Support During Search for Diagnosis

Jamie Markowski, I like to joke, has either played in a band with or is related to half the people in Palm Coast. He's beloved by so many in this town as a son, friend, coworker, brother, cousin, nephew, bandmate, and all around great dude. We humbly reach out to this broad community of support now in a time of Jamie's medical needs. If you've been following his Facebook saga, you'll know that Jamie was struck with a sudden mystery illness at the end of August. Aug. 31 was the first trip to the emergency room. He was suddenly weak with a severe headache and neckache. Tests normal, Not admitted. He worsened. He couldn't regulate his body temperature as he broke out into cold sweats, had ice pick pain, and worsening fatigue. Back again, no answers. Digging for clues, the doc ran a Lyme panel. Negative for Lyme, Positive for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Back to the hospital for 3 days. Turns out the antibodies were from some old infection years ago. No present infection. He was released with no answers. The doc propped him up with steroids which caused his blood sugar and white blood count to spike. Stopping the steroids put Jamie into crisis again - gasping for air, severe migraine, severe vertigo. Back into the hospital for a week and discharged with a lot of things ruled out, but no answers. No diagnosis. In the meantime, his pain has gotten worse. His symptoms shift. He has cognitive symptoms such as brain fog. Any mild exertion fatigues him to the point of needing rest for hours. His joints ache. His bass player thumbs are seized up. The soles of his feet burn. Inflammation and neuropathy plague different body parts on different days. It's hard to watch him be so severely sick for this long and no way to ease his suffering.

He's seen 8 doctors at this point, with 3 more appointments in the near future. He's had 8 trips to 4 different hospitals. $200 per non-admittance hospital trip. $2,300 for the first hospital stay, over $6,000 for the second. In the meantime, he's barely scraped together 20 hours of work since this first started over 3 months ago. He is blessed to have his job held for him as he seeks answers, but he can't presently work. He can't drive.

So what all started this? An injection of testosterone! A very common medical intervention for a very common medical condition. At the very beginning, he felt the best he's felt in his life, and things quickly took a turn for the worse. Within days of his second shot he started feeling ill, and within days after the third shot, he was running to the ER at his doctor's orders.

The year before this struck was the healthiest year of his adult life:

diabetes managed ✅

quit smoking/vaping ✅

lost 30 lbs ✅

improved diet ✅

increased exercise ✅

cut back on alcohol ✅

work more hours ✅

began college degree ✅

starred in 3 music videos with The ElectroStatics ✅

recorded 2 new songs ✅

enjoyed life ✅

It's like he suddenly fell out of the sky.

Beyond hospital bills and copays, Jamie also has basic financial needs such as rent, food, utilities, and cell phone bill.

Please consider donating the following support:

$5- Chin up, Brother

$15- one month of Netflix to keep him distracted

$30- bag of groceries

$80- specialist copay

$95- utility bill

$125- chunk of rent

$200- ER Copay

❤️As you know, every little bit helps ❤️

ALSO SEEKING DONATION OF KNOWLEDGE - Jamie needs help navigating the applications for hospital financial assistance, temporary disability, and government services.

Good wishes and prayers are always welcome.

Love, Kat & Jamie