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Help Sarah with Infusion Thearpy

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My name is Sarah Carpenter; I have been suffering from multiple chronic illnesses for the last two years. It is never easy and quite embarrassing to ask for help but after prayer, my family and friends have encouraged me to reach out. I am asking for help to pay for medical treatment not covered by insurance. Because of my health, my mother and Steven have been stretched to the limit financially and can no longer take on any out of pocket expenses. Since I’m unable to work, I am pursuing disability services and have a lawyer working on my case, but the state of Washington has about a 500-day wait for a hearing.  

 
As many of you know, I had a hysterectomy in Jan of 2017. During recovery, we found out I had a reactivation of the Epstein Barr virus and never got better. I was forced to quit the job I loved and focused on my health.  About 3 months later, after seeing many different “oligist” I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. In addition to pain, I have also experienced many of the other health issues that come along with it. My doctors have tried a variety of medications and therapies, but nothing has worked.  I tried to go back to work in spring 2018 but after a few weeks, I was back in the hospital for 4 days. In March of 2018, I was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis which added another layer to the pain and fatigue from Fibromyalgia. My doctors have been monitoring blood tests over the past two years and discovered that I have two viruses that alternate reactivating and most likely was ill before the hysterectomy. I’m currently on a 6 month trial of anti-viral medication to see if we can lessen the fatigue and other effects of the viruses, but nothing is helping the pain.

The last time I was pain-free and functioning was following a sedated colonoscopy.  Since my health issues have made me resistant to sedation drugs they tried a cocktail that included Ketamine. This cocktail not only worked to sedate me during the procedure but improved my depression drastically and I was pain free.  Battling Treatment Resistant Depression since I was a teen, it felt like a miracle to see that the “fog” lifted for a few weeks. The effects of the medication allowed me to function for about 3 months with little pain

As you can imagine, I have a large number of doctors on my care team and we have decided to pursue an Infusion Therapy that includes Ketamine. Because the treatments are still relatively new, they are not yet covered by most insurance companies. Each infusion is $450. In the first two weeks, it is recommended the patient receive 4 infusions.  Next is 2 more infusions during the next two weeks.  This is called the loading phase. After the first 6 infusions, it is unknown how often a patient will need treatment in order to maintain the positive effects. Some people need boosters every month, some every few months, and others only a couple of times a year. Because of my previous success with the Ketamine cocktail, we expect positive results. 

 
As stated before, it’s never easy to ask for help but after two years we’re hoping these infusions will provide some relief so I can get some of my life back. I can start treatment as early as next week allowing me to finish just in time for the holidays.

If you are unable to give financially, we would appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and shares. Thank you for your continued love and support.

 
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Donations 

  • Beth Bowen
    • $75 
    • 5 yrs
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Fundraising team (2)

Sarah Carpenter
Organizer
Raised $400 from 5 donations
Lacey, WA
Steven Eucker
Team member
This team raised $580 from 6 other donations.

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