Dear Family and Friends,

This past summer we had to make an unexpected trip to the ER for a frightening unknown infection. Cristian was swelling up fast like a water balloon, and after a number of tests and hours in the ER they told us he was getting admitted to the hospital. They had him on a cocktail of IV antibiotics for 2 days and 2 nights, before letting us go. None of the doctors knew what it was, because it only partially behaved like an infection, but thankfully, Cristian got better.

We never expected or wanted to be starting a go-fund-me for anything. It's especially tough to ask for help on this type of topic because we have so many more happy and exciting things we wish we could share with you and get support for instead. (We're working on building the tango community here in Richmond, Virginia - see our work at VirginiaTango.com)

Because of Cristian's non-citizen status, and waiting for his green card, we didn't get his health insurance up and running until he got his Social Security number. And all this happened just before going to the hospital, so his health insurance didn't start until the following month. Since he didn't have insurance when we went to the hospital, they cut his bill in 1/2 because it started at $28,000. We still had to pay the radiology, pathology, and nursing bill separately from the big hospital bill. We are only allowed financial aid from the hospital if we lived in 1 of 4 states (NC, SC, GA, AL) and since we don't live in any of those they've been impossible to negotiate with. We've enlisted the help of multiple companies (and Resolve.com is still working away at it) but because it's Atrium Health, we're not expecting much help. They are apparently notorious for not helping patients with bills ((and that's notorious for the USA... which is notorious for putting people into medical debt.))

So this Go-Fund-Me is our last resort, and we've been trying everything we can since July. The bill goes into collections on Jan 3rd, and our best bet is to sign up for a monthly payment plan just before then. With your help, we can fight this literal monster of a bill so we can focus our attention on building the tango community.

We will be so grateful for any amount you can give to help us with this scary reality. It's so hard for us to ask for financial support when we know that times are tough all around. Thank you for reading our story and for being a part of our lives. If you have any questions or advice, please don't hesitate to write.

Lots of love,

Cristian & Anna