Amanda Pete fights to recover from brain surgery
Donation protected
My sister Amanda is the 39 year old mother of two girls. Lidia, age 14, who is autistic and Kya is 12. Amanda began having migraine headaches in the fall of 2013. As time went by the migraines became more and more frequent. She was missing a lot of work as a result of them. She had to take intermittent medical leave in the fall of 2013 because she didn't want to lose her job. As time went by Amanda started becoming extremely fatigued no matter how much sleep she would get. She would fall asleep sitting up within minutes of sitting down and would have to lean against things when standing or she would fall over. Amanda was missing more and more work because of these symptoms.
In April 2014 Amanda was diagnosed with Obstructive Apnea. Once she was using a cpap machine at night the migraines became less frequent. However by the fall of 2015 she had to take a full medical leave from work as she started having short term memory loss and lessening cognitive skills. The fatigue had gotten worse. She was still unable to work. Her primary Doctor ordered test after test, but still found no explanations for why she was losing her memory, cognitive skills, and having chronic exhaustion. Amanda was running out of time to return to work from medical leave.
In February of 2016 Amanda was terminated from her job for using all available medical leave time and she was still unable to return to work. Losing her job and being unable to help support her family, Amanda fell into Depression and left her feeling helpless. She continued to go to the Doctor for multiple tests and held onto hope that they would find answers.
Unfortunately Amanda continued to get worse and she started having Vertigo and vision issues frequently. She had developed severe Anxiety and began having panic attacks. She would go places she had been to thousands of times, but forget where she was or how she got there. She would not remember names or faces of people she knew. She would return home from the grocery store in a state of emotional and physical exhaustion. Taking naps almost immediately after getting food put away, not because she wanted to, but because she had to.
Amanda eventually had to give up going to the Doctor because the bills kept coming, but they had no money to pay them. Her husband works a full time job, but it is not enough to pay all of their bills. They maxed out their credit just to buy groceries and necessities because there was no other choice. Their health insurance is expensive, doesn't cover much, and they don't qualify for state medical insurance as they are just a few dollars above the poverty line in order to qualify.
Amanda continued suffering with all of the symptoms listed above. She tried to bring in an income to help support her family by selling items online, but her cognitive function, memory issues, and constant fatigue made it impossible.
In the fall of 2018 Amanda started having new symptoms. She started having frequent muscle spasms and twitching in her hands and legs. She started having numbness in her face and extremities. She had lost vision in both eyes for several minutes on several occasions. She had no choice, but to go to the Doctor again. This time her primary Doctor saw these new symptoms as a very big clue and possibly the answer to what was happening to Amanda. the Doctor believed Amanda had Multiple Sclerosis. One way to find out for sure was to have an MRA. However the medical facility needed Amanda to pay up front before she could have the MRA due to her having too much medical debt. Amanda had no money to pay. The only thing Amanda had left was a small retirement plan she had opened so many years ago with plans to see retirement someday. She cashed it in and used the money to pay for the MRA she had on 04/16/2019. The MRA discovered something very unexpected.
Amanda has three unruptured brain aneurysms. She was referred to the neurovascular specialist and has underwent a cerebral angiogram. She must have two separate surgeries in order to repair the aneurysms in an attempt to prevent any of them rupturing. The Doctor wants to do further testing to find out what the cause is for all her symptoms as the aneurysms are not what is causing them.
Amanda is in need of financial support to be able to afford the surgeries that she will need to repair her brain aneurysms. She is a young mother with a family that needs her to get better.
NO AMOUNT is too small and any money raised is very much appreciated and will truly be a blessing for Amanda and her family. Thank you for your love & support.
In April 2014 Amanda was diagnosed with Obstructive Apnea. Once she was using a cpap machine at night the migraines became less frequent. However by the fall of 2015 she had to take a full medical leave from work as she started having short term memory loss and lessening cognitive skills. The fatigue had gotten worse. She was still unable to work. Her primary Doctor ordered test after test, but still found no explanations for why she was losing her memory, cognitive skills, and having chronic exhaustion. Amanda was running out of time to return to work from medical leave.
In February of 2016 Amanda was terminated from her job for using all available medical leave time and she was still unable to return to work. Losing her job and being unable to help support her family, Amanda fell into Depression and left her feeling helpless. She continued to go to the Doctor for multiple tests and held onto hope that they would find answers.
Unfortunately Amanda continued to get worse and she started having Vertigo and vision issues frequently. She had developed severe Anxiety and began having panic attacks. She would go places she had been to thousands of times, but forget where she was or how she got there. She would not remember names or faces of people she knew. She would return home from the grocery store in a state of emotional and physical exhaustion. Taking naps almost immediately after getting food put away, not because she wanted to, but because she had to.
Amanda eventually had to give up going to the Doctor because the bills kept coming, but they had no money to pay them. Her husband works a full time job, but it is not enough to pay all of their bills. They maxed out their credit just to buy groceries and necessities because there was no other choice. Their health insurance is expensive, doesn't cover much, and they don't qualify for state medical insurance as they are just a few dollars above the poverty line in order to qualify.
Amanda continued suffering with all of the symptoms listed above. She tried to bring in an income to help support her family by selling items online, but her cognitive function, memory issues, and constant fatigue made it impossible.
In the fall of 2018 Amanda started having new symptoms. She started having frequent muscle spasms and twitching in her hands and legs. She started having numbness in her face and extremities. She had lost vision in both eyes for several minutes on several occasions. She had no choice, but to go to the Doctor again. This time her primary Doctor saw these new symptoms as a very big clue and possibly the answer to what was happening to Amanda. the Doctor believed Amanda had Multiple Sclerosis. One way to find out for sure was to have an MRA. However the medical facility needed Amanda to pay up front before she could have the MRA due to her having too much medical debt. Amanda had no money to pay. The only thing Amanda had left was a small retirement plan she had opened so many years ago with plans to see retirement someday. She cashed it in and used the money to pay for the MRA she had on 04/16/2019. The MRA discovered something very unexpected.
Amanda has three unruptured brain aneurysms. She was referred to the neurovascular specialist and has underwent a cerebral angiogram. She must have two separate surgeries in order to repair the aneurysms in an attempt to prevent any of them rupturing. The Doctor wants to do further testing to find out what the cause is for all her symptoms as the aneurysms are not what is causing them.
Amanda is in need of financial support to be able to afford the surgeries that she will need to repair her brain aneurysms. She is a young mother with a family that needs her to get better.
NO AMOUNT is too small and any money raised is very much appreciated and will truly be a blessing for Amanda and her family. Thank you for your love & support.
Co-organizers (5)
Christy Aufderhar
Organizer
Red Wing, MN
Amanda Pete
Beneficiary
Beth Duffing
Co-organizer
Mark Aufderhar
Co-organizer
Nick Duffing
Co-organizer