Help Kristen Olyha with Rising Hospital Bills

Hello everyone, my name is Kelly and I am raising funds for my dear friend Kristen Olyha who is currently in the hospital suffering from several serious medical issues. Kristen is a preschool special educator in the same town where she grew up - New Fairfield, Connecticut. She is honest, patient, kind, unbelievably thoughtful, hilarious, and an amazing human being! With Kristen's permission, I've created this GoFundMe to help her and her husband Tom with the increasing medical bills they are now faced with. In addition to being out of work for the foreseeable future, Kristen is bed-ridden and therefore Tom is taking time off from work to support her. The following is the most recent update that I'd like to share with you:

In early October, Kristen first came down with what she thought was pneumonia. However, treatment did not help. After seeing a rheumatologist and pulmonologist, she was diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD). With ILD, the parts of your lungs that help oxygen get into your blood and out to your tissues are damaged. The scarring associated with interstitial lung disease eventually affects your ability to breathe and get enough oxygen into your bloodstream. Once lung scarring occurs, it's generally irreversible. Medications may slow the damage of interstitial lung disease, but many people never regain full use of their lungs. Unfortunately, there is no cure.

After a procedure to try to discover the severity of the IDL, Kristen suffered from a Pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and was admitted to Danbury Hospital. Her breathing deteriorated rapidly while in the hospital and she is currently still on full time oxygen. While performing the procedure, doctors unfortunately discovered cancer in Kristen’s trachea.

Doctors believe that Kristen has a yet unidentified auto-immune disease that is causing the IDL. She has started treatment to try and get her immune system back under control.

Any amount you would like to give to Kristen will be very much appreciated and help with the stress of medical bills while she is in the hospital trying to get better. Her family and friends adore her and we know so many of you do as well. Thank you all for keeping Kristen in your prayers and for sending her endless amounts of love. She is so grateful for all of the support!