Hi! My name is Sky. I’m a trans woman living in Chicago, Illinois, and i’m currently unemployed and uninsured. I’m reaching out for help with a medication I have been prescribed but cannot afford, and which has become critical to my survival.

I was diagnosed last year with Bipolar II, which is a mood disorder involving normal periods punctuated by short, extremely intense bouts of psychotic depression. I’ve managed this so far with help from my doctors and psychiatrists, and while this has helped life between episodes immensely for the most part, the episodes themselves have continued and are growing in intensity. Twice, they have proven life threatening, and while it’s hard to admit, I am only here today writing through a combination of luck and the actions of my loved ones.

I don’t really like talking about this, because I don’t like people worrying about me (who does?), and I don’t need to tell anyone about the stigma of mental illness. I worry a lot that my personality, who I am, will be conflated or even replaced in the minds of others with my darkest days. If you’re reading this and you know me, you know this isn’t who I am. I love people, I love life, I love myself. I want to keep saying good morning to the world every day, to keep seeing the sun and the stars, to keep helping and supporting my loved ones and making new friends and memories. I will not lose all of that to a lousy brain glitch like this. I refuse to accept it.

To that end, I’ve been and continue to be working every day to return to a place of safety. As part of those efforts, I’ve been in partial hospitalization and continuing therapy, counseling and psychiatric care. The latter, my psychiatrist, has prescribed me Vraylar. She has had very good results with other patients with my condition and is optimistic that this medication will help significantly.

However, this medication (Vraylar) is also approximately $1600 for a one month supply. No joke.

There is no generic alternative, and I have no health coverage to help with the cost. I’ve applied to the manufacturer’s assistance program, but must wait until they approve it, which may not be for some time and might not happen at all. Meanwhile, I have had two close calls in the last month, one of which was literally yesterday. I can’t stress enough how urgently I need this resolved. I am reluctant to say so but it’s become clear that it is a life or death issue, and failing to address it immediately is not an option for me.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. If you can’t donate, that is totally ok! I would so so appreciate you sharing this! If you can swing it, any any help would be huge. It would truly mean the world if I could look to the future, to daydream about my life to come, and to know with certainty that I’ll be there to see it. That’s my hope.

No matter what else you can do, thank you, thank you, thank you for understanding me. It means more than I could ever say.

I love yall <3

-sky