Help Kristina Poracsky recover from Covid
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Kristina Poracsky, local Lawrencian and mom to Finley and Sawyer Amick, needs some community support as she works to overcome COVID 19. Kristina has been struggling with COVID since January, and is now considered one of the long-haulers - people who experience symptoms of COVID 19 weeks or months beyond the onset of symptoms. For Kristina, it's been almost ten months.
Kristina has lost her job and her health insurance in July. She needs the help of her friends, family, and community to pay for medical bills, at the very minimum. The modest goal of $5,000 for this fundraiser will offer significant relief for Kristina and her family, but it's not enough. She needs us all to rally around her with whatever help we can offer.
Kristina has given so much to our community through her work with kids, from donating time as an Little Red Schoolhouse Parent to teach Love and Logic to her work as an Assistant Researcher at the Juniper Gardens Children's Project. She's always there for us, let's be there for her now. TODAY.
Please donate to help Kristina if you are able, but do not make a contribution if it will result in financial hardship for you or your family. There are many other ways to support a friend in need - offer to deliver a meal, pick up groceries, help with lawncare, etc.
Below is some more information about Kristina's situation.
"I contracted COVID 19 sometime late January/ early February. I don't know how/where I got it, and honestly it doesn't matter. By that time, it was all around us, we just didn't know it. My first symptoms were gastrointestinal. At that time, GI symptoms weren't really on our radar for COVID, so who knows how many people I exposed to the virus. I continued to interact with family/friends/coworkers/public because I felt fine. On February 26th, I took my dad shopping and was in a closed car with him. By some miracle, he did not get sick. On February 27, I noticed an odd sore throat and headache while I was at work. I came home and by time I was able to get in bed, I was feverish, shaking, shivering and had the worst body/muscle aches I'd ever had. At this point there were still no documented cases in DG County and I didn't think I could be the first so I kept trying to convince myself it was something else.
The following week I had severe body aches, fatigue, extreme lethargy and malaise and was unable to return to work. THANK GOODNESS. Sometime late that week, the coughing started. It was a dry, persistent, cough that lasted almost 3 weeks and caused me to fracture 3 ribs. At this point, protocol was that you couldn't be tested unless you were being hospitalized.
I kept convincing myself that "I wasn't sick enough" to go to the hospital. One night I woke up completely panicked with an unfamiliar feeling. It took me just a few seconds to realize that I felt like I was suffocating. I could not get a full breath. I ran outside and the cold air helped a bit, but I knew I needed help so I drove to the ER. When I got there, my breathing was a little better, and the ER was absolutely packed, so I convinced myself I should go home. I shouldn't have.
The following couple of weeks, I struggled with labored breathing, intense chest pain, migraines, and cognitive issues regarding memory, attention and completing tasks with more than one step. April and May are a blur. We were working from home but I was still struggling with basic tasks, both because of fatigue and brain fog. June and July, I felt things improving a bit and thought the worst was over. My two noticeable symptoms were difficulty walking due to nerve pain, and coordination issues.
In mid-July, my job fell victim to COVID and at the end of July, I lost my health insurance.
At the beginning of August, a new set of symptoms appeared, but, at the time, I didn't know they were related. In the last two months, I have experienced chronic shortness of breath, chest pain, debilitating fatigue, inflammation that makes it difficult to get around, swollen glands, rashes, intense joint pain, memory issues, reflux, confusion, incontinence, significantly impaired hearing in my left ear, and fuzzy vision.
Today, both of my ankles are so swollen, it is difficult to walk. and I had clumps of hair in the tub after my shower. I'm not typically a WebMD person, but in the last 2 months, at different times, I had myself convinced that I had thyroid issues, Parkinsons, dementia, and arthritis. I finally started doing some research on my own and found out that some people were struggling with these symptoms months after they thought they were recovering.
I'm now part of 3 different "long hauler" studies and am in contact with others that are also struggling with this. Without my two new blood pressure meds, my bp is around 190/120. My joints hurt daily and I can't move without major stiffness. The shortness of breath continues. This week I had 3 decent days in a row. Today, it took me an hour to recover from taking a shower.
Little by little, I can tell I'm starting to improve. The mental fog is starting to lift, and I've realized how to challenge the fatigue, without fighting it (that doesn't work). I have good days and bad days, but I can live with the symptoms. Some of my comrades are having small strokes daily, heart attacks, and are unable to walk due to muscle weakness.
My point in writing any of this is to say that we don't need to live in fear. But, we do need to realize that although our community is "open" and life goes on, this virus is still out there. I was in decent health and had no risk factors and this virus has ravaged my body and seriously impacted my life. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue to be diligent about protecting yourself and those around you.
Live life, but be safe."
Rachel Myslivy is organizing this fundraiser for Kristina. I live in Lawrence, KS, and we met 15 years ago when our kids went to preschool at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Lawrence. The funds from this fundraiser will go directly to Kristina to be used to pay medical bills relating to her Covid 19 diagnosis and living expenses related to her job loss.
Kristina has lost her job and her health insurance in July. She needs the help of her friends, family, and community to pay for medical bills, at the very minimum. The modest goal of $5,000 for this fundraiser will offer significant relief for Kristina and her family, but it's not enough. She needs us all to rally around her with whatever help we can offer.
Kristina has given so much to our community through her work with kids, from donating time as an Little Red Schoolhouse Parent to teach Love and Logic to her work as an Assistant Researcher at the Juniper Gardens Children's Project. She's always there for us, let's be there for her now. TODAY.
Please donate to help Kristina if you are able, but do not make a contribution if it will result in financial hardship for you or your family. There are many other ways to support a friend in need - offer to deliver a meal, pick up groceries, help with lawncare, etc.
Below is some more information about Kristina's situation.
"I contracted COVID 19 sometime late January/ early February. I don't know how/where I got it, and honestly it doesn't matter. By that time, it was all around us, we just didn't know it. My first symptoms were gastrointestinal. At that time, GI symptoms weren't really on our radar for COVID, so who knows how many people I exposed to the virus. I continued to interact with family/friends/coworkers/public because I felt fine. On February 26th, I took my dad shopping and was in a closed car with him. By some miracle, he did not get sick. On February 27, I noticed an odd sore throat and headache while I was at work. I came home and by time I was able to get in bed, I was feverish, shaking, shivering and had the worst body/muscle aches I'd ever had. At this point there were still no documented cases in DG County and I didn't think I could be the first so I kept trying to convince myself it was something else.
The following week I had severe body aches, fatigue, extreme lethargy and malaise and was unable to return to work. THANK GOODNESS. Sometime late that week, the coughing started. It was a dry, persistent, cough that lasted almost 3 weeks and caused me to fracture 3 ribs. At this point, protocol was that you couldn't be tested unless you were being hospitalized.
I kept convincing myself that "I wasn't sick enough" to go to the hospital. One night I woke up completely panicked with an unfamiliar feeling. It took me just a few seconds to realize that I felt like I was suffocating. I could not get a full breath. I ran outside and the cold air helped a bit, but I knew I needed help so I drove to the ER. When I got there, my breathing was a little better, and the ER was absolutely packed, so I convinced myself I should go home. I shouldn't have.
The following couple of weeks, I struggled with labored breathing, intense chest pain, migraines, and cognitive issues regarding memory, attention and completing tasks with more than one step. April and May are a blur. We were working from home but I was still struggling with basic tasks, both because of fatigue and brain fog. June and July, I felt things improving a bit and thought the worst was over. My two noticeable symptoms were difficulty walking due to nerve pain, and coordination issues. In mid-July, my job fell victim to COVID and at the end of July, I lost my health insurance.
At the beginning of August, a new set of symptoms appeared, but, at the time, I didn't know they were related. In the last two months, I have experienced chronic shortness of breath, chest pain, debilitating fatigue, inflammation that makes it difficult to get around, swollen glands, rashes, intense joint pain, memory issues, reflux, confusion, incontinence, significantly impaired hearing in my left ear, and fuzzy vision.
Today, both of my ankles are so swollen, it is difficult to walk. and I had clumps of hair in the tub after my shower. I'm not typically a WebMD person, but in the last 2 months, at different times, I had myself convinced that I had thyroid issues, Parkinsons, dementia, and arthritis. I finally started doing some research on my own and found out that some people were struggling with these symptoms months after they thought they were recovering.
I'm now part of 3 different "long hauler" studies and am in contact with others that are also struggling with this. Without my two new blood pressure meds, my bp is around 190/120. My joints hurt daily and I can't move without major stiffness. The shortness of breath continues. This week I had 3 decent days in a row. Today, it took me an hour to recover from taking a shower.
Little by little, I can tell I'm starting to improve. The mental fog is starting to lift, and I've realized how to challenge the fatigue, without fighting it (that doesn't work). I have good days and bad days, but I can live with the symptoms. Some of my comrades are having small strokes daily, heart attacks, and are unable to walk due to muscle weakness.
My point in writing any of this is to say that we don't need to live in fear. But, we do need to realize that although our community is "open" and life goes on, this virus is still out there. I was in decent health and had no risk factors and this virus has ravaged my body and seriously impacted my life. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue to be diligent about protecting yourself and those around you.
Live life, but be safe."
Rachel Myslivy is organizing this fundraiser for Kristina. I live in Lawrence, KS, and we met 15 years ago when our kids went to preschool at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Lawrence. The funds from this fundraiser will go directly to Kristina to be used to pay medical bills relating to her Covid 19 diagnosis and living expenses related to her job loss.
Organizer and beneficiary
Rachel Myslivy
Organizer
Lawrence, KS
Kristina Poracsky
Beneficiary