Support Ari: A Mom Facing Cancer & Autoimmune Diseases

My name is Adriana Ramirez, a lot of people know me as Ari or “Ari Mirez.” I’m 28 years old and I’m a single mom of a 10 year old son whose name is Sebastian. His father was tragically murdered last year, but that’s a story for a different day. Just proving I’m his sole caretaker and provider now.

In October I was in and out of the doctors for multiple symptoms and ailments. It started with I wasn’t able to keep any food down, I was throwing up mostly but was also have blood in my stools. The stomach pain I was having was so severe that I would sometimes pass out from the pain or would be hysterical. It felt like I was literally being stabbed all over my abdomen with absolutely no relief. My doctor told me I had IBS and go on the low fod map diet and she would refer me to multiple specialists to figure out what the cause could be. She said this was out of her medical scope and practice. At this point I was a store manager at a retail store (I can’t say their name for legal reasons) I was working full time which was 40 hours a week. My symptoms were beginning to worsen even on the low map diet and it was not only happening at work but effecting my work ability. I was constantly throwing up at work and I was passing out. I was also passing bloody stools while at work and having severe stomach pain as well. I was able to get a note from my doctor to have work restrictions which was only working 32 hours a week, 4 days a week and 8 hour shifts. I had another one that also gave me extra breaks and breaks to check my really low blood pressure due to me passing out at work. I also had one that said I couldn’t get on ladders or lift above my head too. We had a couple assistant managers quit and I reached out to my boss asking for help because I was sick and couldn’t do more than what my work restrictions stated. She told me I’m a store manager and I needed to run the business and she wasn’t following my work accommodations at all. I even reached out to HR because I was out of options and my symptoms were worsening. I had lost about 55 pounds in the middle of November total. I was also in and out of the hospital when I couldn’t see my doctor. I was pretty much forced by my boss and the head of HR to go on an unprotected medical leave (but I didn’t know it was unprotected when I went on it) and my job position was posted the same day my doctor wrote me a note to go on this medical leave.

I’m seeing 5 specialists not including my primary care doctor. I’m seeing a gastroenterologist, a gynecologist, a urologist, an OBGYN and an occupational doctor. My gynecologist has just recently diagnosed me with low grade Cervical Cancer and we go over treatment options on January 15th. My urologist diagnosed me with Interstitial Cystitis which is an autoimmune bladder disease (there’s no real treatment or cure, we can only try one painful procedure to manage the inflammation). I also keep getting reoccurring infections so she put me on suppressive therapy which is taking antibiotics for the next 6 months, weekly to clear my system. My OBGYN is saying I have fertility issues but doesn’t know why yet, I see her again in January as well. This could be connected to one of my diagnoses or something separate since I had 2 miscarriages in a year. My occupational doctor has diagnosed me with C3-C6 budging discs in my neck, bursitis and now Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. I suffered a really bad fall October 2023 at my previous employer and I’m still suffering from that. I’m in Physical Therapy, Acupuncture and Massage Therapy as well as seeing him and being treated. He also has me on 5 different medications for the pain and inflammation. They are doing a nerve study in January to see how severe the nerve damage in my arm is because I have almost total weakness in my right arm and hand. My gastrointestinal just did a double procedure (endoscopy and colonoscopy) which I was allergic to the sedation I was given and ended up in the ER. He also did a biopsy of my stomach (he’s testing for Stomach and Colon Cancer as well.) He put me on an even more restrictive diet which is low fod map, no dairy and no gluten until we get and go over my biopsy results January 30th. He thinks I could possibly have celiac disease. My primary doctors and ER doctor said they believed I have Chrons Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, but we won’t know anything until we get the biopsy results back.

I did apply for PMLA but it takes 4 weeks to get approved and there’s a chance I could get denied still. I applied for short term disability from my work as well, but haven’t heard back yet either from them. I got my last paycheck on Friday, December 13th 2024. I’ve asked help on social media to help with Christmas gifts for my son and people were so kind and generous. I’m worried about my bills for next month and next year, starting January 2025. I keep praying to God he will make a way and pull me through this, but this entire situation has been more than hard on me including my son and I never ask for help. I don’t want to say I’m embarrassed or ashamed asking for help especially financially, but I don’t have another option. I don’t want to fall behind on bills and rent more specifically. I’m trying to keep my stress levels as much as possible because it does make my symptoms worse. I just want to focus on my health and recovery during this time and not how I’m going to be able to provide. I do want to thank anyone and everyone if you do donate, it means the world to me during this time. I’m not the best at story telling and there’s so much more I wanted to include, but I didn’t want this to be a novel. I wanted to state the important facts of all of this. I do share my health story from the beginning and share updates on my Facebook which is “Ari Mirez” or if you have more questions you can message me on there as well. I’ve been really open about this whole situation and I want to continue to share my story and experiences. I will continue to put my trust and faith in God.