Hello friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues, and those I have yet to know,
It is with great humility and very raw vulnerablility that I write to you, share my story, and start this campaign. As some of you know, I have been struggling through a health journey since 2015. I went on medical leave at this time, and it took about a year for me to return back to working full time at the end of 2016. I did a lot of testing with several doctors and specialists, and received various ideas but no clear diagnoses. I tried traditional treatments with steroids, but found this to be highly unsustainable and more detrimental to my condition, as my symptoms would come back worse and more aggressive once the steroids wore off.
I was tested for autoimmune diseases, since this is what my body was most closely exhibiting; however, despite all of my inflammatory markers being really high, I still did not test positive for any formal diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. I kept coming up against dead ends.
I was experiencing heightened sensitivity/reactivity to almost everything (food, clothing, textures, personal care products, jewelry, detergents, chemicals). I would react with hives and rashes that would last for weeks and sometimes months, severe body aches and joint pain, along with a crippling fatigue that put me in bed for months at a time. I could barely function and could barely even wear clothing because my skin was so sensitive to any texture. I was isolated and quarantined to my home. I managed to find more practitioners to work with that specialized in various alternative modalities (i.e. acupuncturists, hydrotherapy, IV therapy, chiropractic care, functional medicine) and found better relief and better care.
2017 seemed to be my best year. My body seemed to calm down. I was managing my symptoms with food as my medicine, supplements, and the various therapies mentioned above. My flare ups were becoming more few and far between. I was able to socialize again, feel connected to the world, and gain some of my confidence back. My quality of life seemed to be returning, and I was thrilled. I started a new job at the end of the year and was excited for a new chapter.
Shortly after the new job, I began having thyroid issues and fast forward to 2018, I had the worst and most painful flare up I have ever experienced. I had to take a short leave from work and struggled to make it through the rest of the year with constant discomfort and mini flares. My confidence went down the drain and my hope plummeted. I found more doctors to work with that had a more integrative and naturopathic approach, however, even with insurance they were very expensive; and I constantly came up against being unable to continue under their care because I could not afford the office visits, testing or the treatment plan.
I began 2019 on a better foot. Despite not feeling 100%, I decided to take a month off and leave the country. At this point, this was even my doctor's prescription for me since nothing else was seeming to work. As pictured below, you will see I was experiencing so much joy. I felt like I had been brought back from the dead and filled with hope again. My body handled travel well and I had no symptoms! I decided to leave my job in March and took some time to heal.
However, since March, the flare ups started again, and they have been unrelenting. They last about 2 months, debilitate me to home; then I have maybe 1-1.5 months of relief, then another flare up. I have included pictures of where I currently am today. I just had to go to urgent care and am currently in a lot of pain and discomfort. My skin is basically thin, raw, bleeds and cracks, and feels like burning acid. It hurts to move, I cannot shower, and sleeping is uncomfortable. It travels to different parts of my body, but at the moment, it is concentrated on my face, neck, and chest; which is seriously the worst areas. I am unable to pursue work, and feel very hopeless. My quality of life is at an all time low and so is my will to live to be quite honest.
I know this is very long, but I want to present to you the context of my journey up until now and what has brought me to this point. Anyone who knows me well or even somewhat well, knows I have an extremely difficult time asking for and receiving help. I learned at a young age that help comes with strings attached and as a result, I have learned to try not to ever burden anyone, to minimize my suffering and suffer silently. But I can't do it alone any longer. It's extremely difficult for me to even share these pictures and publicly air out my struggle/condition to the world; but this only highlights my desperation and true need. This is my last shot at trying to save myself. I have been a warrior and a hyper vigilant patient, but I have reached the point where I want to give up and need the help of my community.
I have found a group of doctors that I believe can help me (MD/Naturopath combo) and can hopefully get to the bottom of my mysterious illness once and for all. I just want my life back, my confidence, and a chance to thrive and move forward. This amount I'm shooting for will cover the cost of the next couple months of doctor visits, in depth testing, treatments, and bare minimum living expenses. If you find it in your heart to donate any amount at all, I would be so humbled and forever grateful. If you hung in there and read my entire novel, THANK YOU. I love you all.
From my heart,
Nadia
It is with great humility and very raw vulnerablility that I write to you, share my story, and start this campaign. As some of you know, I have been struggling through a health journey since 2015. I went on medical leave at this time, and it took about a year for me to return back to working full time at the end of 2016. I did a lot of testing with several doctors and specialists, and received various ideas but no clear diagnoses. I tried traditional treatments with steroids, but found this to be highly unsustainable and more detrimental to my condition, as my symptoms would come back worse and more aggressive once the steroids wore off.
I was tested for autoimmune diseases, since this is what my body was most closely exhibiting; however, despite all of my inflammatory markers being really high, I still did not test positive for any formal diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. I kept coming up against dead ends.
I was experiencing heightened sensitivity/reactivity to almost everything (food, clothing, textures, personal care products, jewelry, detergents, chemicals). I would react with hives and rashes that would last for weeks and sometimes months, severe body aches and joint pain, along with a crippling fatigue that put me in bed for months at a time. I could barely function and could barely even wear clothing because my skin was so sensitive to any texture. I was isolated and quarantined to my home. I managed to find more practitioners to work with that specialized in various alternative modalities (i.e. acupuncturists, hydrotherapy, IV therapy, chiropractic care, functional medicine) and found better relief and better care.
2017 seemed to be my best year. My body seemed to calm down. I was managing my symptoms with food as my medicine, supplements, and the various therapies mentioned above. My flare ups were becoming more few and far between. I was able to socialize again, feel connected to the world, and gain some of my confidence back. My quality of life seemed to be returning, and I was thrilled. I started a new job at the end of the year and was excited for a new chapter.
Shortly after the new job, I began having thyroid issues and fast forward to 2018, I had the worst and most painful flare up I have ever experienced. I had to take a short leave from work and struggled to make it through the rest of the year with constant discomfort and mini flares. My confidence went down the drain and my hope plummeted. I found more doctors to work with that had a more integrative and naturopathic approach, however, even with insurance they were very expensive; and I constantly came up against being unable to continue under their care because I could not afford the office visits, testing or the treatment plan.
I began 2019 on a better foot. Despite not feeling 100%, I decided to take a month off and leave the country. At this point, this was even my doctor's prescription for me since nothing else was seeming to work. As pictured below, you will see I was experiencing so much joy. I felt like I had been brought back from the dead and filled with hope again. My body handled travel well and I had no symptoms! I decided to leave my job in March and took some time to heal.
However, since March, the flare ups started again, and they have been unrelenting. They last about 2 months, debilitate me to home; then I have maybe 1-1.5 months of relief, then another flare up. I have included pictures of where I currently am today. I just had to go to urgent care and am currently in a lot of pain and discomfort. My skin is basically thin, raw, bleeds and cracks, and feels like burning acid. It hurts to move, I cannot shower, and sleeping is uncomfortable. It travels to different parts of my body, but at the moment, it is concentrated on my face, neck, and chest; which is seriously the worst areas. I am unable to pursue work, and feel very hopeless. My quality of life is at an all time low and so is my will to live to be quite honest.
I know this is very long, but I want to present to you the context of my journey up until now and what has brought me to this point. Anyone who knows me well or even somewhat well, knows I have an extremely difficult time asking for and receiving help. I learned at a young age that help comes with strings attached and as a result, I have learned to try not to ever burden anyone, to minimize my suffering and suffer silently. But I can't do it alone any longer. It's extremely difficult for me to even share these pictures and publicly air out my struggle/condition to the world; but this only highlights my desperation and true need. This is my last shot at trying to save myself. I have been a warrior and a hyper vigilant patient, but I have reached the point where I want to give up and need the help of my community.
I have found a group of doctors that I believe can help me (MD/Naturopath combo) and can hopefully get to the bottom of my mysterious illness once and for all. I just want my life back, my confidence, and a chance to thrive and move forward. This amount I'm shooting for will cover the cost of the next couple months of doctor visits, in depth testing, treatments, and bare minimum living expenses. If you find it in your heart to donate any amount at all, I would be so humbled and forever grateful. If you hung in there and read my entire novel, THANK YOU. I love you all.
From my heart,
Nadia