Hi all, first and foremost, thank you for clicking on my link. I am very hesitant to post this but am looking for help. Anyone who knows me knows I'm very independent, stubborn, and strong-willed, but I'm reaching out asking for help.

In February, I was diagnosed with schwannomas, which is a tumor on my spine, hence what this GoFundMe is for. I'll start from the beginning.

7 years ago, I was experiencing horrendous headaches and migraines almost daily. I was also experiencing loss of vision and numbness down my left side. My doctor sent me to a neurologist, which they sent me in for an MRI. In this, they discovered a spot on my spine between my vertebrae. It was very tiny, but they concluded it was causing my issues. With that being said, they decided to monitor it yearly and try medicine for my headaches. Nothing got better, in fact my headaches got worse even causing ocular migraines which cause vision loss and it seemed to be something I was going to have to deal with because no medicine was helping and the "spot" which they later found to be a tumor was to risky to remove at that point. So from that point I've monitored it yearly with and MRI and blood work which didnt change much. In 2023, I went in for my yearly MRI and blood check. The MRI concluded that the spot had grown. My blood work came back normal. With the size it was at, they wanted me to come back every 6 months to monitor it again. I had no new symptoms and everything besides the growth was normal. Up until November 2024, it stayed relatively the same size. In November, I went in for my tests to get a call from my doctor saying my tumor had doubled in size and my kidney function was really, really low. This started a whirlwind of trying to figure out what was going on. My regular doctor informed me of it looking to be cancerous and sent me to an oncologist to begin figuring it out. The oncologist had a list of all the things he needed me to do in order to diagnose what this was. The first thing was getting my kidneys figured out. I was started on kidney medication to try and get them functioning correctly. Which since then I am currently on my 3rd different medication due to the others not working. They have no concluded that my kidney function is related to the Schwannomas but it was discovered during the blood test. They have not seen spots on my kidneys but are concerned with the low numbers in my blood tests. The next was a bone scan. They needed to do a biopsy on the tumor but were not able to detect if it was attached to my spine or if it was in my spinal cavity. The reason this was an issue is because if it was attached to my spine, the risk of paralysis increases. Also a biopsy would be decided if it was attached to my spine id be going to Omaha to have it done or staying in GI if it was in my spinal cavity which was a lower risk of becoming paralyzed. After the bone scan came back, it was concluded that it was in my spinal cavity, so the next step was a biopsy to figure out what it was. The biopsy was done in Grand Island and was sent to a pathologist in Ohio, which let my doctor know that it was schwannomas. My doctor explained to me that I needed to have my genetics tested and a,b,c,d etc. that needed to be done while my head was spinning. I had to do research. I had to know what was happening. I met with my oncologist who explained to me that with the size of my tumor, it had to be removed, that I would need to have spinal surgery in order for it to be done. He got me in touch with a neurosurgeon and peripheral nerve surgeon in Omaha, which brings me where I am today. On April 9th, I will go to find out what was is going to happen. And to speak of all the possibilities of what could go wrong and what could go right. But the good and quality of life that I gain from it made it not as terrifying, something I haven't had in many, many years. The surgery alone starts out at $37,000, and that's just the surgery. Insurance will not cover all of it. That's why I'm asking for help. I hate it. I've cried and begged God to help me. I've tried every avenue I could and come up empty. I saved and budgeted knowing this was going to be happening, only for me to have to use every penny I saved in order to fix my son, who badly broke his wrist at school and needed surgery to fix it, to pay doctors for my daughter's badly sprained ankle (both of which happened 1 day apart) so she could continue to do the sport she loves. I've given everything I have, and I have nothing left. I'm embarrassed to ask and say I need help, but I need help. I'm so thankful again for you reading this.

I'm asking for help in regards to mounting medical bills and my possible upcoming surgery. Thank you all so much!!