Michele’s Surgery and Health Fight
Donation protected
Hi all! I wanted to take some time to share my health story, what I have been going through and to ask for your help. I have been sick for quite awhile now, which has caused me a lot of pain and grief, including not being able to work. Now I very unexpectedly have to have surgery that will keep me out of work even longer. With that being said I decided I wanted to share my entire story as a hope that it will give some insight and understanding as to why I am now reaching out for help. Thank you in advance for reading! :-)
Chapter 1 - The Saga Began Last Year
Over the past year or so I have struggled tremendously with my health. I have been constantly sick and too more doctors and doctor appointments than I can count. Not to mention all of the medical procedures, both noninvasive and invasive, the hours of blood work and the Urgent Care and Emergency Room visits. This has been hard on me in every direction; psychically, mentally and financially.
Back in January when I first started going to the doctor. The answers were always the same. They would do blood work, then send me home with some generic diagnosis, a prescription for whatever drug they thought fit and a reminder that I was anemic. I was in out of the office or urgent care throughout most of the year. It had started to get so bad that I was having a hard time doing anything psychical. I was exhausted and fatigued to an extreme. My breathing was labored. I would lose my breath simply walking to the car. I had constant chest pains and muscle aches. This list goes on. In the beginning of July I passed out, fell and split open up my chin. This finally got the doctor's attention to do something more. Since then I have seen 4 specialists.
Chapter 2 - The Diagnosing Begins - Severe Anemia- Definitely. Lupus or other Auto Immune?
I started seeing a Rheumatologist in July who began testing me for Lupus and other Auto Immune diseases. Unfortunately, when the blood work came back all that testing had to be put on hold. My anemia was so severe that it had to be treated before anything else. In August I was sent to a Hematologist. I found out that my body was no longer producing Oxygen to my red blood cells. They were no longer red, but opaque in color due to lack of Oxygen. My organs were laboring to function, my levels had hit rock bottom and that my body was losing oxygen fast. I had to go through 6 weeks of Iron IV Infusions that were long and painful with harsh side effects. I learned that my body does not absorb Iron, protein or B12 from food or supplements, but the iron deficiency is not the only cause of my anemia. The infusions helped get me to a safe enough point to see the next specialist to try and find the cause.
Chapter 3 - The What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong - Add Ruptured Ulcer to the List
In mid September I went to a Gastroenterologist. They scheduled both an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy.. While waiting for those procedures to happen, I was admitted to the hospital during an ER visit for throwing up blood. They did a CT scan of my abdomen and the ER mentioned seeing a mass, but assured me it would be found during one of my upcoming procures. The Endoscopy showed that I had a ruptured ulcer which was later determined to be caused from long exposure anemia. There was no mention of the mass I assumed it would be found during the Colonoscopy. A few days later I received a call from a Gynecologist and now fourth specialist that my current doctor had requested an appointment. At that time I did not even know why the appointment was made.
Chapter 4 - The #4 Specialist
In the beginning of October I had the office visit with the Gynecologist. She scheduled me for an Ultrasound and a Pelvic Ultrasound. In the meantime, I have the Colonoscopy done and was told all looked normal. The waiting in between all of these procedures to get either no answer or this is not the cause answer gets really disheartening. A week after that I have the Ultrasounds done. I met with the doctor immediately after and she explained that I have a tumor that looks to be 4.5-5 centimeters in size. It is growing in the lining of my uterine wall. She was very honest and told me that normally based on the imaging she can tell if it is cancerous or not. My tumor, however, is larger than what would she would assume to be a fibroid and does not look the same. I won't know if it is cancerous until after it is removed. Due to the size and location of the tumor I will have to have a full Hysterectomy done as well. It was hard enough to hear the news about the tumor, but another surgery. Yikes. As a woman to know what it means to have a Hysterectomy makes it even more difficult.
Chapter 5 - Surgery Date Confirmed: Goodbye Tumor Plus Complete Hysterectomy
That brings me to now. My surgery is scheduled for November 18th. I have been out of work since mid September due to complications and will continue to remain out until after I am recovered from surgery. If everything goes as planned with the surgeries it will be a 4-6 week recovery time. I will also need to go through another set of IV Infusions after surgery to continue to combat the anemia.
My goal is to try and remain as positive as possible and hope for the best case outcomes all that end with a cancer free scenario.
Why I Need Your Help
Aside from the emotional and physical toll, there has been a immense financial toll as well. Time out of work has meant no paychecks. And the many co-pays, deductibles and medications add up quickly. If you know me asking for help,especially publicly is the last thing I want to do. But I need to be honest about where I am at and this long and drawn out story is where I am right now. Any help is greatly appreciated. Love and positive vibes as well. I still have a long way to go and it will be a while before I am able to get back to work.
Thank you so much for reading my story!
Chapter 1 - The Saga Began Last Year
Over the past year or so I have struggled tremendously with my health. I have been constantly sick and too more doctors and doctor appointments than I can count. Not to mention all of the medical procedures, both noninvasive and invasive, the hours of blood work and the Urgent Care and Emergency Room visits. This has been hard on me in every direction; psychically, mentally and financially.
Back in January when I first started going to the doctor. The answers were always the same. They would do blood work, then send me home with some generic diagnosis, a prescription for whatever drug they thought fit and a reminder that I was anemic. I was in out of the office or urgent care throughout most of the year. It had started to get so bad that I was having a hard time doing anything psychical. I was exhausted and fatigued to an extreme. My breathing was labored. I would lose my breath simply walking to the car. I had constant chest pains and muscle aches. This list goes on. In the beginning of July I passed out, fell and split open up my chin. This finally got the doctor's attention to do something more. Since then I have seen 4 specialists.
Chapter 2 - The Diagnosing Begins - Severe Anemia- Definitely. Lupus or other Auto Immune?
I started seeing a Rheumatologist in July who began testing me for Lupus and other Auto Immune diseases. Unfortunately, when the blood work came back all that testing had to be put on hold. My anemia was so severe that it had to be treated before anything else. In August I was sent to a Hematologist. I found out that my body was no longer producing Oxygen to my red blood cells. They were no longer red, but opaque in color due to lack of Oxygen. My organs were laboring to function, my levels had hit rock bottom and that my body was losing oxygen fast. I had to go through 6 weeks of Iron IV Infusions that were long and painful with harsh side effects. I learned that my body does not absorb Iron, protein or B12 from food or supplements, but the iron deficiency is not the only cause of my anemia. The infusions helped get me to a safe enough point to see the next specialist to try and find the cause.
Chapter 3 - The What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong - Add Ruptured Ulcer to the List
In mid September I went to a Gastroenterologist. They scheduled both an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy.. While waiting for those procedures to happen, I was admitted to the hospital during an ER visit for throwing up blood. They did a CT scan of my abdomen and the ER mentioned seeing a mass, but assured me it would be found during one of my upcoming procures. The Endoscopy showed that I had a ruptured ulcer which was later determined to be caused from long exposure anemia. There was no mention of the mass I assumed it would be found during the Colonoscopy. A few days later I received a call from a Gynecologist and now fourth specialist that my current doctor had requested an appointment. At that time I did not even know why the appointment was made.
Chapter 4 - The #4 Specialist
In the beginning of October I had the office visit with the Gynecologist. She scheduled me for an Ultrasound and a Pelvic Ultrasound. In the meantime, I have the Colonoscopy done and was told all looked normal. The waiting in between all of these procedures to get either no answer or this is not the cause answer gets really disheartening. A week after that I have the Ultrasounds done. I met with the doctor immediately after and she explained that I have a tumor that looks to be 4.5-5 centimeters in size. It is growing in the lining of my uterine wall. She was very honest and told me that normally based on the imaging she can tell if it is cancerous or not. My tumor, however, is larger than what would she would assume to be a fibroid and does not look the same. I won't know if it is cancerous until after it is removed. Due to the size and location of the tumor I will have to have a full Hysterectomy done as well. It was hard enough to hear the news about the tumor, but another surgery. Yikes. As a woman to know what it means to have a Hysterectomy makes it even more difficult.
Chapter 5 - Surgery Date Confirmed: Goodbye Tumor Plus Complete Hysterectomy
That brings me to now. My surgery is scheduled for November 18th. I have been out of work since mid September due to complications and will continue to remain out until after I am recovered from surgery. If everything goes as planned with the surgeries it will be a 4-6 week recovery time. I will also need to go through another set of IV Infusions after surgery to continue to combat the anemia.
My goal is to try and remain as positive as possible and hope for the best case outcomes all that end with a cancer free scenario.
Why I Need Your Help
Aside from the emotional and physical toll, there has been a immense financial toll as well. Time out of work has meant no paychecks. And the many co-pays, deductibles and medications add up quickly. If you know me asking for help,especially publicly is the last thing I want to do. But I need to be honest about where I am at and this long and drawn out story is where I am right now. Any help is greatly appreciated. Love and positive vibes as well. I still have a long way to go and it will be a while before I am able to get back to work.
Thank you so much for reading my story!
Organizer
Michele Baldwin
Organizer
Malta, NY