Hi y'all! It's so nice to meet you! My name is Emily and I'm a 35 year old mother who unfortunately battles a terrible disease called Gastroparesis. Essentially my stomach is paralyzed and I cannot digest any food. My nightmare started in October of 2011 after a 17 hour spinal fusion surgery. I awoke on a ventilator ,with bolt holes that had been drilled into my skull,had to relearn how to walk,and had to even have help brushing my teeth. After I was able to rehabilitate ,I went home. This is where my story became a tragedy. I went home and was no longer able to keep down food . I spent months in and out of hospitals, ER's,had what seemed like a million tests ,and throughout I never gave up hope.

My first device was placed in 2013 by Dr.Elli at UIhealth in Chicago after suffering for over a year with vomiting ,malnutrition,dehydration,and a 100 plus pound weight loss. It saved my life. It will be replaced every 3 to 5 years until I am called home to God. It keeps me alive and although I am able to only eat a limited diet, I have found joy in cooking amazing meals for others.

My diet and my stimulator have been life changing for me . This has been able to control my symptoms and provide me with a happy life. I consider myself so blessed to have the amazing surgeon's ,nurses,and a kick ass OR squad ! I am also blessed that I have survived so many battles. None of this would have been possible without the blessing of such a great hospital in my state .

When they placed my second stimulator they ONCE AGAIN saved my life even when they were swamped with Covid ,their backs up against a wall ,and a tight schedule , EVEN when Life-Flight in my hometown told them they would not EVAC me even though I was slowly starving and my heart was out of rhythm- They DID NOT rattle. They didn't let me lose hope. They advocated, prayed with me , we worked out transportation, and they waited for me to arrive, stood firm when the ER wanted to send me back home four hours away. They stabilized me, advocated,and admitted me ,they even had me in the OR by 10AM the following day and on the road back home by 3PM that afternoon.

Unfortunately my 3rd device malfunctioned and I was given my fourth device in November 2023. The fourth device malfunctioned and was replaced in May 2024.

My 5th stimulator (placed in September of 2024) had started to malfunction (after 4 different revisions) and was shocking me every 60 seconds or so. They decided to remove it and give my body time to heal before considering putting in another device . I had another deviced placed in jamuary and I have been in and out of my local ER where they don't even know about Gastroparesis . I have recently been so sick that I am hardly able to keep down any solid food ,my heart and kidneys have started to become affected by it and the agony I am enduring is like a form of torture. I have recently been admitted and have been fed through a PICC line due to malnutrition, muscle wasting ,and severe vital organ impairment, which has been possibly the roughest time in my entire life. During this hospital stay, I found out I will need another extensive spinal surgery ,nutrition for the rest of my life ,and possibly another stimulator revision.

Since the end of 2011 , I have endured countless hospital stays, tests, scans,ER visits,and 29 (updated) surgeries ,hard knocks , and procedures.

I WILL always do my best to spread #GastroparesisAwareness for those who have lost their life to this horrible disease . For those people who didn't get as lucky as I have with finding amazing doctors. For the chronic illness warriors ,people fighting for their life , to regain their life , all of those who still get up and face the challenge of getting through another day. I WILL spread awareness for those young,old,and those who cannot advocate for themselves.

My family and I would be using this money to support our ongoing bills for basic living,any and all medical expenses related to travel to Chicago ,and to help with expenses related to non insurance covered costs regarding nutrition/TPN. My husband has been keeping up with costs to the best of his ability,but it has become overwhelming as I am not able to work and he is the sole provider of our family and has been trying to keep up with all expenses and medical expenses as well.