Help Leslie Overcome Medical Challenges

Hello,

My name is Leslie. I am 33 years old, and I never thought I would be here. I have debated on even doing this gofundme for a while because.. well.. gofundme is a place where people are struggling or need assistance, and I didn’t want to admit that I am at that point. The few people I have really talked to have encouraged me to make this and that I am allowed to need assistance too. They have asked me questions like “how many times have you donated to someone to help them? Bought them dinner? Or even just reached out? You are allowed to need help too” And they’re not wrong, I have done those things for others. I have just never needed help in this way. But I am reminded daily that there are wonderful people in this world. Caring, compassionate, understanding, kind hearted people. And how many times have we all said “let me know if you need anything. Im always here for you.” Or the most common, “I had no idea you were going through that, why didn’t you tell me?” Probably for the same reason I didn’t. I am scared. I am struggling. Any and all negativity, just wont be responded to. I am happy to answer questions (to an extent of course), but at this point, aren’t we all struggling in some way? In a perfect world, wouldn’t we all feel comfortable reaching out and asking for assistance when its needed? This is a little of what has been going on. I have a very rampant sense of humor, so if you see a joke and you think its funny, please laugh. Goodness knows i have been making my own jokes, and using humor to cope. Laugh with me, I encourage it.

I started on a weight loss journey (and over all better health honestly) in December. I started losing weight pretty quickly and I was ECSTATIC. Losing weight has always been a struggle for me, as I have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome and a love hate relationship with any and all dessert menu ever. Even during the times when I was doing the strict portion control and eating clean, I still struggled. So at some point I said, well, im giving up. So this last ditch effort was actually working, and im still losing some weight. Currently im, down 47lbs. February I started not feeling well and that’s where it started going downhill. The sudden weight loss started exacerbating an underlying issue. I, not having a medical degree, simply said, suck it up! Hospitals, doctors, blah blah blah. Needless to say, I wasn’t on board with doing anything, because I figured everything was fine and its gotta be allergies. Now if you know me, I could break my leg and tell someone its allergies. As time goes on, things have been getting worse, and I was forced to ask for help, from a doctor! I found a wonderful team of doctors who have been working very hard to get me into specialists, get scheduled with doctors within their teams, special testing and enough blood work to attract a vampire from his native land. So far, they don’t think the weight loss is the direct cause of the issues, as I have stopped the weight loss process and I am still dealing with the same things and I refuse to believe that I am just destined to not be healthy.

Late February early March, I started getting extremely lightheaded to the point of passing out. If that wasn’t hard enough, my seizures started getting worse. Yes, seizures. I was formally diagnosed with one type of seizure, but another doctor is now thinking that im having another type of seizure. So they are working to figure out which one im having, or if im just having both types in conjunction with one another. They are worried about the memory loss that sometimes comes with them, but it usually comes back pretty quickly, seconds to minutes. I have had several scans of my brain. Hated the feeling of the dye they inject in you, but the people there were great. I’d give them a good review on Yelp. Anywho, the doctors deemed that it is physically unsafe for me to drive and as a result I have been on a medical leave from my job as I have tests and doctors appointments and all of these different things. I have had at least one doctors appointment per week since March, sometimes having as many as 3-5 in one day. Since I cannot drive, I have been relying heavily on my significant other who has been an absolute rock during this time. With his work schedule, we typically have to schedule all appointments on one day. So thats a hoot, but my doctors have been great. They are fully invested on finding out what is causing the passing out, blacking out, and the seizures

All of that being said, being on a medical leave from work and the amount of doctors appointments, specialist appointments, co pays, medications, blood pressure monitors, blood sugar testing, medications (yes, I said it twice)…. Im struggling. But this isn’t going to be a struggle forever. I am going to get this figured out. I have appointments coming up with cardiologists and neurologists, as well as my doctors who have been monitoring my blood sugar and blood pressure. They have done several EKGs on my heart, hence them wanting me to see a cardiologist. They said it is more than likely they are going to put me on a heart monitor (since im in my 30’s hopefully they just let me get a life alert button at the same time). All joking aside, all of these things, plus my normal every day bills I had before “going downhill”, are more than I can handle even with health insurance. Im asking for help.

I may be down, but im not out. Because I am limited on what I can (or what im allowed) to do, I will be doing a lot of craft like projects to hopefully earn something to help keep afloat as well. So you may see some pictures of the projects I do floating around too. I am no Pablo Picasso or Bob Ross. But both would say its art and made with love. Even if you just read this and share it, it would mean the world to me. I mean, I have donated to people I don’t know personally because someone I do know shared their story. Anything helps. Sharing the post helps and means the world. If you feel like you are in a position to help by donating, that means the world. Even a friendly conversation means the world. I am just happy to be here, I am happy to be receiving wonderful treatment from more doctors than I have fingers at this point, and it really puts things into perspective. It’s scary. Never thought I would be in my 30’s and thats when the struggle bus finally runs me over. But, here I am. I am determined to make this a crazy chapter in my autobiography, but its not the end of it. I just need a little help during the journey.

Thank you to any and everyone who took the time to read, share, or even reach out. I didn’t even know what to put for an amount, Im just grateful for anyone and everyone during this time.

venmo: @lraymer05

paypal: $skoal94

UPDATES: 7-1-25 the first cardiologist I was supposed to see (several month ago, to be placed on a heart monitor) never returned my calls and never made an attempt to call me. The second cardiologist said the earliest they could get me in was the end of July. That phone call was several months ago as well. I told them, any cancelation they have I WANT IT. Call me immediately. Fast forward to this past Monday 6-23, they called! I assumed to let me know about a cancellation. But it was to let me know that the doctor was no longer going to be in office, and now the soonest they can see me wasn’t until September. I let the receptionist know everything that was going on and I told her that September isn’t an option for me. I needed to be on a heart monitor months ago. She said “I’ll pass along your concerns” and hung up. I immediately got a hold of my primary care doctor who started the work to get me a referral in somewhere better with more availability. Yesterday I received a phone call again. Excited I answered. Another receptionist, from the second cardiologist calling me to let me know the doctor wasn’t going to be in and now, instead of September, the soonest was October. I let them know I was already called and that I have another referral in elsewhere, and that it was concerning that my “concerns were not passed along” or that I was even called. I know it’s not anyone’s fault, it’s all just very frustrating. Meanwhile, I’m still having seizures, I’m still passing out, I’m still having memory issues, I still can’t drive. Looking back further in my charts and records, my doctors have come to theorize that I have been having these seizures for a lot longer than anyone realized. Years. But because they aren’t like the seizures you see in the movies, everyone around me (including myself) wrote them off as just some weird quirk of mine. Now the more troubling question… because this has been happening for a lot longer than anyone thought, is there any damage? If so, how much? Stay tuned, more to come.