage my immune system’s over-response to perceived illness. I developed an infection and because my immune system was being suppressed, it could not fight it, and I developed sepsis and was hospitalized in the ICU, and was intubated and on a vent for 6 days. I left the hospital after 18 days, and I almost didn’t make it. I have never fully recovered physically from that, and mentally I was left with “Post-Sepsis Syndrome”- I have PTSD due to extreme delirium, hallucinations, and pain experienced while deathly ill in the ICU. I had to have physical therapy after my release, to learn to walk again without falling, because my muscles were so wasted away.

It has been a long and hard journey just to get to this point. I made many lifestyle, mental, and emotional changes for the better, after leaving the hospital over 5 years ago. I have not had a drink since then, I gave up cigarettes, I began eating much more consciously, and other positive changes.

Due to a lot of damage caused by my then undiagnosed Celiac and Crohn’s diseases, I am unable to absorb a large portion of the nutrients in the food that I consume - this includes fat. I no longer have a gall-bladder, which also complicates my body’s ability to process fat. What that means is, I have struggled with chronic malnutrition for over 16 years, and I have an extremely hard time gaining weight. Stress triggers flare-ups, and I have been under a ton of it lately.

I struggle to do the simplest of tasks, such as brushing my teeth - my arm hurts afterwards and shakes. I cannot sit for very long unless I have extremely soft and thick cushioning under me, because I have no muscle or fat to cushion my bones. My joints throughout my whole body hurt, everyday, as do my bones. I cannot stand for longer than 20 minutes. Sleeping through the night and waking up refreshed and without pain, nausea, brain fog, and other fun stuff, is but a distant memory. Eating and digesting food without extreme pain is also a memory.

I miss my life. I want to be an active participant in it once again, but I need a lot of help to get there. I humbly ask for help, and thank those that are able to with donations and or sharing this to your socials and with friends. I want to live. Thank you for helping me to do so.

Jill