Help Samantha Woodstock Battle Rare Disease

My name is Chris Woodstock. Many of you know my wife, Samantha Fugett Woodstock. She ran an in-home micro bakery, The Daily Bread, out of Tioga/Gunter. A lot of y'all have met her through kids' sports and her volunteering around town and in the schools.

She began getting ill in 2017. In 2020, she was completely bedridden and admitted to UTSW hospital for testing. At the time, she was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called Dermatomyositis, where her immune system attacks her muscles. In 2021, she was again diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome. This disease starts with muscle rigidity and painful spasms. These diseases attack your entire body and shut down organs. Since diagnosis, we have spent multiple weeks in the hospital, usually a 3-7 day stay per month. There is no cure for these diseases, and they are progressive. Since 2021, she has developed quite a few complications and comorbidities. Her stomach has been paralyzed, and she cannot digest food. The treatments are extremely hard on her body and time-consuming. They have a lot of side effects, and there is not a lot of research for these rare diseases. She is on chemotherapy and immunoglobulin therapy at the moment. There are not any specialists in our area for these treatments. She has been accepted to be seen in Colorado by one of the main research specialists and is on the waitlist for John Hopkins.

With that being said, she has spent the majority of the last few months in the hospital with a blood clot, internal bleeding, and malnourishment. We have had to switch our insurance multiple times to even be put on the waitlist for these doctors, which has incurred a ton of out-of-pocket costs. She started palliative care last month to just try and keep her comfortable for the time being. Her symptoms have been progressing rapidly over the last 6 months with little relief. At the end of the day, she is still a mom of 3 and gives her all. We are a one-income family, and we will have travel fees and multiple week stays coming up. We are extremely blessed with support, and we have had people ask how they can help. We are in the process of trying to find someone to help with daily activities and travel as I work full-time. She has home health care once a week on top of multiple specialists in downtown Dallas. A simple prayer for comfort goes a long way, or just loving on our kiddos. If you would like to contribute financially, we are more than grateful, but please do not feel obligated. You can also Venmo if you prefer that. All in all, we are thankful for everyone who has helped or said a prayer in these times.