Help Sam Recover After Infusion Error and Blood Disorder

Help Sam Recover After Dangerous Infusion Error and Blood Disorder

We are raising money to support the recovery of friend, writer, and community advocate Sam Dylan Finch.

WHAT HAPPENED?

For several years now, Sam has had unexplained and disabling pain, along with mysterious symptoms throughout his body that doctors struggled to make sense of.

The two constants throughout this period were Sam’s red blood cell count, which had been elevated since 2017, and tachycardia, a chronically elevated heart rate.

His concerns about this were largely dismissed until he was finally sent to a hematologist last fall to take a closer look.

That hematologist expressed zero concern for his red blood cell count and more recently elevated hematocrit, choosing to focus instead on the iron deficiency that Sam had dealt with for several years.

Insisting that iron infusions could help with Sam’s unmanaged chronic pain, he was hopeful that it would provide relief.

Not long after the infusions, Sam became significantly more symptomatic.

However, around this time, Sam’s insurance lapsed because he was laid off from his job, and it took months before he could see another doctor.

This resulted in Sam being hospitalized for a suspected TIA (transient ischemic attack, a precursor to stroke) and blood clots, but without adequate insurance, he was unable to get further testing beyond ruling out any immediate threats to his life.

Once he had coverage again, doctors shared that Sam’s hematocrit and hemoglobin levels were now much higher, and due to Sam’s chronically elevated RBC and history of enlarged spleen — along with other symptoms and a family history indicative of blood disorders — iron infusions could have been a fatal mistake.

The infusions essentially made his blood even thicker, triggering what appears to be an inflammatory response in his veins, while placing him at an even higher risk of stroke, embolism, and heart attack.

This inflammatory response is consistent with what’s sometimes referred to as “unmasked” polycythemia vera, a form of chronic blood cancer that is worsened by “treating” a protective iron deficiency.

Sam is now awaiting results from a JAK2 mutation test, to rule out or confirm PV.

The good news: Whether the JAK2 test is positive or not, doctors are now confident that Sam’s symptoms and labs are consistent with a blood disorder, and that treatment to better manage his symptoms can start immediately while they determine the exact cause.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Sam’s symptoms are widespread and highly debilitating. As he begins treatment, he needs to step down from freelancing full-time, especially because prolonged sitting and typing are both incredibly painful due to how it impacts his circulation.

However, as the primary source of income for his disabled household, reducing the amount of time he works during this initial phase of testing and treatment is not possible without community aid.

Because of the extraordinary amount of pain he’s been in this last month especially, he has struggled to maintain his current workload, and will not be able to afford June’s rent.

We are attempting to raise money for three months of rent so that Sam can shift to working part-time, and focus his efforts on treatment and recovering from the incredible amount of medical and bodily trauma he has experienced.

We are grateful for any and all donations that are received.

FUNDRAISING BREAKDOWN

June’s rent: $1795

July’s rent: $1795

August’s rent: $1795

TOTAL: $5385