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Scott and I got married on August 3, 1996 in my home town, Lake Charles, Louisiana. I married the love of my life and my best friend on that hot summer day! Since then we have an awesome family of six daughters.
Like many others we have had a lot of trials to face and no matter how hard or bad they felt we always made it through thanks to God’s unconditional love which is also the reason that our faith is as strong as it is.
Years ago Scott became ill with severe pneumonia in both lungs. This was such a scary time in our life, he was in intensive care for a week and couldn't work for two monthes after that. During that time his liver began to fail. The company he was working for did not offer sick leave or health insurance. I had to drop most of my classes in order to gain a full time job to help with our bills but was not able to keep our house. The bank got the house and we sold anything of value to get by. We lived in several rent houses before we found a home that we thought was going to be our permanent home. Then hurricane Rita blew through town and destroyed just about everything in its path including our chances of purchasing that house. Due to hurricane Katrina and now hurricane Rita housing was slim to none.
On October 13, 2007 I felt like my world was falling apart all around me when my dad died suddenly from a heart attack. The day after we buried my dad was my birthday and the day that Scott received a call from a Chemical Plant in the Baton Rouge area offering him a job. We had prayed for years for Scott to gain employment that would be a career for him- this was no doubt the answer to our prayers.
During our life together we have had to face 28 different surgeries which has caused pain, worry, and of course financial strain. As you can imagine we have a ton of medical bills that seem like they are never ending.
Scott enjoys everyday he is off with his family, but he continues to work over one thousand hours of overtime annually in order to provide for us. Recently he has complained of weakness in his thumb which we both blew off as though he strained it at work. The weakness has progressed and numbness has become bothersome in his feet. After going to several doctors and a neurologist we are trying to determine if he has CIDP or ALS. He has undergone nerve conduction test, spinal tap which lead to a trip to the surgery center to have a blood patch procedure done to help with the complications of the spinal tap. CIDP is Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy which is a neurological disorder characterized by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. The disorder, is caused by damage to the myelin sheath (the fatty covering that wraps around and protects nerve fibers) of the peripheral nerves. The treatment for this is IVIG treatment which is extremely expensive. Scott will receive infusions once a day for five days, and then he will go back to the doctor to see if he needs to go back for more treatments once a week for a month, then once a month for three months. Each treatment in $10,000.00. After our insurance pays we are responsible for 20% of each treatment. If the treatment helps Scott then we can rule out ALS. We have to come up with money to start the IVIG treatments, as we are trying to figure out where the money will come from his symptoms are progressing. If the weakness moves to the rest of his hand then he will no longer be able to work the way he is working now.
Scott has always been the strong guy physically and mentally. For me to watch him get weak is heartbreaking. You can see the worry and uncertainty on his face.
In the past in times of crisis and against our better judgment we have had to resort to loans to provide for our family that we love so much. Due to the fact that there is no cure for CIDP and the unpredictability of future relapses we know that it is necessary for us to move into a house that is more affordable. Scott has good insurance short and long-term disability however; at any moment he could be stuck in a wheelchair for several months waiting for the IVIG treatment to put the illness back into remission. In order for us to qualify for a purchase of a house we desperately need to pay off some debts. We are still leasing a house but we realize that God is giving us a chance to prepare for the future and avoid the pain and suffering of not being able to pay our bills when health issues prevent earning an income.
Our oldest just graduated from High School and she is moving four hours away in order to pursue her dream of becoming an Orthopedic. I am scared of what will happen because there are so many unknowns at this point in our life.
I want to thank all of you for reading our story and the help that is shared with us is nothing more than a blessing!
Like many others we have had a lot of trials to face and no matter how hard or bad they felt we always made it through thanks to God’s unconditional love which is also the reason that our faith is as strong as it is.
Years ago Scott became ill with severe pneumonia in both lungs. This was such a scary time in our life, he was in intensive care for a week and couldn't work for two monthes after that. During that time his liver began to fail. The company he was working for did not offer sick leave or health insurance. I had to drop most of my classes in order to gain a full time job to help with our bills but was not able to keep our house. The bank got the house and we sold anything of value to get by. We lived in several rent houses before we found a home that we thought was going to be our permanent home. Then hurricane Rita blew through town and destroyed just about everything in its path including our chances of purchasing that house. Due to hurricane Katrina and now hurricane Rita housing was slim to none.
On October 13, 2007 I felt like my world was falling apart all around me when my dad died suddenly from a heart attack. The day after we buried my dad was my birthday and the day that Scott received a call from a Chemical Plant in the Baton Rouge area offering him a job. We had prayed for years for Scott to gain employment that would be a career for him- this was no doubt the answer to our prayers.
During our life together we have had to face 28 different surgeries which has caused pain, worry, and of course financial strain. As you can imagine we have a ton of medical bills that seem like they are never ending.
Scott enjoys everyday he is off with his family, but he continues to work over one thousand hours of overtime annually in order to provide for us. Recently he has complained of weakness in his thumb which we both blew off as though he strained it at work. The weakness has progressed and numbness has become bothersome in his feet. After going to several doctors and a neurologist we are trying to determine if he has CIDP or ALS. He has undergone nerve conduction test, spinal tap which lead to a trip to the surgery center to have a blood patch procedure done to help with the complications of the spinal tap. CIDP is Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy which is a neurological disorder characterized by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. The disorder, is caused by damage to the myelin sheath (the fatty covering that wraps around and protects nerve fibers) of the peripheral nerves. The treatment for this is IVIG treatment which is extremely expensive. Scott will receive infusions once a day for five days, and then he will go back to the doctor to see if he needs to go back for more treatments once a week for a month, then once a month for three months. Each treatment in $10,000.00. After our insurance pays we are responsible for 20% of each treatment. If the treatment helps Scott then we can rule out ALS. We have to come up with money to start the IVIG treatments, as we are trying to figure out where the money will come from his symptoms are progressing. If the weakness moves to the rest of his hand then he will no longer be able to work the way he is working now.
Scott has always been the strong guy physically and mentally. For me to watch him get weak is heartbreaking. You can see the worry and uncertainty on his face.
In the past in times of crisis and against our better judgment we have had to resort to loans to provide for our family that we love so much. Due to the fact that there is no cure for CIDP and the unpredictability of future relapses we know that it is necessary for us to move into a house that is more affordable. Scott has good insurance short and long-term disability however; at any moment he could be stuck in a wheelchair for several months waiting for the IVIG treatment to put the illness back into remission. In order for us to qualify for a purchase of a house we desperately need to pay off some debts. We are still leasing a house but we realize that God is giving us a chance to prepare for the future and avoid the pain and suffering of not being able to pay our bills when health issues prevent earning an income.
Our oldest just graduated from High School and she is moving four hours away in order to pursue her dream of becoming an Orthopedic. I am scared of what will happen because there are so many unknowns at this point in our life.
I want to thank all of you for reading our story and the help that is shared with us is nothing more than a blessing!