Melissa Scott Medical Fund

Hi, my name is Melissa Scott. I am a freelance story artist, art instructor, and illustrator in central Texas. I am raising emergency funds to help pay for unexpected medical bills. The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!

The whole ordeal started in July 2022. For the past year, I have been dealing with constant abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, headaches, and other symptoms. I could barely eat, I was getting weaker, and I began to lose weight rapidly (around 30 lbs). I didn't know what was going on. All my lab tests were coming back normal. But the symptoms kept getting worse. I currently am having difficulty functioning at all and can only eat a small number of things.

On March 21st I found myself in the ER. I had collapsed at home that morning and my mom had to rush me to the emergency room. On April 5th I had an Endoscopy done and it was discovered that I had ulcers, a hietal hernia, and a polyp on my esophagus. They removed the polyp and performed 3 different pathology tests to make sure it wasn't cancerous. I am pleased to say I am cancer free, thank God. I was prescribed a medication and told I would need to do another Endoscopy in 2 months to check for improvement.

At this point, I was already hurting financially. For every other procedure I've had done in the past years I had health insurance to cover me. But I currently DO NOT have health insurance. And to my dismay, this was not the end of my ordeal.

Fast forward to May. My stomach was healing but my side was killing me. I felt like I had a hot ball of lead in my ribs (and it still does). I then had to have a HIDA scan to check my gallbladder. Not the most fun test. It was painful. The results came back that my gallbladder was only working at 18% and the only option would be surgery. I met with the surgeon, a really nice guy, and he will be performing my surgery June 16th.

Note: This date may change.

UPDATE: SURGERY JUNE 23RD

This is not my first surgery. I believe it is my 6th. I have a 20-year history of endometriosis, adenomyosis, chocolate cysts, and interstitial cystitis; and I have the scars to prove it. I'm not afraid of surgery in the slightest. To me, it is just a nice nap and a new scar. It's the bills that terrify me. Even when I had health insurance the bills were high. And now I face this surgery with no insurance. I feel like I'm about to face a dragon with a paper sword. I must pay $8158.20 upfront before the surgery. The surgery center has no payment plan options; however, it is still the cheapest option. My estimate from St. David's was $44,000!!! I also have $5215.07 of medical bills still yet to be paid. And I still don't know how much the anesthesiologist will be, and I am definitely going to want one of those!

UPDATE: New estimate from St . David's is $6099. Possibility of monthly payments or further financial assistance. I will be having surgery there since it is about $700 less than the Williamson Center.

UPDATE #2: Just found out that I will owe half of the hospital bill tomorrow. $3050 DUE

So now that you know my story, I am asking you for help. I'm calling on you, my friends, the church, and good Samaritans to lend me your aid. I will be doing everything I can on my end to get some financial assistance, but a lot of what I owe has already been discounted since I am self-pay. I also promise that I will pay your generosity forward in the future.

I understand times are tough all around. So please don't feel guilty if you cannot give. Prayer is also greatly accepted. Yet, please, even if it's just a few bucks, it will be most appreciated. I am in desperate need, down to my last penny. I have to do this surgery and I cannot put it off until I get insurance. I am getting worse by the day. Gondor calls for aid. Will Rohan answer?

May God bless you all.

-Melissa L. Scott

Itemized List of Bills

Urgent - Capital Surgeons Group - Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: $1,324.20 PAID

NEW: Assistant Surgeon Bill: $861.00

Williamson Surgery Center: $6,834.00 (canceled)

St. David's Surgical Hospital (scheduled): $6099.52 / $3050 of it DUE June 23rd (First Half PAID)

Urgent - Anesthesiologist: $1426.07 Due October

St. David's ER: $725.00 (Monthly $91)

Texas Digestive Disease Consultants: $1667.00 (Received 70% off = $500.10) PAID

Clinical Pathology Associates: $51.40 PAID

ARA CT Scan:$1337.00 Discount Given: $668.50 PAID

Austin Gastroenterology - Endoscopy: $1209.67 (Monthly Payments of $201.61 x 6 months) $201.61 PAID

Austin Gastroenterology Anesthesia Associates: $225.00 PAID

Future Endoscopy with Anesthesia: $1,014.33 (est) (on hold for now) Postponed

PS: If by some miracle I make my goal, anything over the $12000 will be used to pay back my parents for all the help they've given me so far, any other medical debt I accrued over the past year, recovery of lost wages while I was sick, and for any unforeseen medical bills that tend to pop up uninvited when this is all over. Again, thank you.