Help Mandi, or: Health Insurance in America Sucks

(Mandi and her husband, Toby, in 2019)

Mandi is a mom, a wife, and a friend. And back when she was well—before illnesses such as treatment-resistant thyroid cancer (which is now called treatment-resistant recurrent papillary carcinoma), Lupus, and Multiple Sclerosis stopped her from working full time in 2009, at the age of 27—she was a trained opera singer, journalist, and makeup artist.

(Mandi and me [Cara], in 2019)

Fortunately, during some healthier moments, Mandi is still able to work part time: she has written a memoir and short stories, sings at some events, and for a short period of time in 2018, attempted to work for a major prestige cosmetics company as a professional makeup artist.

(Mandi's makeup look inspired by Elsa from Frozen)

When Mandi took on that last endeavor in October 2018, she was sent to West Palm Beach, Florida, for a training seminar to apply makeup on models and industry professionals. She was excited about the trip, especially since this was her first time she was medically cleared to fly since 2008. The notion of working again made her feel healthy, happy, and at peace with her lingering conditions.

(At the airport for the trip)

The night that Mandi arrived at the hotel in Florida—only 12 hours before her first day of training—she went down to the hotel bar to meet some of her fellow trainees. The bar was almost empty, however, so she sat alone and ordered one drink. She was busy chatting with the very kind bartender when a man 20 years her senior sat next to her and asked if he could buy her another drink. Mandi politely refused, but the man kept talking to her, interrupting her conversation with the bartender. The bartender—a female—stayed near Mandi as much as she could, but on occasion, had to walk away. On those occasions, the stranger kept trying to pressure Mandi into certain acts—from simple things such as sharing a meal (which she didn't want to do and couldn't do, as she has severe Celiac disease) to far more pressing acts such as sharing drugs. Mandi turned away from the man for a moment to text her husband, asking him to please call her in 15 minutes. She tried to plan an escape. Then she turned back, finished her drink, and asked the bartender for her bill. The man asked to pay for her, and then ordered a bottle of wine for them to share, but Mandi refused. Then the man stepped away, telling Mandi he was going to get drugs from his hotel room for them to smoke, and asked her to wait for him. He left the bar, but Mandi was able to see him standing in the lobby, waiting.

Fortunately, the bartender came back with the bill, and she said, "The man wants to pay your tab. Go back to your room and let him. I don't want him to see your name on anything, though I think he was eyeing your phone." Mandi—grateful to the bartender for looking out for her—stood to leave, but became extremely dizzy. At that moment, the man came back into the bar, grabbed her arm, and told the bartender they were going outside. Mandi noticed that the bartender could see them from that outdoor patio, and nodded that it was okay, knowing her husband would be calling shortly.

(Mandi and Toby at their "engagement" shoot, a few months before their wedding vow renewal in 2018.)

On that patio, the man shoved Mandi against a wall and asked her to share drugs with him. When she refused, he clamped down on her neck and forced something into her mouth that she had to inhale. When he let her go, she was dizzy and nauseated, and said she had to go. The man then pulled her into his lap on a nearby chair and began to touch her inappropriately. She resisted, said no, and tried to get up, but the man said, "Stay and have sex with me or I will find you and hurt you. You're coming with me." Mandi was having a severe reaction to something at that point—everything was fuzzy and her legs were getting numb—but her phone rang. Her husband was calling. She told the man she had to take the call as it was an emergency, and as she spoke to her husband, she staggered back inside the hotel, and briefly told the woman at the front desk to make sure she wasn't being followed.

Mandi made it back to her room, called her husband again, spoke briefly with her mom, and then, the next thing she knew, she woke up in her hotel room bed, covered in blood and vomit. She reached for the hotel phone and pressed 0 for the front desk. Fortunately, she spoke with the woman who had seen her 5 hours prior, when she had passed the front desk during her escape, and the woman recognized Mandi's voice. The only thing Mandi said to her was, "I think I was drugged." The woman immediately told Mandi she was going to call 911 and was going to have hospital security come up to Mandi's room and open the door. Mandi, barely conscious, said yes.

After security came in, they quickly called 911 again, and asked for an ambulance with life support to take her to the nearest hospital. Mandi fell unconscious after that.

In the hospital, doctors were able to assess that she had indeed been drugged—or poisoned, as they called it. She had been given an incredibly and dangerously high dose of Valium, as well as Rohypnol (commonly known as the "date rape drug") and gasoline—literal gasoline from a fuel pump. The doctor believed that the mixture of gasoline, Valium, and Rohypnol was poured into Mandi's drink during the 15 seconds she looked away, and that whatever she was forced to smoke outside the hotel was laced with both legal and illegal substances. She was, according to the doctor, very lucky to have survived. They also took note of the bruises on her neck, thighs, and wrists.

(Mandi and Toby in happier times this past summer)

Mandi's husband booked the first flight he could to get to her, and as scared as she was, she still stayed in Florida—to rest and be treated the first day (with her husband's help), and then, to try to feel "normal" and go to her work training the next few days. The police were also eager to speak to her, and the hotel staff wanted her to review evidence as well (security tapes from the bar, for instance—the man couldn't be seen clearly, but he was on the tapes). During this time, Mandi started to lose feeling in her legs, and due to the drugs that had been forced into her body, was unable to use the bathroom.

When she left Florida for Maryland, she could barely walk. Two days later, she was taken via ambulance to her hometown hospital because she hadn't been able to go to the bathroom for a week, which had left her with severe bowel obstructions and impactions. She was also unable to walk without assistance.

The man was never caught as the police believe he wasn't staying at the hotel. Police believe that he followed her to the hotel from the airport and waited in the lobby to see her.

Mandi was unable to work after the incident. Sadly, this wasn't her first experience with being drugged, and as a rape survivor, she was grateful she hadn't been raped and killed, as that combination of medications and fuel in her system was deadly. She became depressed and terrified to be around most people for several months, and rarely left the house. She also continued to suffer bowel paralyzation and issues with walking, as well as with her short-term memory. She visited the hospital in late 2018 and early 2019 due to these issues.

Her insurance did cover some of the bills, but they wouldn't cover the out-of-network ambulance ride. Attached is the insurance statement indicating how much she owes, along with the total hospital bill. Fortunately, insurance covered most of the hospital costs, but they still refuse to cover the $500 admission fee, since again, the closest hospital was out-of-network (and Mandi had no say in where she was taken, as she was unconscious and needed life support in a state just about one thousand miles from her own).

(Hospital and ambulance bills)

Now, a year later, Mandi is doing the very best she can. She, her husband, and her 8-year-old son are trying to move out of their apartment to a location where Mandi feels safe. She is still able to write and work on occasion as a make-up artist. But she is unable to work for long periods of time due to her lingering health issues.

(Mandi, Toby, and their son at their vow-renewal  in 2018)

One of those issues, which costs her thousands per year, is her thyroid condition. Since it is treatment-resistant, even the best medications (including the one she is on: an expensive non-generic called Tirosint) have a hard time managing her out-of-control TSH. Attached is a screenshot of her most recent thyroid labs—high enough that they can send her into a hypothermic condition called myxedema coma (of which Mandi has survived four, despite her body temperature dropping to 91 degrees and her body swelling excessively).

(Mandi's current thyroid hormone numbers. These numbers indicate severe hypothyroidism.)

Because her current levels are so severe, she recently lost her hair for the 6th time, has fluid build-up that renders her fingers and legs swollen, and is unable to keep her body temperature regulated—which is an extreme concern given how cold Maryland winters can be.

(All bundled up against the cold)

But the biggest issue on top of these things is that she needs to have surgery. Due to her abdominal issues—some of those due to prior multiple abdominal surgeries, some due to how often her bowel had been impacted and obstructed—she needs to have mesh implanted into her abdomen.

(Mandi's surgery information)

Her insurance company does not want to pay for most of this, despite the fact her surgeon has deemed it necessary.

The costs are extensive, and without this surgery, her intestines can become fully strangulated and she will become septic. Her surgeon already has her on partial bed rest (she is allowed to drive when necessary but cannot lift more than five pounds) until February 12th, when she is scheduled for her surgery. Back when she met with her surgeon in July of 2019, she was told the surgery might be able to wait. But in late December, Mandi began showing signs of intestinal strangulation and the surgery became necessary.

Mandi called her insurance company, and while they told her the costs, they also mentioned that they wouldn't pay for it. Not only has she not met her deductible yet, but she hasn't come close to meeting her $7800 out of pocket maximum. Until that happens, her insurance company is making her pay 80% of her surgery—about $6360. We have put together a sheet that shows every cost her insurance will not pay, which is listed below:

______________________________________
Laproscopic umbilical hernia with mesh repair, to prevent likely strangulation and potential septicemia (procedure code 49652)

Hospital admission fee (outpatient): $500

Remainder of deductible to meet before insurance pays part of the surgery: $292.60

Surgeon cost (after insurance): $1400

Anesthesiologist cost (for two, which the procedure requires, after insurance): $1880

Post-op care cost (2–6 hours in hospital, after insurance): $681

Hospital fee, after admission fee, for procedure, after insurance: $1100

Pre-op and post-op care with surgeon, after insurance: $510

Total for 2/12 surgery: $6363.60
_________________________________________

(A recent picture of Mandi and her son)

Mandi isn't one for charity - she'd much rather give than receive - but without surgery, she will have further permanent health complications and her surgery will go from a scheduled procedure to an emergency procedure. That is a cost she cannot afford, either. No one could with the way health insurance works in this country. And because of that, I am organizing this GoFundMe as a way to keep her alive and functional.

(Mandi's insurance doesn't cover lab work, and when you have as many conditions as she does that require constant evaluation, that can get very expensive very fast.)

Mandi has some money and is able to pay for old lab bills for her cancer labs (see above screenshot of the amount her labs for cancer and thyroid issues cost her), but I'm asking for $7600 in order to cover her surgery ($6363.60) and for the hospital and ambulance bills from Florida ($1236). The total that she owes is $7599.60, hence the $7600 I'm seeking. To know that she keeps receiving hospital and ambulance bills from the night she was poisoned in an attempted rape and murder—an event that happened almost 18 months ago and that she still is working to move past—is heartbreaking. Considering that the total bill was almost $17,000—for an event no one should ever have to endure—and that the hospital still wants $1236 seems ridiculous. They aren't willing to let it go, so neither am I.

________________________________________________
West Palm Beach, FL bills (which insurance will not cover)

Emergency ambulance with life support: $736 (Screenshot of bill can be found above)

Good Samaritan Hospital out-of-network fee: $500 (Mandi couldn’t choose which hospital she was taken to since she was unconscious—they chose the closest to keep her alive, hence why it was out of network)

Total remaining from 10/9/2018 FL hospital trip: $1236
__________________________________________________


Mandi is currently recovering from another hypothermic state, where her temperature falls well below normal range and she has to stay huddled in blankets in a warm place and attempt to bring her temperature up. These events happen frequently during the colder months, and prevent her from doing normal activities, even going out to get coffee or spend more than a few minutes out of her blankets to play with her son.

If this GoFundMe should exceed the necessary $7600 (and after GoFundMe's fee), Mandi would like to donate any extra funds to both RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network: https://www.rainn.org/about-rainn) in order to help other survivors, as well as to Seton Hill University's In Your Write Mind program (http://inyourwritemind.setonhill.edu/), where she was fortunate enough to attend classes, teach a seminar, sign books, and make lifelong friends in both 2018 and 2019. She recognizes that she's still fortunate enough to have good days: if there is extra money, she wants to give back to those who have helped her emotionally, mentally, and creatively. She's willing to post updates showing those donations to the GoFundMe should it reach the full amount, as she truly doesn't want to take more than is needed.

____________________________________________________

TLDR: Please help this mother, creator, and friend have the money for medical costs and the surgery she needs to get back on her feet, care for her child, work part-time, and—most importantly—to survive.

(Mandi's son is a sweetheart. Here he is after building her a LEGO set of Elsa's palace from Frozen. My apologies for the terrible cropping--blame GoFundMe's picture tools!)

Thank you so much for visiting this campaign, and thanks in advance for any donations you can make. If you can't donate, you can still help by sharing this campaign on your social media site of choice. The more people who see it, the more likely we are to get the money Mandi needs to have her surgery!