Help The Vitek Family Through Kelly's Illness

Story

Donate to support The Vitek Family through difficult financial times during Kelly's time of poor health organized by Lindsay Reno. I am reaching out for financial assistance for my sister and her family who are experiencing financial hardship. They aren't the type of people who would normally ask for help, but after being in this situation for a few years, with urging, they've agreed to let me ask for help on their behalf. This is something they have been resistant to for a long-time, as they have always said, “They’ll just figure it out.” If you could please read their story, share it on your page, and if you are able to donate, even a small amount, it will add up. Any way you may be able to help, just know they'll appreciate it more than you would ever know. In February 2023, Kelly started suffering from what seemed to be an upper respiratory infection that wouldn’t go away. She was treated with different breathing treatments, antibiotics, and steroids, but nothing helped. Her breathing was so poor that she got to the point of being on home oxygen in May of 2023. These treatments weren't helping enough to manage her extreme shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing, and she ended up hospitalized at St. Mary's in Duluth for 8 days in early June 2023. She ultimately was diagnosed with severe eosinophilic asthma, and presumed EGPA (Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis). These are autoimmune diseases and not the first one Kelly has. Kelly was on a prednisone taper for nearly 8 months along with starting an injection every 28 days, called Nucala, which is a biologic, that works by stopping the production of eosinophils. Following this hospitalization Kelly was out of work for over 8 months, which resulted in some financial debt. With the help of family and friends Kelly and her family were able to make it through this difficult time financially, albeit not easily. Kelly first went back to work “casually,” to ease into it for a couple months, and then went back to nearly full-time hours for 6 months. Though her breathing had improved enough to be working, the extreme fatigue made it so ALL she was doing was working, spending most of her time off sleeping to recuperate. In November 2024, Kelly had symptoms of an upper respiratory infection and was immediately put on steroids and antibiotics, but unfortunately her body couldn’t get rid of it, and after repeated prednisone bursts, she ended up in the hospital again at the end of December 2024 for 5 days for an acute exacerbation of E-asthma and EGPA. This resulted in a very long taper of prednisone again. Prednisone comes with a lot of side effects, so Kelly has a love/hate relationship with the medication. Unfortunately, her fatigue has become debilitating, and Kelly often feels “bone crushing exhaustion.” Her doctors believe she is suffering from adrenal insufficiency from Prednisone and has most of the symptoms that go with it. So, this means another specialist in endocrinology. Additionally, Kelly was recently diagnosed with degenerative joint disease and has compressed discs in her lumbar vertebrae, causing almost continuous back pain. Lastly, she was also recently diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis in her hands, making any fine motor function extremely difficult and painful. Kelly has been unable to go back to work since her December hospitalization. These have all had a major negative impact on Kelly's health and ability to function. She has very limited stamina, debilitating fatigue, and is always working harder than the average person to be able to breathe. She currently sleeps approximately 12 out of 24 hours. This, understandably, has caused a lot of anxiety and stress on both Kelly and her family. It also has left it hard for her to function as a mother of two school-aged boys and meet their needs and the needs of her family. She is exhausted all the time. She has attended a couple “fun,” events over the past few months, which resulted in sleeping for a few days afterwards to recover. Prior to May 2023, Kelly was gainfully employed as a registered nurse. She worked for Essentia Health as an RN Case Manager with Hospice. This is a position Kelly took a lot of pride in her work and loved serving her community in such a selfless profession. In addition to this, Kelly was diagnosed with her first autoimmune disease in her early twenties called Sjogren's Syndrome. That alone in her past, especially early on, caused bouts of such extreme fatigue that it put in her bed sometimes for a week at a time. While it's still impactful in ways that affects her health daily, it is not the main concern to her health that's been affecting her now. It is, however, believed that when someone is diagnosed with an autoimmune disease the odds of being diagnosed with others is quite common. Kelly has a very silent disease. From the outside looking in, things seem just fine. She is still able to curl her hair, put on makeup, dress nicely, and look good from the outside. This is the confusing part and what makes it hard for people to understand just how sick she is. Because of how terrible she is feeling, for the greater part of the last two years since her diagnosis, Kelly has been unable to work. Jarod, her husband, works hard at a full-time job. Luckily, he can work overtime and does that every week. With Kelly unable to function well enough to bring in any income currently, they're at a point where it has been difficult to meet their basic needs, pay bills, or do anything extra as a family. As a one income family while Kelly attempts to search for options for what could work for her possibly in a role she could do with her limitations or disability assistance. Unfortunately, she was denied short-term disability due to pre-existing conditions. Thank you for taking the time to read about Kelly’s illnesses and the difficulty they have caused. Any help is appreciated whether it’s sharing this post, praying, or financial donations it will all be appreciated more than words can say.