Help Needed Getting to Mayo Clinic
Donation protected
Mayo Clinic means going to the #1 hospital in the nation and possibly finally getting the diagnosis that hasn't been discovered yet.
The funds donated will all go towards these things exactly:
- In order to create an appointment with the Mayo Clinic, I have learned they do not accept my insurance. So we will be considered self-pay. I need exactly $5,000 to schedule the appointment. The referral is good for 90 days so I must come up with the $5,000 within the 90-day time frame. The $5,000 upfront pre-service deposit will cover the initial tests that the doctors are going to do and the consult. It will not cover any additional testing they may require. That will cost extra. We will need travel expenses as we will be going from Lexington, South Carolina to Rochester, Minnesota. We will most likely be staying for about a week in order for all of the testing and appointments that will be required. We will also need to count on lodging, vehicle rental, food, missed work, childcare, and extra medical expenses. That is why we are asking for $15,000. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask.
***Now a little about me***
My name is Brittany Janzen and I am 30 years old. I have been married to my high school sweetheart Aaron for 12 years. We have 4 beautiful and crazy tornadoes, I mean kiddos together. I have been a stay-at-home momma to those wild creatures for 11 years now. Now I could go on and on about my beautiful family, but I should probably share why I am creating this GoFundMe Account. I apologize in advance for any miswording, I will reread this a million times but my brain will still miss probably a bunch of mistakes I have made.
Before that week in May of 2019 that I got sick, I was an active mom with my children. I drove them to and from school. I wrestled with my boys. I wore my youngest daughter in a baby carrier. Fast forward and I haven't been able to drive now in 2.5 years. My youngest daughter doesn't know her mother without a cane or a wheelchair. There is no more running around with my children outside or being the mom I once was. Even simple tasks such as housework have become difficult because I am unable to stand long to vacuum or cook dinner. Mayo Clinic means hope that I will get a diagnosis that will get me on a treatment plan so that I can get the help I need. And maybe, just maybe, I might be able to gain back a little bit of what I have lost over the years with my children.
***If you would like to read about my health journey, please continue reading***
- In May of 2019, I developed an infection on my face and head. When I was seen at Doctors Care for the infection because I didn't have a regular doctor, they gave me some antibiotics and told me to come back in 7 days if it wasn't any better. Well, seven days later, it turned out the simple infection wasn't so simple. I developed MRSA on my face and head and was sent to the hospital to have emergency surgery on my face because it was spreading causing cellulitis and also the risk of it spreading to my bloodstream or my brain.
- After recovering from surgery, I ended up getting a regular doctor to help manage my MRSA and get put on medications for it and so on. I ended up having to shave my hair to help manage the MRSA on my head. To this day, I still have to be careful because I am a MRSA carrier.
- A few months passed and I started noticing that I was having muscle spasms in my left foot. I mentioned it to my doctor and that began the series of tests and symptoms I would develop over the course of the next few years. The muscle spasms then moved to my right foot. I had to make a very difficult decision for my family and for myself to quit driving because due to the spasms occurring when driving, it made it unsafe to continue to keep driving. Then came weakness in my legs, tremors, pins and needles in my hands and legs, migraines, chronic back pain, unable to handle sitting for periods of time or standing, and so on and so forth... The diagnosis... Fibromyalgia.
- More time passes and I have memory problems and start forgetting how to say words, I start getting dizzy and falling down, I have more difficulty walking, extreme fatigue, and loss of appetite. Because of past health issues due to Endometriosis and PCOS, I ended up needing a hysterectomy in 2020.
- After having a Spine MRI completed, it was discovered that I have cysts in my right kidney. As of right now, nothing is going to be done about those after an ultrasound was completed and determined one was an Anechoic cyst measuring 9 mm and the other was an anechoic cyst measuring 1.5 cm. It was also determined that I have moderate thoracolumbar scoliosis and Degenerative Joint Disease (Osteoarthritis).
- In August of 2021, I started passing out (fainting) sometimes up to 4 times a day. Sometimes, I would get warning signs before I will pass out. The ringing of my ears, dryness of mouth, nausea, but other times... I will just drop. These symptoms out of everything I have been going through over the last few years caused great anxiety. I could be having an okay pain day and then the next thing I know, I am waking up from the ground with a sprained wrist and bruises all over my body. My next referral to a cardiologist gave me the answer I needed after some testing. Upon wearing a heart monitor and having it track my heart for 7 days it reported 5 symptomatic episodes, 2 of which were when I recorded passing out.
- In February of 2022, I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) due to my passing out and rise in heart rate when going from a sitting to a standing position. Because of this diagnosis and also other unexplained symptoms that I have had that my doctors and specialists just have not yet been able to figure out, I have been referred to the Mayo Clinic which brings us to today.
- Since May of 2019, I have had at least 80 appointments or hospital visits with more than 10 Doctors and over 100 different blood tests/x-rays/MRI's/and tests of all sorts.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book and considering not only helping me but also my family.
Much Love,
Brittany Janzen & Family
Co-organisers (2)
Brittany Janzen
Organiser
Lexington, SC
Aaron Janzen
Co-organiser