Help us recover from mounting medical debt
Donation protected
Hi everyone-
I (Lauren) am fundraising to try to help my family recover from a substantial amount of medical debt that we’ve accumulated after the last year or more of my health struggles.
Without getting on my soap box about the American medical system, I will tell you all a little bit about my journey in recent years, and what has led to this amount of medical debt, and needing to start a fundraiser to help offset as much of this debt as possible:
My pregnancy with Luiza was very difficult physically and mentally. When she was born, those struggles didn’t subside, or improve, but in fact continued to worsen until very recently. I was almost totally unable to care for her. When things continued to worsen, I started desperately researching to get to the bottom of my mystery health and mental health issues.
The following is my best attempt at a summary of the last year of my life: I learned that I have adhd and am autistic, had my first of two abdominal surgeries for the same issue, got hit by a drunk driver, lost our beloved Ziggy, was forced to resign from my position at Caponi Art Park due to my health, had more hospital admissions, and trips to the emergency room than I can count on both of my hands, got a POTs diagnosis, a Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome diagnosis, had a total hysterectomy, and then a subsequent emergent repair of some internal tissues.
The repair was last week Thursday, and even though this recovery has been rough for many reasons, I am feeling better now than I have in years. But I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’m going to be ill and in pain to varying degrees, for the rest of my life. I may never be able to utilize the degrees I earned in the way I intended to, and motherhood does not look like I had imagined, but I’m slowly figuring out what those things are going to look like for me, now and in the future. If you know me well, you know that flexibility is not my forte. Learning to go with the flow more has been a huge struggle, but simultaneously one of the most valuable things I’ve been forced to learn to do ever in my life.
My health issues, in conjunction with our healthcare system, have quite literally wreaked havoc on our finances in a way that currently doesn’t seem possible to fix without outside help.
I am trying to raise $5,000 to cover some of my more recent medical expenses that include, but are not limited to, taking Lyfts to appointments when Matthias is unable to drive me, medications that were not covered by insurance, and therapies that were also not covered by insurance. Although $5,000 does not account for anywhere near all of our debt from medical costs, it would be a great help to get us on the path to financial stability again.
Having this help would mean a great deal to Matthias, Luiza, and I. When everything in our lives are chaotic, stressful, and overwhelming, taking any financial help we receive from family and friends, and putting it towards this debt, would be a huge burden lifted off of our shoulders.
I hope you’ll consider contributing to this fundraiser. Please reach out with any questions you may have!
Thank you!
Love,
Lauren
I (Lauren) am fundraising to try to help my family recover from a substantial amount of medical debt that we’ve accumulated after the last year or more of my health struggles.
Without getting on my soap box about the American medical system, I will tell you all a little bit about my journey in recent years, and what has led to this amount of medical debt, and needing to start a fundraiser to help offset as much of this debt as possible:
My pregnancy with Luiza was very difficult physically and mentally. When she was born, those struggles didn’t subside, or improve, but in fact continued to worsen until very recently. I was almost totally unable to care for her. When things continued to worsen, I started desperately researching to get to the bottom of my mystery health and mental health issues.
The following is my best attempt at a summary of the last year of my life: I learned that I have adhd and am autistic, had my first of two abdominal surgeries for the same issue, got hit by a drunk driver, lost our beloved Ziggy, was forced to resign from my position at Caponi Art Park due to my health, had more hospital admissions, and trips to the emergency room than I can count on both of my hands, got a POTs diagnosis, a Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome diagnosis, had a total hysterectomy, and then a subsequent emergent repair of some internal tissues.
The repair was last week Thursday, and even though this recovery has been rough for many reasons, I am feeling better now than I have in years. But I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’m going to be ill and in pain to varying degrees, for the rest of my life. I may never be able to utilize the degrees I earned in the way I intended to, and motherhood does not look like I had imagined, but I’m slowly figuring out what those things are going to look like for me, now and in the future. If you know me well, you know that flexibility is not my forte. Learning to go with the flow more has been a huge struggle, but simultaneously one of the most valuable things I’ve been forced to learn to do ever in my life.
My health issues, in conjunction with our healthcare system, have quite literally wreaked havoc on our finances in a way that currently doesn’t seem possible to fix without outside help.
I am trying to raise $5,000 to cover some of my more recent medical expenses that include, but are not limited to, taking Lyfts to appointments when Matthias is unable to drive me, medications that were not covered by insurance, and therapies that were also not covered by insurance. Although $5,000 does not account for anywhere near all of our debt from medical costs, it would be a great help to get us on the path to financial stability again.
Having this help would mean a great deal to Matthias, Luiza, and I. When everything in our lives are chaotic, stressful, and overwhelming, taking any financial help we receive from family and friends, and putting it towards this debt, would be a huge burden lifted off of our shoulders.
I hope you’ll consider contributing to this fundraiser. Please reach out with any questions you may have!
Thank you!
Love,
Lauren
Co-organizers (2)
Lauren Balogh
Organizer
St. Paul, MN
Mathias Balogh
Co-organizer