Hope for Amanda: Help fund private insurance
Amanda desperately needs our help. For the last three years, she's been fighting for her life against a health care system that keeps failing her.
To give you some context:
The impact of chronic illness was first apparent in Amanda's life in 2012, when she underwent brain surgery at the age of 24 following a diagnosis of a pituitary tumor. Some may assume that this experience could shake someone to the core, leaving them paralyzed in fear. That was not the case for Amanda. Despite being afraid, her faith never wavered. After overcoming surgery and all complications, she decided it was her life's mission to share her story and educate others about the importance of the mind-body connection while also helping to break the stigma that is associated with mental health.
Amanda worked in the human services field, supporting others while showing them the utmost respect during their mental health struggles. All of those she encountered were inspired by her belief that anyone can overcome trauma and accomplish anything they set their minds to.
In 2018, Amanda's mission of advocating for mental health continued. She moved to Boston to pursue her studies in Neuroscience at Harvard University in order to increase her knowledge of the connection between the brain and our mental and physical health. During her time at Harvard, she founded #ChangeTheNorm, a nonprofit organization with the mission to actively work to change societal norms (attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors) associated with mental health, and the goal to eliminate mental health stigma while encouraging help-seeking behaviors in effort to reduce suffering.
In 2019, just as #ChangeTheNorm began to take off in the community, Amanda was struck with devastating news once again...
After numerous hospitalizations for intractable migraines, adrenal crisis, cysts in her nasopharynx and kidney, a lesion on her pituitary system, and the inability to get out of bed, Amanda's MRI revealed a new tumor that is touching her hypothalamus. All doctors and specialists could not explain her range of complex symptoms. Amanda knew she would once again need to put on her armor as she fought for her life, striving to return to normal functioning and get back to work.
As her symptoms increased, she was forced to resign from her position as Founder of her non-profit organization, withdraw from her studies, and stop working as a therapist. Furthermore, the majority of her medical bills were not covered by her insurance, resulting in mounting costs and debt.
A Go Fund Me was created in 2019 to help Amanda pay her medical bills and obtain the treatment she deserved and needed, Although things appeared to be slightly improving for her, time would only reveal that she still had a lot of fighting to do...
From 2019-2021, Amanda was hospitalized more than 20+ times, for weeks at a time, as doctors brushed off her complex symptoms as just "anxiety," or "too complicated" and denying her treatment as a result. Several hospitals turned her down due to not accepting out-of-state Medicaid, forcing her to pay for treatment on her own with no income. On top of all this, Amanda applied for SS disability multiple times, and was denied each time.
Amanda thought she had finally received her answer when Medicaid approved her treatment at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio to begin January 10th, 2022. After waiting for the treatment she desperately needed at The Cleveland Clinic for five months, just one week before her treatment date, she received a call from The Cleveland Clinic (1/5/2022) informing her that they will not accept her Medicaid, thereby denying her the treatment that she needs and deserves.
Even though Amanda desperately reassured Cleveland Clinic's financial team that her Medicaid would pay for her treatment, they refuse to accept any money from her insurance company. In addition, despite her doctor having recommended this treatment, Cleveland Clinic states that it is not necessary right now. They advise Amanda that if she still wants this treatment, she must pay for it herself.
Amanda was informed that out-of-pocket rates amount to $212 every 15 minutes per physician. To put this in perspective for you, Amanda would need to see four doctors for approximately three hours each day under this program, resulting in an estimated payment of $60,000 that she would have to pay up front. Remember, the $60k estimate is just for the doctors' time; it does not include the treatment itself...
Once again, Amanda feels as though she has been utterly defeated by the health care system, forced to start over in her fight for survival. She has been trapped by this system for far too long. All she wants is to get back to work. She needs our help again!
Let’s help Amanda fund a private health insurance policy so that she has access to the best doctors, treatment facilities, and hospitals available to give her the best chance to overcome her chronic illness and return to work.
Any contribution will be greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute at this time, please share the heck out of this Go Fund Me and help Amanda go viral on Tik Tok (@eliza.0416) by liking and sharing her video about this to spread the word.
