Insulin is Life for Lisa

Hi there! My name is Lisa and I’ve been an insulin-dependent diabetic since the day after Easter when I was 7. This year, that means I will have been diabetic for 49 years. I’ve been lucky to live this long, in large part due to health insurance provided by employers.

In December, I was laid off for the second time in 3 years. During that period I had three hospitalizations that included amputation of part of one foot (twice) and a diagnosis of sepsis and congestive heart failure - and a kidney stone I’ve named Rocky. My rogue immune system left a cyst on my spleen all alone and went after healthy bile ducts instead. Quirky.

As of January 1, I lost insurance coverage and cannot afford coverage independently. I am running out of insulin although I do ration it. (Some insulin is better than no insulin because my pancreas doesn’t make any. Such a slacker.) I have applied for work, but have not been hired by any employer yet. I am trying.

A friend suggested I create this page in case you might like to help. I’m not expecting it, but I know I can’t afford to purchase it at non-prescription prices. I also have prescriptions for my heart and other conditions so I take 10 pills per day. I am a walking maraca.

I live alone and my closest relative is my daughter, a young grad student who lives 15 hours away by car. She doesn’t have a vehicle, so that’s a bit tricky. She’s too young to be burdened with this, and most college students don’t have the resources to pay for medical costs for their parent, nor should they be expected to when they’re sharing an apartment with roommates and walking to work in freezing temperatures during the winter.

So, that’s my story. I’d like to be here to see my daughter complete her Masters degree. My health is compromised and I’ve outlived the average age of my birth father (21) and my birth mother (62), but I would like to make it a bit longer. I’ve made peace with the reality that I won’t be here 2-3 weeks after the insulin is gone, and I can’t afford to be hospitalized again or pay for even more prescriptions as a result.

If you would like to help, please know how incredibly grateful I will be for your kindness. If you cannot, thank you for reading and please think of your loved ones who have chronic illnesses. The illness may seem invisible when you observe them, but people like me are far more physically vulnerable and fragile than they look.

Please take care of yourself and one another.

Thank you! ❤️