Save me before my autoimmune system ends me!
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Steve, and I used to be happy-go-lucky fellow, up until I was recently diagnosed with Pemphigus Vulgaris; a rare & extremely nasty autoimmune system disorder, that left untreated, can be fatal.
This all occurred rather quickly, mainly due to multiple misdiagnoses of what was first thought as a bacterial, then later treated as a fungal infection, now appears to be something WAY more serious. As it only took 21 days, for this illness to render me into a cripple.
This is why I must publish my story, so that others will be more aware of the early symptoms of pemphigus & avoid having their lives ruined. Especially since, my very first symptoms occurred right after being vaccinated for COVID-19 & they were so minimal I didn’t even notice them.
You see life after the pandemic has been hard. My girlfriend & I had to move up to Indiana from Florida, to find work. It started out well but unfortunately, I’ve been feeling ill since October of last year, and have been working PT, living paycheck to paycheck, working temp jobs with no benefits.
Currently I’ve been on sick leave without pay for over a month now & my girlfriend is working PT so she can assist me at home, due to how restricted & fragile I am now. I can’t even put on a pair of socks by myself or touch the ground. The more I stretch, the more skin I lose. I’m in so much pain that even with pain meds, I can only function for part of the day. This has been ongoing battle that I've been losing, because I trusted the wrong hospital & they basically abandoned me. As a result I have lost over 80% of skin of my entire body & I can no longer leave the house or ride in a car. Despite the high dosage of steroids I am on, the pemphigus has aggressively advanced towards my face, ears, mouth, tongue, & eyes. I have issues speaking due to all the blisters in & around my mouth & I’m beginning to go blind due to neglect I am receiving from this hospital.
In early April 2022, I noticed a rash that looked like poison ivy, started on my neck, & in a just few days it began to spread across my entire body, turning into small blisters, that grouped with other small blisters that open up into even larger blisters that eventually became large open wounds that never heal. This became extremely painful & after one week, I decided to take my girlfriend’s advice & admitted myself to the ER for medical attention. I requested a biopsy but they refused, thinking it was dermatitis of the scalp & discharged me. The ER doctor told me, all she can do is refer me to a dermatologist which were all booked up at this time.
Another week passed & my condition grew worse, so I return to the ER for further testing. My blood results came back good, healthy as I tested negative for HIV. After reviewing my conditions the Emergency Department discharged me with a primary diagnosis of tinea capitisis & prescribe me griseofulvin, an anti fungal prescription drug.
Later that week, I thought I got lucky because I was finally able to book an appointment with the dermatologist for the following week but it turned out to be a disaster. Unfortunately the dermatologist the hospital referred me to, wasn't part of their network & stole my last two hundred dollars & didn't even examine me. He was upset that I was asking for a biopsy & not having insurance even though I was accepted into financial aid program. He told me someone has to pay for the biopsy & refused to bill me. Then he told me that he had paying customers to see & he could only answer three of my questions. At this point I have lost 40% of my skin all over my entire body & I am in so much pain that I can't even lay down to sleep because the majority of skin missing is from my back. I had to beg him to refill my life saving prescriptions. He only refilled my steroids at a low dosage & didn’t refill anything for pain. He threw a piece of paper with the word “Pemphigus Vulgaris” at my girlfriend & left. Without a doubt, this was the worst experience in my entire life.
So fast forward to today & It basically took 5 visits to the ER ( in one month) & to us to use the word, “MALPRACTICE,” for me to finally get the care I so desperately need. A group of 4 doctors spoke to me immediately about my condition & finally admitted me into the hospital for further evaluation.
They did the biopsy, I requested and began observing me for 48 hours. This is when I was suggested to go to another hospital, one that has emergency dermatologist & department to assist me in case I did test positive pemphigus. However I was also told that insurance could be an issue. I was released that Sunday and was able to speak to a primary care physician this past Wednesday, who confirmed I did test positive for Pemphigus Vulgaris. I have no idea why the first ER doctor could of just mention this to me, especially when the IU Health Dermatology is located right across the street from their ER. This whole thing could of been avoided & I would of save me $28,000 in hospital bills.
Out of the 12 doctors I've seen from this rancid hospital, only one actually cared enough about me to follow up. He knew my condition was becoming life threatening & checked up on me, & referred me into the IU Health Emergency Dermatology program, which was the only way I could get in. This man truly saved my life!
I am still waiting for my Healthy Indiana Plan card in the mail. Their website is outdated & won’t show me my status, card #, QR code , or even a PDF showing my policy number. What a joke! So I’m stuck at home getting more ill by the hour, watching the mail.
It has been horrible dealing with so many callous and uncompassionate medical associates under one umbrella. I never felt so abandoned & unloved before in my life.
So if you are moved by my unfortunate story please donate today. Anything helps, doesn't matter how little. We need money for medical supplies, live saving prescription drugs, medical bills, future medical practices which may include a blood transfusion & cost of relocation back to the COAST, where I can receive the best medical attention on the planet. I would also greatly appreciate any type of advice, legal & spiritual advice. This whole entire ordeal has been devastating! Thank you for your time & compassion.
Kind regards,
Steven Conrado
Time is of the essence
I will like to also thank my hardworking, selfless, & beautiful girlfriend Jessica Stephens for supporting me & having my back when dealing with these doctors & medical associates. Her background in the medical field has came in very handy, specially since she is the one that discovered the disorder. Yup these doctors from this same hospital couldn't even catch that. She has been able to keep me together, rekindle my spirit, keep me strong internally. Without her love, I would of gave up a long time ago.
Warning signs -
My first symptoms were blisters in my mouth that still haven’t healed which I thought I got from devouring hot pizza, a ritual I perform every weekend. Another early sign is getting injured very easily & not healing quickly as I usually do. I remember cutting my hand wide open from washing a pizza cutter!? I also began having dizzy spells after being vaccinated. Not to mention Tendinitis. By November I had three sores on my scalp & went to see a doctor about it. Again I thought this was harmless because I dye my hair earlier & I thought this was a just a minor chemical burn. My doctor thought it was bacterial & thus this is where my nightmare begins.
This all occurred rather quickly, mainly due to multiple misdiagnoses of what was first thought as a bacterial, then later treated as a fungal infection, now appears to be something WAY more serious. As it only took 21 days, for this illness to render me into a cripple.
This is why I must publish my story, so that others will be more aware of the early symptoms of pemphigus & avoid having their lives ruined. Especially since, my very first symptoms occurred right after being vaccinated for COVID-19 & they were so minimal I didn’t even notice them.
You see life after the pandemic has been hard. My girlfriend & I had to move up to Indiana from Florida, to find work. It started out well but unfortunately, I’ve been feeling ill since October of last year, and have been working PT, living paycheck to paycheck, working temp jobs with no benefits.
Currently I’ve been on sick leave without pay for over a month now & my girlfriend is working PT so she can assist me at home, due to how restricted & fragile I am now. I can’t even put on a pair of socks by myself or touch the ground. The more I stretch, the more skin I lose. I’m in so much pain that even with pain meds, I can only function for part of the day. This has been ongoing battle that I've been losing, because I trusted the wrong hospital & they basically abandoned me. As a result I have lost over 80% of skin of my entire body & I can no longer leave the house or ride in a car. Despite the high dosage of steroids I am on, the pemphigus has aggressively advanced towards my face, ears, mouth, tongue, & eyes. I have issues speaking due to all the blisters in & around my mouth & I’m beginning to go blind due to neglect I am receiving from this hospital.
In early April 2022, I noticed a rash that looked like poison ivy, started on my neck, & in a just few days it began to spread across my entire body, turning into small blisters, that grouped with other small blisters that open up into even larger blisters that eventually became large open wounds that never heal. This became extremely painful & after one week, I decided to take my girlfriend’s advice & admitted myself to the ER for medical attention. I requested a biopsy but they refused, thinking it was dermatitis of the scalp & discharged me. The ER doctor told me, all she can do is refer me to a dermatologist which were all booked up at this time.
Another week passed & my condition grew worse, so I return to the ER for further testing. My blood results came back good, healthy as I tested negative for HIV. After reviewing my conditions the Emergency Department discharged me with a primary diagnosis of tinea capitisis & prescribe me griseofulvin, an anti fungal prescription drug.
Later that week, I thought I got lucky because I was finally able to book an appointment with the dermatologist for the following week but it turned out to be a disaster. Unfortunately the dermatologist the hospital referred me to, wasn't part of their network & stole my last two hundred dollars & didn't even examine me. He was upset that I was asking for a biopsy & not having insurance even though I was accepted into financial aid program. He told me someone has to pay for the biopsy & refused to bill me. Then he told me that he had paying customers to see & he could only answer three of my questions. At this point I have lost 40% of my skin all over my entire body & I am in so much pain that I can't even lay down to sleep because the majority of skin missing is from my back. I had to beg him to refill my life saving prescriptions. He only refilled my steroids at a low dosage & didn’t refill anything for pain. He threw a piece of paper with the word “Pemphigus Vulgaris” at my girlfriend & left. Without a doubt, this was the worst experience in my entire life.
So fast forward to today & It basically took 5 visits to the ER ( in one month) & to us to use the word, “MALPRACTICE,” for me to finally get the care I so desperately need. A group of 4 doctors spoke to me immediately about my condition & finally admitted me into the hospital for further evaluation.
They did the biopsy, I requested and began observing me for 48 hours. This is when I was suggested to go to another hospital, one that has emergency dermatologist & department to assist me in case I did test positive pemphigus. However I was also told that insurance could be an issue. I was released that Sunday and was able to speak to a primary care physician this past Wednesday, who confirmed I did test positive for Pemphigus Vulgaris. I have no idea why the first ER doctor could of just mention this to me, especially when the IU Health Dermatology is located right across the street from their ER. This whole thing could of been avoided & I would of save me $28,000 in hospital bills.
Out of the 12 doctors I've seen from this rancid hospital, only one actually cared enough about me to follow up. He knew my condition was becoming life threatening & checked up on me, & referred me into the IU Health Emergency Dermatology program, which was the only way I could get in. This man truly saved my life!
I am still waiting for my Healthy Indiana Plan card in the mail. Their website is outdated & won’t show me my status, card #, QR code , or even a PDF showing my policy number. What a joke! So I’m stuck at home getting more ill by the hour, watching the mail.
It has been horrible dealing with so many callous and uncompassionate medical associates under one umbrella. I never felt so abandoned & unloved before in my life.
So if you are moved by my unfortunate story please donate today. Anything helps, doesn't matter how little. We need money for medical supplies, live saving prescription drugs, medical bills, future medical practices which may include a blood transfusion & cost of relocation back to the COAST, where I can receive the best medical attention on the planet. I would also greatly appreciate any type of advice, legal & spiritual advice. This whole entire ordeal has been devastating! Thank you for your time & compassion.
Kind regards,
Steven Conrado
Time is of the essence
I will like to also thank my hardworking, selfless, & beautiful girlfriend Jessica Stephens for supporting me & having my back when dealing with these doctors & medical associates. Her background in the medical field has came in very handy, specially since she is the one that discovered the disorder. Yup these doctors from this same hospital couldn't even catch that. She has been able to keep me together, rekindle my spirit, keep me strong internally. Without her love, I would of gave up a long time ago.
Warning signs -
My first symptoms were blisters in my mouth that still haven’t healed which I thought I got from devouring hot pizza, a ritual I perform every weekend. Another early sign is getting injured very easily & not healing quickly as I usually do. I remember cutting my hand wide open from washing a pizza cutter!? I also began having dizzy spells after being vaccinated. Not to mention Tendinitis. By November I had three sores on my scalp & went to see a doctor about it. Again I thought this was harmless because I dye my hair earlier & I thought this was a just a minor chemical burn. My doctor thought it was bacterial & thus this is where my nightmare begins.
Organizer
Steven Conrado
Organizer
Noblesville, IN