Help HayHay's Kidneys Heal
Donation protected
For those of you that know Hayley, know that she is not usually one to let something medical stop her from living her life. She is the first person to give you the shirt of her back, a place to stay, or whatever is in her pocket to help you out. She is not someone who asks for help or thinks that they deserve help in any way. Her zest for community and love for her friends and self made family outshines the adversity she has faced in her life.
Unfortunately, she has hit a really rough patch of life and now it is time that we, as her community and family, see how we can help her get back on her feet after her diagnosis with a dual kidney malfunction.
So what happened?
Just two years ago she was treated for a rare lung condition that decreased her lung capacity by half and caused breathing problems in her daily life since 2011. She was lucky enough to be admitted into a medical trial to help clear her lungs of dead tissue after a severe ecoli infection from a trip back in 2011 was exacerbated by being attacked by the Dakota Access Pipeline "hired security" while she was providing medical treatment to people of the Standing Rock Reservation in November 2016.
In December of 2018, her home was broken into by a former roommate who assaulted her and her vehicle, leaving her with neck pain and bruising, lacerations, and a chipped tooth, as well as severe paranoia due to online stalking and harassment from that person. This ordeal was followed with leaving her place of employment, moving to a new home, and losing her health insurance due to the job change.
She thought she would be okay in the three months it was going to take to get back health insurance when her significant other would be getting his benefits and she would be put on his insurance once it goes through but it ended up being the first of June so now that might not be until July.
She is still healing from all that trauma, her lung treatment, as well of years of living with the lung issue when in March of this year Hayley began having a rough time dealing with a spontaneous case of iritis and Posterior Vitreous Detachment in both eyes. She and the doctor thought it was a simple case with no long term repercussions but it took some serious turns when she needed to have a strict regime of steroid eye drops and rest after she couldn't be outside for a long period of time or drive while on the drops. She was also taking ibuprofen to help with the migraines that came with it all. We found out later that this started a severe dehydration issue in her body that started the downfall of her kidneys.
Just when she thought the eye treatment was working, she was hit with what looked like the flu. She was laid out for a week and not eating. After her fever and chills stopped a week later, she was still not eating, incredibly lethargic (sleeping 12-18 hours a day), had increasingly painful migraines, severe back pain, and was nauseous all the time.
When she didn't bounce back immediately, we though she had an extended case of the flu. She was taken into the ER after dropping severe weight incredibly fast, not being able to hold down food, and uncontrollable dehydration and vomiting.
She was admitted into the hospital on site with severe kidney malfunction (which presents with back pain, hypertension, dehydration, and lethargy) and an stress fracture in her back. She was kept in the hospital for 5 days for monitoring and testing.
Her team of doctors grew each day and it felt like we were in our own personal version of House. All they kept saying was "we know your kidneys aren't taking in water, but we don't know why". After 5 days her creatinine levels dropped from 3 to 2.8 (they are supposed to be between .84-1) and she was sent home to rest. She is ordered to be at the renal clinic once a week for blood work to check her stats. According to the doctors, the "tubes" in her kidneys are starting to show signs of regenerating after complete dual sided malfunction and it will take months (at least) for them to start functioning properly again. If they don't get a good head start, she will need biopsies and potentially dialysis.
Since she is as strong willed as she is, she is having a hard time taking down time and getting the rest she needs. Most of that is due to the fact that she now works for an amazing nonprofit that she loves but is trying to figure out how to pay all these medical bills on a nonprofit salary. She is having a hard time asking for help so we started this page to get her back on her feet. Being that this has been 6 months of her trying hard to get her feet on the ground, she has done a pretty great job of keeping her head up and trying to stay positive.
She loves her job with Colorado Young Leaders and is trying her best to stay the positive energy she is for the students involved in this amazing program. Giving all her personal time and energy to making sure they are able to give 100% to their service projects. Obviously, this job has kept her mind focused on her life goals of service and community so she is working harder than she should (as she is trying to heal) to make sure it is a success.
She received her medical bills for her hospital stay and it is totaling over 18K for treatment that left her leaving the hospital without a full diagnosis or recovery plan. Each renal doctor appt is around $700 and she could use help from her community in this time of need. We are hoping to at least get some of her renal appts paid for so she can go as often as she needs without stressing about it each time she walks in. She applied for assistance but was told she doesn't qualify for full help but they are giving her a discount of around 8k.
Anything you can do to help is appreciated. We are putting this money right into her medical treatments so she can finally get the rest she needs and focus on getting back to the happy and bubbly Hayley we all know and love!
Unfortunately, she has hit a really rough patch of life and now it is time that we, as her community and family, see how we can help her get back on her feet after her diagnosis with a dual kidney malfunction.
So what happened?
Just two years ago she was treated for a rare lung condition that decreased her lung capacity by half and caused breathing problems in her daily life since 2011. She was lucky enough to be admitted into a medical trial to help clear her lungs of dead tissue after a severe ecoli infection from a trip back in 2011 was exacerbated by being attacked by the Dakota Access Pipeline "hired security" while she was providing medical treatment to people of the Standing Rock Reservation in November 2016.
In December of 2018, her home was broken into by a former roommate who assaulted her and her vehicle, leaving her with neck pain and bruising, lacerations, and a chipped tooth, as well as severe paranoia due to online stalking and harassment from that person. This ordeal was followed with leaving her place of employment, moving to a new home, and losing her health insurance due to the job change.
She thought she would be okay in the three months it was going to take to get back health insurance when her significant other would be getting his benefits and she would be put on his insurance once it goes through but it ended up being the first of June so now that might not be until July.
She is still healing from all that trauma, her lung treatment, as well of years of living with the lung issue when in March of this year Hayley began having a rough time dealing with a spontaneous case of iritis and Posterior Vitreous Detachment in both eyes. She and the doctor thought it was a simple case with no long term repercussions but it took some serious turns when she needed to have a strict regime of steroid eye drops and rest after she couldn't be outside for a long period of time or drive while on the drops. She was also taking ibuprofen to help with the migraines that came with it all. We found out later that this started a severe dehydration issue in her body that started the downfall of her kidneys.
Just when she thought the eye treatment was working, she was hit with what looked like the flu. She was laid out for a week and not eating. After her fever and chills stopped a week later, she was still not eating, incredibly lethargic (sleeping 12-18 hours a day), had increasingly painful migraines, severe back pain, and was nauseous all the time.
When she didn't bounce back immediately, we though she had an extended case of the flu. She was taken into the ER after dropping severe weight incredibly fast, not being able to hold down food, and uncontrollable dehydration and vomiting.
She was admitted into the hospital on site with severe kidney malfunction (which presents with back pain, hypertension, dehydration, and lethargy) and an stress fracture in her back. She was kept in the hospital for 5 days for monitoring and testing.
Her team of doctors grew each day and it felt like we were in our own personal version of House. All they kept saying was "we know your kidneys aren't taking in water, but we don't know why". After 5 days her creatinine levels dropped from 3 to 2.8 (they are supposed to be between .84-1) and she was sent home to rest. She is ordered to be at the renal clinic once a week for blood work to check her stats. According to the doctors, the "tubes" in her kidneys are starting to show signs of regenerating after complete dual sided malfunction and it will take months (at least) for them to start functioning properly again. If they don't get a good head start, she will need biopsies and potentially dialysis.
Since she is as strong willed as she is, she is having a hard time taking down time and getting the rest she needs. Most of that is due to the fact that she now works for an amazing nonprofit that she loves but is trying to figure out how to pay all these medical bills on a nonprofit salary. She is having a hard time asking for help so we started this page to get her back on her feet. Being that this has been 6 months of her trying hard to get her feet on the ground, she has done a pretty great job of keeping her head up and trying to stay positive.
She loves her job with Colorado Young Leaders and is trying her best to stay the positive energy she is for the students involved in this amazing program. Giving all her personal time and energy to making sure they are able to give 100% to their service projects. Obviously, this job has kept her mind focused on her life goals of service and community so she is working harder than she should (as she is trying to heal) to make sure it is a success.
She received her medical bills for her hospital stay and it is totaling over 18K for treatment that left her leaving the hospital without a full diagnosis or recovery plan. Each renal doctor appt is around $700 and she could use help from her community in this time of need. We are hoping to at least get some of her renal appts paid for so she can go as often as she needs without stressing about it each time she walks in. She applied for assistance but was told she doesn't qualify for full help but they are giving her a discount of around 8k.
Anything you can do to help is appreciated. We are putting this money right into her medical treatments so she can finally get the rest she needs and focus on getting back to the happy and bubbly Hayley we all know and love!
Organizer
Friends of Hayley
Organizer
Denver, CO