Help Rebecca Nickoley Fight Liver Disease

My Name is Lynn Kirchner and I created this account to help Becca and her husband Todd with the recent onset of medical bills as a result of the flare up of Rebecca's Liver Disease. Her condition is a serious one, and one that will be ongoing for some time. Please help me help them. 

Update 11.30.21
Becca is preparing for a Liver Transplant.  The preparation in itself is a process and very costly.  It is imperative she follow the protocol for her own health and safety.  She is remaining in Denver to receive state of the art treatment  there, while Todd commutes back home to work.  Without her income, another challenge to their financial well being is raised.  She could be in Denver indefinitely.  Luckily able to stay with family when she is not hospitalized.   
Once she has received a new liver there will be months of rehabilitation and medical expenses that will need to be taken care of.  Your help and support to date has been very touching and so greatly appreciated.  We need to continue to raise funds for the future journey Becca is on.  Thank you for helping
xoxo
Lynn

 

This is Rebecca's Story:

 

My name is Rebecca Nickoley. I am 34 years old and live in Redstone, Colorado with my husband, Todd. I have had a hard, long health journey. Diagnosed at 12 with a hereditary blood disease, it was only the beginning of an onslaught of issues. By 19 I had my spleen removed due to the blood disease, found out that I had a severely scarred liver and was diagnosed with Level 4/4 Cirrhosis (despite never having had a drink in my life) because of Autoimmune Hepatitis B (AIH-B). I was told the day after I had my spleen removed that my liver was so bad that I wouldn’t live for more than 6 months without a liver transplant. One month later I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and told that if I didn’t have my colon removed I would have colon cancer at an accelerated rate. I had dealt with the effects of that since I was 16, but had never been seen by a doctor for it until then.

 

I am a walking miracle - I have not had a liver transplant or my colon removed. I have been symptom free and off all medications for the past 6 years.

 

That changed on September 7th when Todd and I received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. We work in the restaurant industry and one day I was talking with my boss. She mentioned how they had not made vaccinations mandatory at work because they did not want Todd and me to feel like we were being pushed out of the restaurant. You should understand we’ve managed there for almost 3 years and have a great relationship. She said that to relay the value they have for us and it really struck my heart. They know Todd and I are not people who would normally get vaccinated, so I felt really blessed to have that kind of grace shown towards us and that they still valued us despite our difference of opinion. I took that information home to Todd and he felt the same. We felt the proper response was to reciprocate the grace they had shown and we decided to get the vaccination in order to best serve our workplace and the people we have grown to love and care for over the past few years. I want to make it very clear that it was our choice, and we did what we felt was right for our individual circumstance.

 

The first night we both had “normal” reactions or symptoms. Chills, fever, sweats, aches, exhaustion. Two days later I was worse than the first day. I shrugged it off thinking it would resolve itself. Over the next couple of weeks severe exhaustion set in. I would go to work and not be able to finish a shift without taking a nap in my car to make it through. I would go to bed as soon as I got home and sleep for an average of 12 hours. I developed a loss of appetite. I was eating like a bird, but began to gain weight - 8 pounds in two weeks and I started to bloat in my stomach. I felt pressure and dull/numb pain set in under my right rib cage and in my liver area. On top of that, when I looked 6 months pregnant or like Baymax (a large, white robot) in Big Hero 6 because my stomach was so bloated, it was time to go to the doctor and I was concerned because of my history.

 

I went in to see someone the next day. After telling him my history, he told me I needed to go to the ER because I had fluid retention in my abdomen and he could feel my liver below my rib cage, which is abnormal, so we did what most people would do - we got up and went to the ER.

 

They did an ultrasound and blood tests, and when the results came back everything was confirmed. After 6 years symptom free, my autoimmune disease was back in action. My liver was inflamed and I had about 8 pounds of extra fluid in my stomach. The ER doctor confirmed, after consulting with a Gastroenterologist, that it is a very probable chance that the vaccination is what made this reaction happen given the nature of an autoimmune disease. My Primary Care Physician (PCP) said the same. They have to say it is highly probable because they cannot actually prove it with any kind of medical tests at this time.

 

I spent the night in Acute Care the night I went to the ER. We are not insured. You know what that means! $$$$$ We just recently received the invoice for the hospital and that alone was almost $12,000

 

I am now on 3 prescriptions to help my body function - steroids to calm down my immune system and two diuretics to drain the fluid out of my abdomen. I had a follow up appointment a week later and the drugs are helping. They are maintenance drugs until I can get into a liver specialist to figure out long term options. Where I live they do not have a liver specialist or anyone that can perform the tests I need to have done and will need to travel to Denver.

 

The donations I am requesting will go toward:

• My ER and Acute Care

o Ultrasound / Imaging

• Follow up appointments before we get insurance

o Gastroenterologist

o Ongoing Lab Tests (Blood work - check meds are working)

o Primary Care follow ups

• Travel Expenses to Denver (5 hour drive one way)

• Lost wages from missing work

• Prescriptions

• Upcoming procedures

o Liver Biopsy

o Endoscopy

• Health Insurance Premiums and Deductibles

 

With the nature and severity of my condition, we do not know exactly how long this will all take to figure out and therefore cannot plan for all of the expenses we will accrue and would greatly appreciate any financial aid given to us to help through this time. I know without a doubt I will pull through this and come out better for it as I always have.

 

I will post updates throughout the journey. Thank you, Lynn! We greatly appreciate your kindness and generosity in setting this up for us!