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Hello Friends,
Many of you personally know Lindsey Long, as she has touched the lives of so many with her work for years in Atlanta. For those of you who don’t personally know her, she is one of the kindest, most caring, selfless souls out there, and we know you would love her like we do. Lindsey is quite a private person, but has begun to openly share her journey with MS and has given us permission to share her current medical struggle as we know there are people who will want to help her during this difficult time.
Last week, Lindsey was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Leading up to her diagnosis there have been multiple long term hospital stays as specialists have worked to find out exactly what has been causing her episodes. In September she woke up with double vision and was hospitalized, and it was eventually concluded that there had been a stroke in the right cerebellum of her brain. Upon further brain scans they could see a spot on her brain that they suspected was another previous stroke. Last week she started to have tingling and numbness in her right toes, and over time her symptoms began to progress into her hand and down her right side. Fearing it could be another stroke she took herself to the ER at Emory. At that point, the pins and needles had moved up her arm, across her chest and also throughout her entire foot.
During her overnight admission she underwent more testing. After her cat scan, EKG, and blood work, her neurologist was convinced she wasn’t having strokes and ordered an MRI.
The MRI showed two active lesions, one in the center of the brain and one on the spinal column. This was responsible for the numbness on the right side of my body. It was confirmed that she had not been having strokes but in fact had Multiple Sclerosis and was experiencing an “episode”. Doctors found four lesions, which we now know has been the cause of chronic pain that Lindsey has been dealing with for many years.
The flair up Lindsey is currently experiencing is quite extreme. She only has feeling in her thumb and pointer finger of her right hand. Her right knee has almost no strength so she has to use a cane. She is taking a high dosage of prescribed steroids to help combat the episode, but it is still currently getting worse.
Stress is a huge trigger for MS episodes, and what experts say could help is to rest and time for healing. Lindsey is a very hard worker, and taking time off not a decision she takes lightly. Added to this is the stress of making ends meet while not bringing in any income, or not being able to complete her work due to the escalating MS symptoms.
As a contract worker, if Lindsey does not report to work she will have no income, and as you can imagine her finances, like so many, have been greatly impacted by Covid-19.
We want to raise these funds for her so that she doesn’t have to make a choice of whether to go to work or to take care of her health. We already know that during additional doctor visits, episodes, and learning how to live with MS, it is very possible that Lindsey will not be able to work as much as she would like. At this stage she also has no idea what her insurance will cover, but it’s pretty clear there will also be additional medical bills from her previous hospital stay. If we raise these funds for her, she will not have to worry about making money to put food on the table for her and her daughter, pay rent, and tackle those bills that will start piling up.
We are aware that many people are currently going through financial hardships so completely understand if you cannot donate, but even just keeping Lindsey and Parker in your thoughts will be very much appreciated.
Thank you all and we will update you soon on Lindsey's progress.
Organizers: Anna Zietz, Ross Zietz
Many of you personally know Lindsey Long, as she has touched the lives of so many with her work for years in Atlanta. For those of you who don’t personally know her, she is one of the kindest, most caring, selfless souls out there, and we know you would love her like we do. Lindsey is quite a private person, but has begun to openly share her journey with MS and has given us permission to share her current medical struggle as we know there are people who will want to help her during this difficult time.
Last week, Lindsey was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Leading up to her diagnosis there have been multiple long term hospital stays as specialists have worked to find out exactly what has been causing her episodes. In September she woke up with double vision and was hospitalized, and it was eventually concluded that there had been a stroke in the right cerebellum of her brain. Upon further brain scans they could see a spot on her brain that they suspected was another previous stroke. Last week she started to have tingling and numbness in her right toes, and over time her symptoms began to progress into her hand and down her right side. Fearing it could be another stroke she took herself to the ER at Emory. At that point, the pins and needles had moved up her arm, across her chest and also throughout her entire foot.
During her overnight admission she underwent more testing. After her cat scan, EKG, and blood work, her neurologist was convinced she wasn’t having strokes and ordered an MRI.
The MRI showed two active lesions, one in the center of the brain and one on the spinal column. This was responsible for the numbness on the right side of my body. It was confirmed that she had not been having strokes but in fact had Multiple Sclerosis and was experiencing an “episode”. Doctors found four lesions, which we now know has been the cause of chronic pain that Lindsey has been dealing with for many years.
The flair up Lindsey is currently experiencing is quite extreme. She only has feeling in her thumb and pointer finger of her right hand. Her right knee has almost no strength so she has to use a cane. She is taking a high dosage of prescribed steroids to help combat the episode, but it is still currently getting worse.
Stress is a huge trigger for MS episodes, and what experts say could help is to rest and time for healing. Lindsey is a very hard worker, and taking time off not a decision she takes lightly. Added to this is the stress of making ends meet while not bringing in any income, or not being able to complete her work due to the escalating MS symptoms.
As a contract worker, if Lindsey does not report to work she will have no income, and as you can imagine her finances, like so many, have been greatly impacted by Covid-19.
We want to raise these funds for her so that she doesn’t have to make a choice of whether to go to work or to take care of her health. We already know that during additional doctor visits, episodes, and learning how to live with MS, it is very possible that Lindsey will not be able to work as much as she would like. At this stage she also has no idea what her insurance will cover, but it’s pretty clear there will also be additional medical bills from her previous hospital stay. If we raise these funds for her, she will not have to worry about making money to put food on the table for her and her daughter, pay rent, and tackle those bills that will start piling up.
We are aware that many people are currently going through financial hardships so completely understand if you cannot donate, but even just keeping Lindsey and Parker in your thoughts will be very much appreciated.
Thank you all and we will update you soon on Lindsey's progress.
Organizers: Anna Zietz, Ross Zietz
Organizer and beneficiary
Lindsey Long
Beneficiary