Help Kate McCann Recover from Fibromyalgia
A lot of things have happened since this was initially posted. The diagnosis of MS may have been incorrect, and Kate is now being told she has fibromyalgia. She is currently homeless again. Her caregiver remains by her side.
Original---
This Campaign is to help Kate McCann receive treatment and recover from MS and PTSD from a history of abuse. Some of you may know Kate as a write, and developer with Strategy Mill for the game Terminal Conflict.
Kate was was forced to drop out of graduate school and confined to the house, unable to move without the aid of a cane after coming down with a then undiagnosed illness. Tentative diagnoses ranged from mononucleosis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to Myasthenia Gravis to Celiac’s, but all tests proved
Being stuck in the house all day took its toll. Kate’s parents blamed her for her illness, and began to systemically abuse her in an effort to make her stop displaying symptoms. They refused to involve themselves in her care at all and would even engage in behaviors to deliberately provoke an exacerbation of her symptoms.
The abuse worsened until her parents threw her out, in the dead of a New York Winter. She survived for a year living on the street with the help of her long term partner and caregiver. The experiences of being homeless, along with abuse, have given her PTSD that she still requires treatment for.
We have recently gotten an affirmative diagnosis of Multiple Schlerosis for her. For the first time in 8 years, actual direct treatment of the illness is possible. But Multiple Schlerois is a degenerative illness.
Texas doesn’t have Medicaid extensions. She does not receive medicaid for her disability because she has been unable to receive disability until now because she lacked a diagnosis. She needs to see a neurologist to get her disability benefits, but she can’t without Medicaid. She can’t get Medicaid until she has disability benefits.
With the money she receives from this campaign, Kate plans to get medical insurance. With insurance, she’ll be able to circumvent the catch-22 she’s in now. She’ll be able to see a neurologist and get the required testing done. That neurologist will be able to vouch for her with the Social Security office, so that she’ll finally be able to get her disability benefits and get on Medicaid.
Additionally, she'll be able to use some of the money to take part in rehabilitation programs to improve her physical and cognitive impairments from the MS, as well as seek therapeutic treatment for her PTSD.
