Please help Serena with Medical Expenses

Hi my name is Julie. I am going to share just a portion of what Serena has been through this past year in hopes we can come together and help her. Serena has worked in the Medical field for years, she is one of the most caring people I have EVER met. A while back, I ask Serena "Why don't you apply for disability, you don't need to be working"? and she responded with "I want to work,I don't wanna just sit around". All she has been through and this sweet girl still just wants to help others.... lets help her.

I ask Serena if I could share her story, she's a very private person and deals with alot more than any of us even know about. Here it is...

This is just the past year which has now left her in a bind and not able to work, at this time.Thankfully she has an amazing Fiance,but lets help them out.

Sept 2020- crohn's flare up started and despite steroids and antibiotics, it just kept getting worse. I went from 115-95lbs

Nov 2020- I started TPN (Total IV nutrition) through my port bc due to constant nausea and pain, I couldn't eat or tolerate enough to keep myself nourished.

Jan 2021-I no longer had a GI Dr bc mine was terminated. I was admitted to Mount Carmel then transferred to Cleveland Clinic where I stayed for the next month. During the beginning of that stay, I developed a severe blood infection causing me to have to have my port removed causing me to have to have a Hickman Catheter placed in my chest so that I could continue the TPN for nutrition as well as antibiotics, pain/nausea meds, and steroids. The GI Dr scheduled an upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy, but they couldn't complete the colonoscopy bc there was so much inflammation in the right side of my colon, it was so swollen and inflamed, it was completely closed off. They gave me more steroids and antibiotics for another week and tried again buy still no improvement. So, the decision was made to surgically remove my entire colon, leaving me with an ileostomy. Other than surgery pain, I felt so much better! I spent another 9 days in the hospital, then was discharged.

Feb 2021- 2 weeks after I was discharged from Cleveland, I started having pain, feeling of fullness (even though I wasn't eating much) and nonstop nausea and vomiting. I went to the local ER where they did blood tests and a CT Scan that showed I had an obstruction in my small bowel so I was transferred back to Clevelamd Clinic. They placed an NG Tube to try to keep fluid from building up in my stomach, hoping that would help the obstruction resolve on its own. It didn't. 5 days later, I had to have another surgery to fix the obstruction. The surgeon said my entire small bowel had fallen down into my pelvis bc there was nothing there to hold it up. It was twisted, kinked and looped in several places. I was discharged 3 days after surgery.

March 2021- I started having the same pain and nausea that I had with the obstruction. The Dr ordered an xray and sure enough, another obstruction which meant ANOTHER surgery.

Actually weeks later, the symptoms came back for a third time,but this time was different. I was diagnosed with SMA Syndrome. This occurs when the artery in the small bowel closes off the bowel preventing any contents from going through causing obstructions. This time they placed a G-tube in my stomach and hooked it to a foley bag that continuously drained the contents of my stomach so that the fluid wouldn't build up.

March 2021-June 2021- The symptoms and issues that came along with the SMA Syndrome made me unable to eat, in severe pain , extremely weak and barely got out of bed. By June, I was down to 76lbs! I was hospitalized at least twice a month for obstructions and complications during this period. Towards the end of May, I was hospitalized for yet another obstruction as well as a GI bleed. June 3, 2021, the surgeon decided to do surgery to correct the SMA syndrome since my health is just continuing to decline. I had the surgery and was discharged 8 days later. I was gradually starting to feel better.

Late June 2021- I started feeling very weak again, unable to eat and running a very high fever. I went to a local ER where I was transferred to Miami Valley ICU for septic shock. I had 3 different types of blood infections that turned into Endocarditis. I spent 9 days in the hospital and was sent home on IV antibiotics 24 hours a day for the next 4 weeks! The antibiotics made me so sick to my stomach but despite the constant nausea, I forced myself to at least try to eat, drink supplements, and anything I could do to try to keep myself nourished so that I could get off of the TPN. By mid August, I was up to 91lbs!

Aug-2021 The day after I finished the IV antibiotics, I woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and running a fever. I went to the ER later that day and was admitted yet again for sepsis which means more IV antibiotics! I spent 10 days in the hospital which during that time, my hemoglobin kept dropping and they couldn't figure out why. I had to get 6 blood transfusions! They did an upper endoscopy that showed ulceration in my stomach caused by active Crohn's Disease. Along with multiple blood clots this has not been a good year. So, in the meantime, I'm back on the steroids, hoping to prevent the Crohns disease from spreading to and destroying my small bowel as well while I'm waiting on insurance to approve the one and only medication left to treat Crohns disease.