My name is Amanda Boettcher. I’m a 35-year-old wife, mom of 3, and school bus driver. I was recently diagnosed with a rare disease called Nora’s Lesion. Only 322 cases have ever been reported. I had to have surgery to remove the tumor on 05/16/2025. I was taken out of work on 05/12/2025. As a bus driver, because of the number of hours I work, I am not covered under FMLA, but thankfully the county accepted my doctor's note as enough to keep my place at my job until I’m able to come back. I am currently out until the beginning of June. We are waiting for biopsy results to come back and make sure it’s in fact Nora’s Lesion and not a form of cancer.

As of right now, I will be going almost a month without pay, and if I file for short disability, I won’t receive my normal pay during the summer months when bus drivers are normally home. I found all of this out this morning and didn’t know what else to do. Each doctor visit involves a $40 copay, and I am currently on a payment plan for the MRI which costs $4810 and CT scans $3032 that had to be done, as well as the surgery that just took place which I have not gotten the bill for yet.

Any help is greatly appreciated. We are doing our best just to navigate through the last few weeks and the upcoming weeks with our fingers crossed that it is in fact an extremely rare disease as opposed to cancer. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, good vibes, and the time you’ve taken to read this!