Please help me get life saving surgery

Hello, my name is Patrick Christian McLaughlin. I'm a very private person, so this is difficult for me to do. About 10 years or so ago, my health started to decline. Unfortunately, I ignored those signs and moved on with my life. A few years ago, I was in two car accidents within the same year. That left me somewhat immobile and things began to change. I could walk, but I had to use a cane. I still do sometimes (that's another story). During that time, I started to gain a lot of weight. Now, I've struggled all my life with my weight before that, but I could always manage it by working out or lifestyle changes. I chalked this up to that, being less active and the pandemic. But something was different. I was experiencing excessive fatigue, muscle pain, and other symptoms. I tried to help myself, but nothing was working, and in fact, my health was only getting worse, making it almost impossible to do anything but work from home.

I finally sought medical help this year after not having insurance for a long time. I found out that I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which caused me to have an underactive thyroid and be diabetic for type 2 diabetes. That explained a lot of things. I was given some options on how to treat this. One of those options is bariatric surgery. This is something I never would have considered and would never do otherwise. But I was apparently misinformed about these types of surgeries. I always thought it was for extreme weight loss only (I'm thinking my 600lb life right). But one type of bariatric surgery is called the duodenal switch. This would apparently change my brain chemistry. The way it was explained to me is that my metabolism doesn't work anymore, that's why I'm unable to lose weight now. This would trick my brain into thinking I have a normal metabolism. The weight would come off, but it would also reverse the diabetes and prevent any more excessive weight gain in the future. So, quite literally, in tandem with some medication for the disease and vitamins post surgery, this surgery will save my life.

Luckily, my health insurance company covers this surgery. However, as most of you know, health insurance in America is a scam. And despite paying hundreds of dollars a month for it and my doctor's recommending this surgery to literally save my life, I'm still required to meet an expensive deductible before they will sign off on it. They also made me see many doctors for the past 6 months, and my co-pay is $50 each time. I've also had to move twice in 6 months. Most of my savings went towards that and those medical bills. My wages are also being garnished from an old debt that popped up after my search for a new apartment. I tried to pay it off but it went to court instead. That was a huge blow. I was lucky to have help from friends and family during this time, but trying to meet this deductible is impossible for me right now with all of my monthly bills. The surgery would happen in late September or October 2025 if I'm able to come up with the money for the deductible. Blue Cross Blue Shield said I should expect to pay around $3000 before I can schedule my surgery.

I really hate getting this personal, but this surgery is my only light at the end of the tunnel. My quality of life has decreased so much lately that I can barely do anything. The best way I could describe it is constant fatigue with severe muscle pain at a high altitude, and you can't catch your breath. That's how most days are for me lately. It sucks! But I'm not the type to complain. I was hoping to do this quietly and move on. But I have to appeal to you guys because I do need help with this. I don't have a large social media presence, so I do not expect much. But if you're able, I could use the help. If not, that's okay too. I have to try though. And I appreciate your time. Please share this if you can. Thanks, everyone