Medical Expenses for Joshua Schartner

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in April of 2006 when I was twelve years old. In the years since my diagnosis I have endured many different treatments ranging from surgeries to IV therapy, but unfortunately, I have not been able to find a lasting solution to my disease. People close to me could probably see that this has gotten particularly bad in the last two years. In October of 2017 I had a colonoscopy that revealed that all my intestines and colon have become very seriously inflamed. The doctors were concerned that the longer this went without being treated the higher my risks of it becoming worse in the long term would be. In the following year I tried several different IV therapies, diets, and prescription medications in the hopes of avoiding a major surgery. Through all this my goal has simply been to get as healthy as possible so that I may lead a normal life, but the doctors did not want to proceed with surgery unless it was the only option. Unfortunately for me by going this route I have been backed into a corner where that is now the only option and the ramifications of this have been truly devastating to me financially. Part of the process that is very frustrating is how long it takes to get appointments with the specialists I have needed to try to find a solution. I had been in and out of urgent cares and Emergency Rooms from Door County to Green Bay several times this year because my symptoms reached points where I was in severe pain and unable to eat. The first time this happened was in June and I was given a hefty dose of steroids to reduce my symptoms and referred to a GI doctor in Green Bay. At that appointment they went over the results of my CT scan from the ER visit and took several labs, updated vaccinations, and scheduled another colonoscopy for this September. I anticipated being on the steroids until that scope and then learning how I would proceed at that point, but less than a month later I found myself back in the ER. This time they found that I had a kidney stone that was far too large to pass on my own and required surgery, causing me to miss more work and incur more medical debt. I was told the reason for the stone is likely because my Crohn’s disease is so active throughout my whole digestive tract which can cause increased risk of stones as well as other issues. In September I had my colonoscopy and they were unable to get through with the camera because of how inflamed everything is. They decided to transfer my care to Froedtert in Milwaukee as they said it was far too severe for them to handle in Green Bay. After several appointments with Froedtert I am confident that I have found the place that is going to help me move towards a long-term solution however this realization has come at a very large financial strain. Over the past few months the time off work as well as the added cost of prescriptions, co-pays, and travel have pushed me to a point where I simply cannot afford it. I have fallen behind on my car payment, rent, and utilities and have not been to find a way to catch up. I have also found out that the first step towards my solution will be surgery for a temporary loop ileostomy. Basically, they will be taking my intestines out through an incision on my stomach and routing them to an attached bag to collect the waste. This will allow my diseased bowel time to recover and let medications and diets more of a chance to help me. The doctors likened it to a broken arm, when someone breaks their arm, they stop using it and wrap it in a cast, allowing it to heal. By “shutting down” my intestines I will be giving them an opportunity to heal and hopefully regain a quality of life I have been longing for since originally being diagnosed. This procedure means a five day stay in the hospital for recovery followed by an additional four to five weeks off work. This means that during my greatest financial strain I will not be receiving any income or making progress towards digging myself out of this hole. I have prided myself on my independence through all of this to this point and that’s why it is so hard for me to do this, but I see myself in a position where I simply cannot do it on my own and I absolutely need help. My hope is to raise enough money to help ease some of the financial burden and allow me to focus more on my ultimate goal of becoming healthy enough to live as high of a quality of life as I can. Without any assistance I am not sure how I am going to continue to pay my bills as well as the various co-pays and medical expenses I will certainly incur. If you have any questions, I am always happy to share as much as I can from these experiences.