Annie's Medical Journey

Hello Everyone! I have many new faces with questions so I wanted to create a very brief TL:DR of my recent health journey/crises:

1. In the summer of 2022 I had a sudden emergency visit to ER (and then hospital) for sepsis. The doctors were concerned I may not recover and even brought in the E.O.L. staff to ask about a will and other arrangements.

2. Late Summer of 2022 I returned to a mostly normal state and moved to Mexico.

3. A few months later (in Mexico) I ended up back in the hospital twice for unexplainable issues resulting in feeling completely disoriented, dizzy, extremely high blood pressure and confusion - inability to speak or move at times - among other symptoms. I felt a "disconnect" between my body and mind, as if at any moment I would fail to stay alive. I had so many people helping me with picking up supplies and helping me with mundane tasks and getting me to appointments and scans - but no answers yet.

4. It was thought perhaps I had an aneurism or brain tumor so I did all kinds of testing, scans and bloodwork but no answers were found. I decided to come back to Austin and to my luck I was recommended to see a Ortho-spinologist to check my brain stem health and they discovered a very severe disruption to the part of my spine that is meant to protect my brain stem. It was in fact disconnecting my brain and body functions by cutting off the flow and also resulting in fluid building in my brain. I began treatment by going in 3x a week to have my spine shifted in order to protect my brain stem and drain fluid.

5. Fast forward to NOW (nearly 2 years later) and I have treatment about once a week to continue to drain the fluid from my brain and keep my brain stem in good health. At this point it affects my life very little (other than financial and time obligations) as long as I maintain my appointments. My body continues to amaze me and progress is being made towards needing appointments farther apart. I am back to thriving as much as possible and am SO GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL!

Feel free to read through my other updates for the full story and THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN for all the support. I would not be here with ya'll.

FINANCIAL UPDATE: I still have about 8k in medical debt (and have active monthly expenses of about $200 that have kept me from chipping away at my debt as quickly as I would like - insurance does not cover this treatment).

ORIGINAL POST:

Though I have tried to "handle" this on my own, I am now reaching out to my community for help. I am overwhelmed by the many unexpected medical expenses I have faced this year, primarily due to having had sepsis on May 27, 2022 (and residual health complications).

I do not have insurance as it is very expensive in the US (my last quote was around $300/month), and of course, I wasn't anticipating any of these medical crises. I am lucky to have received many "non-insured" discounts, which saved me close to $50,000!

All the funds I receive will be used solely for medical-related bills (hospital/ER visits, lab work, scans, medications, associated transportation costs, etc.), and I am more than happy to share receipts and bank statements upon request.

My current health status is much more stabilized, however, I am still dealing with consistently risky high blood pressure, blurry and distorted vision, dizziness, major fatigue, anxiety and random episodes of shaking, disorientation, ringing in ears, and feelings of losing consciousness (to name a few symptoms). I am currently taking a few medications so that my heart does not become too stressed in the process.

I want to recognize and honor the many hours and efforts that friends and family have already donated through transportation, translation, errands, and many other forms of help. Thank you all so so much for your love and support throughout this very confusing and exhausting time. I have been so grateful for my communities and cannot imagine doing this alone. I am not great at asking for help in any capacity, and these challenges have forced me to depend on others in ways that quite honestly feel very uncomfortable, but I am seeing the power of community in a whole new light and have learned many valuable lessons along the way, through this.

That being said, anything helps- and a little goes a long way, truly.

With so much love and humility,

Annie

PS. I have decided to move back to the Austin area until I fully understand what my body is trying to tell me or heal from. It is crying out more than ever, and I am going to respond by returning to the place I feel most at home.