Hi everyone, I’m Christy and I’m starting a fundraiser for my good friend’s daughter, Andrea Bowe. She’s a young adult (20 years) who has been battling Cystic Fibrosis her whole life. She has always had a lot of stomach issues, but over the past year, it’s escalated to a point of unbearable and life-altering. She was recently diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis liver disease, pancreatitis, inflamed colon, inflamed liver, inflamed appendix, etc. Last year, they even misdiagnosed and removed her inflamed gallbladder. She has had constant ER visits, and each one tends to result in several days inpatient, typically a minimum of 4 days, ambulance rides, tests, biopsies, scopes, scans, and more hospital stays without a definitive diagnosis or relief. Some days she is released from the hospital just to return 1-2 days later. If they are fortunate, she gets a week of feeling “not horrible.”

The worst part is that she struggles to eat, and when she tries to have something other than Jello or broth, she is hit with crippling pain, inflammation, and the pain is so excruciating that she starts vomiting repeatedly. She has lost a lot of weight and survives on what she can keep down, and she has been unable to work for the past few months. Her bills are beginning to pile up between prescription denials that cost out of pocket, copays, and normal bills.

They just recently received a preliminary (not certain) diagnosis for Distal Intestinal Obstruction Syndrome (DIOS). Since no real test exists to verify it, it’s a case of wait and see and trial and error with meds and treatment. While she is enduring the stress of being sick and with lack of a clear resolution, it would be helpful if we could help relieve some of the financial burden on her and the family. The money would cover her car, phone, medical bills, transportation to and from U of M in Grand Rapids (for GI), Ann Arbor (for liver), etc.

She and her family are strong, but this has really started to take a toll physically, financially, and emotionally. If you cannot donate, please consider sharing. It really would mean a lot.