Help Paola Overcome Medical Expenses

Hello, my name is Paola Valiente and I’m asking for help to cover my bills and medical expenses.

On Wednesday, May 29th I went to the emergency room with unbearable stomach pain. After an incredibly long wait I was finally admitted into the emergency rooms. A CT-Scan determined that there was liquid surrounding my organs and that my appendix was inflamed. I was rushed into surgery that night and was told in the recovery room that my appendix hadn’t ruptured. They had told me that if it wasn’t ruptured I could be sent home that same night but I requested to stay. The next day the doctors informed me that my appendix had in fact ruptured, which meant I would have to stay up to 4 days in the hospital post-op. This was a very scary time as I live in South Carolina and all of my family lives in Puerto Rico. Thankfully, I had the help of friends and loved ones since at the time my boyfriend was out of state due to work.

On Thursday, despite my exhaustion, I was doing ok. On Friday despite walking around as much as possible in an effort to pass gas, as is very important post surgery, I was unable to. By Saturday I was vomiting which was horrible with the pain I was already in from surgery so they decided to put a NG tube down my throat to my stomach to pump out anything that was backed up. I don’t know how I managed to push through during this time. I have to attribute it to the support I was receiving from my friends and family. I felt like I hit one of the lowest and hardest points of my life. Between the pain and the mind numbing medication, the thought of how much this would all cost was weighing as the days passed. I had the NG tube for 24hrs and by the next day I was finally able to pass gas. While still being nauseous by Monday June 3rd I was able to eat something and keep it down so they sent me home. I saw my surgeon about three weeks after surgery and he was concerned for my health so another ct scan, blood test and urinalysis later and he has finally cleared me.

I was finally able to return to work on June 25th after not having worked since May 28th making it more than a month since I collected a paycheck. I live with my boyfriend and it’s incredibly hard to pay for our expenses with only one income.

All of this is why I’m asking for $4,500. My medical expenses alone come to nearly $3,000. The bill from the hospital was $65,000 but thankfully my healthcare plan through Marketplace covered a lot of it. I’m asking for the rest of the money as a way to help pay the bills. This was a very complicated process to recover from and I’m still not 100% but I’m being careful trying to get back to how I lived my life before this happened.

I know this is a difficult time for many people and this is not something I take lightly. My family and I don’t have the means to pay off these bills. Any amount you could spare is appreciated. I’m thankful for anyone that even takes the time reading my story.