Support Terry's Fight Against Chronic Illnesses

My girlfriend Terry Bunn, the sweetest person you'll ever meet, has enough debilitating illnesses for multiple people. Since early 2022, she has been diagnosed with gastroparesis, POTS, convergence insufficiency, and hyperacusis that triggers chronic migraines. As a result, she is unable to eat solid food, drink most liquids including water, drive or work, view screens or anything bright for extended periods, listen to any digital audio, have conversations longer than a few minutes, and have any quality of life above sleeping and staring at walls.

Her gastroparesis, a condition where the stomach empties more slowly and as a result causes food to essentially rot while still in the stomach, has made it so that she is unable to eat any solid food and so solely relies on Ensure shakes for nutrients and dairy free ice cream for calories. Also unable to drink water without severe nausea, she relies on daily IV infusions for hydration, weekly dressing changes, and monthly IV needle changes. Along with her POTS, which causes abnormal changes in heart rate when moving and lowers the body's ability to regulate temperature, she has been unable to work since 2022 after taking medical leave from a job she loved at Disneyland. She is currently taking Reglan for gastroparesis and Zofran to manage the nausea.

Her hyperacusis, which is a lowered tolerance and heightened sensitivity to all kinds of sounds, triggers severe chronic migraines and headaches that last for hours or even days after any exposure. Having loved attending concerts and listening to music, this condition has left her demoralized and depressed, watching the world pass by with new album releases and shows that she can’t experience. After a dentist appointment a few months ago caused a setback, she has had to spend all of her time – including while sleeping – in earplugs and noise blocking earmuffs. Along with her convergence insufficiency, a condition where the eyes have trouble coordinating and focusing on objects resulting in muscle strain and pressure headaches, Terry is unable to drive, use a computer, or talk on the phone. As a result, she can’t even work from home, and cannot use TV, books, music, video games, podcasts, or anything to pass the time. Further, she can’t drive, and so is perpetually stuck at home. She is currently taking Nurtec and Aimovig for the hyperacusis and migraines, and is planning to start vision therapy as soon as she can tolerate sound.

These conditions combined make her days empty and bleak, consisting of waking up, spending over an hour getting IV fluids, drinking her Ensure shake and eating her cashew milk ice cream for calories (the only thing she has to really look forward to), taking medication, then spending the rest of the day idle and isolated from the world, waiting to sleep and do it all again tomorrow. Even everyday sounds like a washer/dryer, refrigerator, air conditioner, an idling car, neighboring traffic, computer typing, and conversation cause lasting migraines and nausea, causing her to fear sounds even in her own home. Any one of these conditions alone would be life-altering, and she is stuck dealing with all of them 24/7. She is in desperate need, so any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. We will use the funds for medical expenses, in particular vision therapy, as well as everyday needs that her health leaves her unable to provide for herself, like everyday necessities and rent to ensure she is able to keep her health coverage and maintain her infusion schedule.

Thank you so much for reading and considering donating to Terry’s cause!