Support Erin's Recovery and Medical Bills

Hi friends, family, and good people. As many of you know, I had some big health complications to start my 2025 year; not what I foresaw on my bingo card this year, but here we are. Here is my story:

Right after my birthday in December, I started having intense, long-lasting headaches that lasted for days at a time. I went to the doctor, where I was prescribed medication to combat these headaches. But this medication did little to alleviate them.

So, after a few weeks of continuous, sometimes day-ruining headaches, I was able to have an MRI to see if there was something structural causing them. This was done on a Thursday, and my doctor called me the following Monday, February 10, to discuss the results. The MRI showed an unspecified lesion in my brain and severe swelling. She consulted with a neurologist and oncologist, and within 10 minutes we were sent to Dell Seton for additional scans to determine the best course of action for us.

So 3 scans later, the neuro surgical team scheduled brain surgery (yay) to remove what they believe to be a tumor. Thursday comes, surgeons remove as much of the tumor as they can and I'm out for about 1.5 days. So late Friday I am able to start moving (unsteady, assisted walks to the bathroom) and start coming off of all the meds I have been on.

A few days pass and we're feeling like I am improving enough to be able to be discharged soon; Until I start having double-vision. Another scan is ordered and shows that I am having a brain bleed and excessive fluid build-up from the surgery. So they rush to schedule me an emergency surgery to place a drain in my ventricles to alleviate this excess pressure. This meant more head shaving, and my hair girl is gonna have to work some real magic to fix this. Luckily, she's amazing. I'm not worried. Maybe I can experiment with one of those fun edgy mom dos?

The surgery was largely successful and did reduce the rising pressure in my brain; but it did not prevent me from having a stroke.

So we are currently in our second week of being in the neuro ICU, just extubated and once again reducing my medications to see where I am and if I'll have any lasting neurologic swelling. It is jarring to have a lost a week of your life.

What we are looking at now, if all goes well, is a few months of PT and OT therapy, possible radiation treatments and neuro checks for the foreseeable future.

This is all new and scary but I feel so grateful for my family and friends, who were able to step up for us and help take care of Claire and our animals, the amazing doctors and nurses at Dell Seton (some absolute angels walking among us) and God for watching over me throughout this whole ordeal. Even though this is what life gave me to start 2025, I feel so blessed and loved by so many of you.

In the coming weeks, we will have added transportation costs, missed work and the dreaded hospital bill (pray for us and our insurance). So we are asking, if you are in a place that you are able, to please donate to our upcoming medical bills. Or please share this link so that others may have the opportunity to. We are grateful for whatever you do. All our love and light!