Helping Lori Fight!
Donación protegida
Lori's been through so much, and she struggles to make ends meet while battling this illness. Please help ♡
Lori moved to Nashville in 2012 for a fresh start after divorce, and was living on her own for the first time in her life. She was thriving in her new hometown soaking up all the live music she could. I mean she really soaked it up. e.g. she went to 46 live music events in her first year in Nashville! In 2013 she purchased her first home by herself and was sure to get one just big enough for herself, a home office, and a guest room. She is passionate about helping others and opened her home to up and coming singers/songwriters/musicians to stay at no charge while they were in town writing and/or recording. She also helped fund many artists’ records anytime she was financially able. In all she unconditionally gave more than $35,000 to support musicians or struggling friends over a 3 year period.
In late 2014, Lori became very ill and over the next 8 months or so went through a full range of tests to figure out what was going on. After seeing numerous specialists and enduring hours upon hours of testing she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and is still dealing with the effects of the condition which at times makes her unable to get out of bed. She was still working despite her condition. On the morning of March 11, 2016, Lori woke and was unable to walk. She was home alone and had to call 911 for assistance. An MRI showed that Lori had two severely herniated discs in her lumbar spine impinging her spinal cord causing extreme pain. It was determined that the herniations were a result of a bad fall on ice she had several weeks prior. On April 4th she had major back surgery to fix the herniated discs and within hours after surgery she was walking on her own. It was almost miraculous! Several weeks later she was back to walking an average of 7 miles a day with her dog until one day in July she rolled her ankle and fell in the street. The back pain returned and she did everything she could to avoid a 2nd surgery but there was no relief and in November 2016 she underwent major back surgery again, only 7 months after her first one. The surgery provided some relief but not completely. She could handle the discomfort but once again, she fell and the pain became unbearable. She went through months of physical therapy but the pain would not go away. In November 2017, Lori had to have her lumbar spine fused and spent a week in the hospital. It typically takes three months or so for a fusion to heal but Lori’s bone graft was not growing. She had to wear a bone growth stimulator 24/7 for several months but the bone graft still wasn’t taking. A year had passed and in November 2018 her surgeon told her there were two options – wait and see or do a 4th surgery to revise the fusion using a different graft material.
At this point, I need to mention that in November 2016 while she was on medical leave for the second back surgery, she lost her job. She continued to pay COBRA cost of health insurance due to her Fibromyalgia, spine issues, oh and the fact that she was told she is high risk for breast cancer after a questionable spot was found on her mammogram. She has had to go every 6 months for diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds and breast MRIs to monitor the spot. Because of her spinal fusion not healing, her spine surgeon has not released Lori to return to work. Her COBRA insurance ran out in August last year and she went without insurance. Because of this she had to choose the “wait and see” option of her spine issues. Without any income since 2016, she used all savings accounts, her IRA account, her 401k, gifts and/or loans from friends and family to pay her mortgage, car payment, household bills, COBRA insurance and medical bills. She still has not been able to return to work and has reached the end of her funds. She is still in need of the surgery to revise the spinal fusion and is in a catch 22. She can’t work because of her spine and she can’t get spine surgery because she has no income. Lori started the disability application process with the Social Security Administration in 2017 and her case is still in process after multiple denials and finally getting a hearing in front of a disability judge. Lori has always done everything in her power to help others and is too independent and “proud” to ask others for help. Thankfully she did apply for assistance with food and currently receives SNAP benefits each month to buy groceries. However, she does not know how she is going to pay her mortgage or other bills next month, much less the remainder of the year.
Lori moved to Nashville in 2012 for a fresh start after divorce, and was living on her own for the first time in her life. She was thriving in her new hometown soaking up all the live music she could. I mean she really soaked it up. e.g. she went to 46 live music events in her first year in Nashville! In 2013 she purchased her first home by herself and was sure to get one just big enough for herself, a home office, and a guest room. She is passionate about helping others and opened her home to up and coming singers/songwriters/musicians to stay at no charge while they were in town writing and/or recording. She also helped fund many artists’ records anytime she was financially able. In all she unconditionally gave more than $35,000 to support musicians or struggling friends over a 3 year period.
In late 2014, Lori became very ill and over the next 8 months or so went through a full range of tests to figure out what was going on. After seeing numerous specialists and enduring hours upon hours of testing she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and is still dealing with the effects of the condition which at times makes her unable to get out of bed. She was still working despite her condition. On the morning of March 11, 2016, Lori woke and was unable to walk. She was home alone and had to call 911 for assistance. An MRI showed that Lori had two severely herniated discs in her lumbar spine impinging her spinal cord causing extreme pain. It was determined that the herniations were a result of a bad fall on ice she had several weeks prior. On April 4th she had major back surgery to fix the herniated discs and within hours after surgery she was walking on her own. It was almost miraculous! Several weeks later she was back to walking an average of 7 miles a day with her dog until one day in July she rolled her ankle and fell in the street. The back pain returned and she did everything she could to avoid a 2nd surgery but there was no relief and in November 2016 she underwent major back surgery again, only 7 months after her first one. The surgery provided some relief but not completely. She could handle the discomfort but once again, she fell and the pain became unbearable. She went through months of physical therapy but the pain would not go away. In November 2017, Lori had to have her lumbar spine fused and spent a week in the hospital. It typically takes three months or so for a fusion to heal but Lori’s bone graft was not growing. She had to wear a bone growth stimulator 24/7 for several months but the bone graft still wasn’t taking. A year had passed and in November 2018 her surgeon told her there were two options – wait and see or do a 4th surgery to revise the fusion using a different graft material.
At this point, I need to mention that in November 2016 while she was on medical leave for the second back surgery, she lost her job. She continued to pay COBRA cost of health insurance due to her Fibromyalgia, spine issues, oh and the fact that she was told she is high risk for breast cancer after a questionable spot was found on her mammogram. She has had to go every 6 months for diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds and breast MRIs to monitor the spot. Because of her spinal fusion not healing, her spine surgeon has not released Lori to return to work. Her COBRA insurance ran out in August last year and she went without insurance. Because of this she had to choose the “wait and see” option of her spine issues. Without any income since 2016, she used all savings accounts, her IRA account, her 401k, gifts and/or loans from friends and family to pay her mortgage, car payment, household bills, COBRA insurance and medical bills. She still has not been able to return to work and has reached the end of her funds. She is still in need of the surgery to revise the spinal fusion and is in a catch 22. She can’t work because of her spine and she can’t get spine surgery because she has no income. Lori started the disability application process with the Social Security Administration in 2017 and her case is still in process after multiple denials and finally getting a hearing in front of a disability judge. Lori has always done everything in her power to help others and is too independent and “proud” to ask others for help. Thankfully she did apply for assistance with food and currently receives SNAP benefits each month to buy groceries. However, she does not know how she is going to pay her mortgage or other bills next month, much less the remainder of the year.
Organizador y beneficiario
Kristi Lindley
Organizador
Smyrna, GA
Lori Gardner
Beneficiario
