Help me go to a better climate for my health!

I almost died last autumn. True story.

Every day is a fight to do the most basic things. Cooking, eating, showering… things most people take for granted are a monumental task for my struggling body. I can’t even take a shower alone. It’s too risky. I have to take a number of prescriptions morning, night, and before each meal just to survive. On my worst days, I pass out or collapse numerous times. This is my life.

I have a chronic illness that makes me allergic to almost everything. I was diagnosed with MCAS, POTS, and ME/CFS. None of these conditions have a cure. I'm in a wheelchair full time because I'll pass out or collapse if I'm upright for more than a few minutes. I'm always very, very weak, and I battle never-ending dizziness, nausea, and exhaustion. Think of the most tired you have ever felt in your life. The day after you worked in a factory all week and then stayed up all night studying for an exam. Now take that level of fatigue and exhaustion and times it by ten. That’s how I feel all the time.

When autumn in the desert rolls around, the pollen in Southern Utah kicks my illness into overdrive. We’re not talking about sniffling and sneezing. We’re talking about passing out, having seizures, gripping anxiety, and crippling depression all stemming from systemic allergic reactions. It became very dangerous a number of times last autumn. I was taken by ambulance to the hospital and had police let friends into my house to help me more than once because I had passed out and couldn’t help myself.

I really need to be in a different climate during the autumn for my health, so I’ve chosen to relocate to a milder climate for the fall and pursue my dream of becoming fluent in Spanish while I’m at it. The mental aspect of chronic illness is half the battle, and reaching for this dream gives me so much joy. The college I’m attending, Southern Utah University, has an amazing foreign exchange program that I’ve been accepted into, and they have coordinated with the support staff in the receiving college to arrange for my health accommodations during my time abroad. From August to December I will be at Universidad de León in the temperate region of Leon, Spain, where I have reason to believe I’ll be able to keep my mind busy studying Spanish while I let my body heal.

Originally, I was planning to keep my remote position with reduced hours and continue to work from Spain, but my employer and I both realized that wasn’t going to work well for either party. I had to make the difficult decision to quit an excellent job rather than cancel my plans and risk another frightening autumn full of medical emergencies and possibly worse. I don’t know how much time I have left in this life, but while I’m alive, I want to live life to the fullest.

My health comes first. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. I believe this trip will provide me with the best possibility for improved health. Living disabled is expensive, and without an income source, I have to find alternative funding for my trip. That’s where you come in. Every little bit helps! Thank you for your generosity, and thank you for helping me do what’s best for my health while also increasing my future potential. Blessings!

Breakdown of Expenses:

Plane Tickets - $3,000.00

Wheelchair Luggage Set - $600.00

Rent in Spain - $4,000.00

Home Costs (Rent and Car Payment) - $5,600.00

Tuition Not Covered by Scholarships - $4,000.00

Food - $400.00

Phone - $400.00

Visa, Passport, etc. - $500.00

Misc. Expenses (Laptop, Medical, etc) - $1,500.00

Any extra funds collected will be applied towards my future college tuition and/or be used for my maintenance until I find another job when I return to the states.