Hi, my name is Kayce and I'm fundraising for my friends Sonia and Mallory.

Tl;dr - Sonia and her wife Mallory need to afford rent and medical bills that have already started rolling in from an abscessed tooth (see long version below for medical details). I want to help my longtime friends recover from this scary experience. Help me prevent this health emergency from becoming a financial one by donating and sharing. Thank you so much!

On Friday 2/17, Sonia bit down in her sleep, injuring her tooth. The next day, Saturday, she started experiencing quite a bit of pain and scheduled a dentist appointment for Monday. By Sunday she was starting to have high fevers, escalating pain, and swelling around her jaw, so she scheduled a telehealth appointment and was prescribed antibiotics.

Monday, she saw the dentist who prescribed more antibiotics and cautioned her to go to the emergency room if the swelling didn't improve or got worse. By Wednesday morning, when the swelling had now spread down to her throat making it hard for her to swallow, Mallory took Sonia to the E.R. at Huntington Memorial Hospital.

In the E.R., Sonia was immediately given IV antibiotics and seen by an ENT who listened to her symptoms and felt confident he knew what was happening. He said it was Ludwig's Angina, which is a type of cellulitis caused by an injured tooth that becomes infected. It can cause swelling of the tongue and neck that cuts off breathing and is a life-threatening emergency (and is excruciatingly painful)! This is what happened to Sonia on Wednesday 2/22 and lead to emergency surgery to remove as much of the infected tissue as possible. She received IV antibiotics for the next five days while in the hospital.

On Saturday 2/25, Sonia had a peripherally inserted central catheter, or a PICC line, inserted into her arm so that she could continue to receive high-dose antibiotics from home, and was discharged Sunday.

Since that day, Sonia has been receiving daily doses of antibiotics via her PICC line, which she has affectionately named Pixie. She was told not to lift more than 10 lbs--a little tough when you're a full-time caregiver for two young kids. Sonia went right back to her job watching her young nephews on March 1 without much recovery time.

So that brings us to today, 3/10. Sonia just finished IV antibiotics but will continue to need oral antibiotic treatment for another week. Meanwhile, she and Mallory have already started to receive the first bills. The bill for the dentist is $3,000, for which they have set up a payment plan, but even so, needed an extension on their March rent to make ends meet. They have insurance, but we anticipate more big bills for her emergency surgery, hospital stay, prescriptions, and home health care. Additionally, Sonia missed 6 days of work and Mallory missed 2.

I have been friends with Sonia and Mallory for 10+ years and know how hard they work. They would never ask for help for themselves, but my own experience with outrageous medical bills made me want to help them in any way I can. Sonia needs to be able to focus on getting well. Stress from financial strain is not helpful. Funds will be used to help cover medical bills and March rent. I set the initial goal at $5,000 to cover known costs, so far, but will likely have to raise the goal as additional bills come in. Any amount you are able to contribute is so appreciated and, even if you cannot, sharing is always welcomed!