Support Joe Bonfanti's Fight Against Chronic Illness

Help Joe Bonfanti Battle a Debilitating Chronic Illness

Hello, my name is Joe Bonfanti. For the better part of a year, I have been living with a debilitating condition that has yet to be fully diagnosed. It is believed by some to be a mast cell disorder, other think it may be a blistering disease, while most have no idea. I never thought that some day I would be the person to stump so many physicians from several different specialties. 

My life has been turned upside down as I experience severe symptoms: constant hives and random swelling in my face, hands, lips, eyes, and tongue. I will become feverish around 100 - 103 and then an hour later it’ll be 97. Wash, rinse, repeat all day. On top of that I will have days with the most severe fatigue imaginable, I literally couldn’t imagine that fatigue could be this bad. Then there’s the issue of bone pain making it hard to stand, even harder to walk. There are so many symptoms I could write you an essay, but I’d rather not.

Why I Need Your Help

I am reaching out for support to cover the mounting medical expenses associated with my condition. The funds raised will be used for:

- Numerous medical visits with specialists in hematology/oncology at the cancer center, allergy, infectious disease, dermatology, radiology, and more. I have learned that I am now being tossed around specialties like a football because nobody knows the answer.

- Radiology imaging and other diagnostic tests. Labcorp is sending me to collections as I type this up.

- Medications and treatments necessary to manage my symptoms. Oh the amount of medications I take now is ridiculous. 4 Allegra a day, on its own, is so expensive.

My Journey

Living with this thing (disease? Illness?) is incredibly challenging. I’m so tired y’all. I can’t express is enough I’m so tired and ready to give up. There are days when I can function normally, but I’m still so tired because I know it’s around the corner waiting on me. 

Prior to going through this, if someone was to explain the amount of and severity of the itching from hives was…I would probably think “oh that sucks” but brush it off. No, it’s horrible. Most days I wish I was not alive to deal with it. It’s pure torture. And that’s just one symptom of many I have to deal with. Debilitating and disabling. 

How You Can Help

Anything you can do will help. If you know physicians who specialize in strange cases, put my name in their system. Vote for policies that improve our healthcare system. Keep our NIH systems running smoothly instead of halting them. Keep us a part of the WHO. Put the correct people in charge of the CDC.

If healthcare was free I wouldn’t be here doing what I hate doing: asking for money without working for it.

A Note on Visuals

The photos of my body are NSFW and are frankly pretty nasty looking. I don’t think I can post most of them here, nor would I really want to. So my photo is from a time prior to these symptoms.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Any support you can provide would mean the world to me as I navigate this difficult path toward diagnosis and treatment. I hope to pay it forward one day.