Support Kelly’s Survival Fund

Hello. My name is Kelly.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for your donation to help me during my treatment for the remission of my Type 2 diabetes, my struggling recovery, and my current status of losing my home amongst other financial set-backs I have encountered since my diabetes returned and hospitalized me nearly in a coma.

Due to my medical condition and not being able to work, I have lost everything I have ever worked for: I have been evicted from my apartment and I’m about to be homeless, I lost my car, my credit cards have all been charged off, my medical bills are through the roof and still climbing, I am delinquent with my marketplace health insurance premiums which I cannot lose because I have to get my medical care and medications, Uber ride costs to get to appointments, basic living expenses, etc. The expenses keep climbing, and they don’t seem to end.

This disease and medical crisis has created a huge loss: physically, mentally, and FINANCIALLY. I am raising money through this campaign to assist me with the financial burden that is here. Please consider making a financial contribution, however small, or significant, toward my medical/ recovery fund, and so I don’t become homeless, and please help me find hope through this crisis. Thank you. Also, please share by getting this fundraiser to help get the word out.

The details:

I was officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2014. For years, I struggled with controlling Type 2 diabetes with insulin, and I tried numerous other diabetes medications, but none of the medications worked for me.

My blood sugars were still in the 300-400’s, and I had frequent cases of hypoglycemia when trying to get my blood sugar down with insulin, but it would end up being too much insulin, and my blood sugar would plummet. 

When I started getting rashes all over my body, I decided to try a different approach as I was convinced that the foods I was eating, especially the foods labeled as HEALTHY GRAINS, were causing my diabetes to spiral out of control.

I made major diet modifications, and within one year, I successfully put my diabetes into remission! However, sometime throughout 2023, and unbeknownst to me, my diabetes came out of remission. When my blood work came back, my primary care doctor ordered me to get to the ER ASAP. I arrived at the ER in diabetic ketoacidosis. I found out that my A1C had gone from 5.5% to 12.4% in a matter of months, and my triglycerides were over 2,000 mg/dl when the high end of the normal range is 150 mg/dl. I was also at a high risk of developing pancreatitis.

 The ER doctors admitted me immediately. They told me that had I not gotten to the ER when I did, I would have gone into a coma and/or possibly died. Once the ER doctors were able to get my blood sugar lowered from the 500’s, I was discharged after a few days, and I was given instructions for insulin administration and to follow up with my PCP and endocrinologist.

I had my post-hospital PCP visit one week later, and I had to wait a month for my endocrinologist visit. Both of my doctors couldn’t understand why I was having the extreme fluctuations with my blood sugar numbers especially with insulin administration.

I was wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that I was given at the hospital which is a patch that I wore on my arm. It provides continuous monitoring of my blood sugar, and my endocrinologist could download detailed reports from the CGM that is synced to the app on my phone for further analysis of my blood sugar readings. He was puzzled by the results.

Since the first endocrinologist visit, I have been on FIVE different insulins, metformin, and I have had THREE horrible skin rash reactions to the adhesive of the CGM. My endocrinologist gave me a specific skin barrier adhesive to wear before applying a new CGM, and I had a reaction to that adhesive, as well. I am back to doing finger pricks for constant monitoring of my blood sugars. The test strips have become costly since I have to constantly check my blood sugar.

Ever since my Type 2 diabetes came out of remission, I have been fighting for my life. To this day, and after multiple visits with my endocrinologist, he still doesn’t understand why my case of this dreadful disease is so uncontrollable.

He switched me over to Trulicity, and that seems to be working for me with better blood sugar numbers, but I am still not near where I need to be for the diabetes to be considered controllable. And, the Trulicity medication is VERY expensive for a one month supply.

Sincerely,

Kelly