Hello,

My name is John Ko, you may also know me as KoDoRiN in the Melee scene.

This past Monday without any warning, my stomach was in mild pain that steadily grew worse throughout the day. I had to step out of work to then feel light-headed to the point where I was vomiting, and I did not feel significantly better afterwards. I went to Urgent Care that suspected me of appendix-related issues, which they then referred me to the ER, where they confirmed with a CAT scan that my appendix was inflamed. They were able to perform surgery on me overnight successfully.

While I am on a decent path of recovery, of course I had to worry about the looming medical bills afterwards. I have heard countless horror stories about medical bills ruining people and while mine is not nearly as dramatic, it still is a hefty price for me to pay. I talked with my work's insurance broker going over my scenario, and he explained that with my current work's insurance that my Out of Pocket Maximum is $7k. The ER visit is almost certainly going to surpass that amount, as I did a CAT scan, 2 IVIGs, morphine shots, antibiotics, appendicitis surgery, anesthesia administered, and an overnight ER stay that I'm 99% sure asking an itemized bill to ensure the accuracy of the cost won't magically go below the Out of Pocket Maximum.

In non-medical lingo terms, I am very likely to owe $7k.

It is possible that I can negotiate a lump-sum payment or a multi-year plan with the hospital to maybe reduce the bill to like $3-5k ideally, but the reality is that I don't have that kind of money lying around. I got bills to pay, a wife to support, and now I'm out of commission of work for around a week or two due to resting from my surgery. I really don't like asking for financial help like this, but it does feel like my hands are tied behind my back. I would be more than happy if I got a little break of reaching $2k to have this be an overall minor setback in my finances rather than bankrupting myself paying my ER bills.

If you can't afford to chip in, that's more than OK. By sharing this and wishing me well, you've done your part. Thank you for listening and I appreciate your support.