Help Hillary pay for life-saving medication

Hi, my name is Kimberly Nicholson and I am trying to raise money to help my friend Hillary Lassiter pay an outstanding copayment for a life-saving medication so she can continue her lupus treatment.

My friend Hillary has lupus that will not go into remission. When not controlled with medications, it attacks her heart and other primary organs. Every lupus case is different and hers is life threatening when not under control. My earliest memories of Hillary were of her fighting Pericarditis, a severe infection of the sac surrounding the heart. Since then I have watched Hillary bounce through a variety of doctors who have tried many treatments to control her lupus without success. Her most recent medication prescribed in September is Cytoxin, which is a weekly chemotherapy infusion treatment. The health insurance initially denied coverage as it is primarily used for treatment of breast cancer. After much back and forth, the insurance stated they would cover the Cytoxin for treatment of her lupus if Hillary administered the weekly injections at home forgoing the typical office visit involved with each treatment. Hillary proceeded with this plan, but after a couple of injections received a bill from the specialty pharmacy for a little over $10,000, which she did not have. At this point the pharmacy refused to fill additional prescriptions and Hillary was forced to discontinue her treatment. For months she has been at the mercy of the pharmacy and insurance company. The final resolution, with the help of a copay assistance program, was reduction of the outstanding medication copayment from $10,000 to $2,400. The pharmacy will not allow a payment plan. Hillary must clear the outstanding balance and be prepared to pay copayments moving forward in order to obtain the needed chemotherapy medication.

Hillary has already depleted her health FSA for the year. It was used to cover medication and doctor copayments for her and her son Carter. Hillary takes 9 medications per day for conditions related to her lupus diagnosis and is under the direct care of many specialists, to include a cardiologist. Her precious son Carter has severe autism and requires at least 4 medications daily and also has specialists he sees to help manage his care. Hillary works full time for the State and is a single Mom carrying these burdens alone.

$2400 is needed to pay the outstanding balance for the Cytoxin, but in reality she needs additional help to continue this treatment. I set the goal for this Go Fund Me for $3000 to try and clear the outstanding balance and help with current prescriptions. These expenses are going to continue. Any help is appreciated. If every one of my friends gave only a little, it would be significant for Hillary. As many of you know, when you work full time there is not much in the way of assistance for people with major medical issues. I hope this touches your heart. She is a real person, her son is real, they are HERE in the U.S., she is working as hard as she can, and she needs our help. Thank you. Prayers for a full recovery or remission or a long-term solution for Hillary are welcomed.