My name is Kari, and my friend, Rhiannon, needs help. She is a senior at Florida Atlantic University and is 1 1/2 semesters away from graduating with a degree in Public Administration with a minor in Nonprofit Management. She chose that field because she wants to spend her life fixing systems that fail people in need of support. She's now facing those exact systematic failures.
She lives with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) and Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders, severe gastroparesis, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia (IST), convulsive syncope, as well as severe unmanaged allergic reactions post-Covid. Now she uses multiple mobility aids and is often stuck in bed after any physical exertion. She takes about 25 medications everyday as well as IV fluids and tube feeds. Her condition has worsened since January 2024. Since January 2025, she has been admitted to the hospital 26 times and visited the emergency room 10 additional times.
Rhiannon has been fighting her insurance company every step of the way to get the meds and supplies she needs. A major issue for her has been getting access to her formula for tube feeds. There is one formula in the world her body can tolerate. It is a highly specialized, completely hypoallergenic, elemental formula. She has tried every alternative and has not been able to tolerate any other type, but her insurance is no longer approving it. She has not had a proper delivery since October 2025. Since then, she has been sourcing expired or nearly expired formula from a stranger on Facebook because it is that or nothing.
Rhiannon also lost her car due to trying to keep up with health insurance payments. This additionally caused her to lose her job as a field organizer for a political campaign, since she could no longer get herself to canvassing locations.
Rhiannon is a very independent person and has tried to help herself first before asking others. She applied for SSI and SSDI and was denied twice. She has been in the appeals process for two years across both programs and a hearing is likely still a year away. She applied for Florida Medicaid and appealed for two full years — trying every approach, working with different doctors, filing every available form and was still denied. She is a full time student with an unpaid internship. She crochets for a little income when she can. She has applied for every remote and office job she can find. She will work as much as her body allows. She is not looking to be taken care of, she is looking for a bridge. Upon graduation, she plans to move closer to her support systems (myself included) in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and get to a state where she will immediately qualify for expanded Medicaid the moment she establishes residency.
Your contribution will go towards:
1. A car to get her to medical appointments and back to work eventually.
2. Moving expenses to get her to Pennsylvania and to her support systems.
3. Medical supplies to cover what insurance is actively denying.
4. Living expenses keep her going while she finishes her degree.
If you cannot donate, please share this. One share could make all the difference. Thank you for caring enough to read all of this, and thank you in advance for supporting my friend, who means the world to me.