Need a little help getting healthy
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Two years ago, life was pretty good. My business, a medical supply company providing equipment to senior citizens, was steady, I was able to take care of my employees, pay the company expenses and have enough left over to live a comfortable life and provide for my 2 boys. Things weren’t perfect. I had a chronic back problem (4 herniated discs) for which had been receiving treatment from a physical therapist for the last 5 years. But compared to most, I had a pretty decent life.
It was at this time I began experiencing some fatigue when walking up stairs or doing any sort of physical activity. I didn’t think much of it. I just figured I was getting older and needed to get in better shape. Slowly, the symptoms worsened. After about 4 months I got to the point where I was getting dizzy and light-headed. It got so bad, that there were times I would nearly faint just getting from the couch. I would be unable to catch my breath and it would feel as if I had ran a marathon after just walking across the room. I ended up checking in the hospital to find out what was wrong with me. After two dats in the hospital I was informed I had CHF - Congentice Heart Failure - a disease characterized by the weakening of the heart muscle. This weakening causes your heart to not be able to pump enough blood to the body resulting in a lack of oxygen and nutrients to the body and builds up pressure in your heart. It also causes fluid to build in your body, including around the heart and lungs. The doctor prescribed me some medicines to hopefully clear up some underlying conditions that could be causing the CHF.
The medicines helped the symptoms slow down for a couple of weeks, but they eventually came back just as strong. At this point I checked myself into the best hospital in Southern California, Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Fortunately, i made sure the company provided good health insurance for me and my employees. After 9 days in the hospital and lots of testing I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension . PAH is a degenerative disease of he heart that affects blood supply to the lungs. Unfortunately, there is no cure. You can only hope to manage symptoms.
Now, during the whole time this is happening I am not able to work much and my business is really starting to suffer. By the time I get the correct diagnosis and I get on some medicines that allow me to function at about 50%, things have really gotten bad. I have had to let go of most of my employees and I am trying to run the business alone with my fiancée.
Thats when my back started flaring up. I just couldn’t catch a break. I ended up in the hospital 3 separate times with sciatica pain. By this time I had lost my insurance and was on state Medi-caid, as I currently still am.
This all came to a final conclusion last month, in early December 2017. I had to finally close the doors on my business after more than a year of trying to keep it afloat. The stress of it all cost me my relationship, too. My fiancée and I broke up right around the same time. So I packed up the necessities of my business and put it all in storage. I got rid of the rest of it. I also packed up my apartment and put it in storage and moved in with a friend.
What I am looking for right now, is a little help. I need a double discectomy on my L2/L3 and L3/L4. The recovery time for that is 2-4 weeks plus rehab afterward. If I can get that surgery done and back on my feet I have a job lined up that I can work at for 6 months to save some money and get my business reopened. My oldest son is starting college in fall and my youngest is starting the following year. I would like to be able to help them pay for that so I am hoping that with a little help I can get things back on track. Anything you can do is greatly appreciated. God Bless all of you.
Gary
It was at this time I began experiencing some fatigue when walking up stairs or doing any sort of physical activity. I didn’t think much of it. I just figured I was getting older and needed to get in better shape. Slowly, the symptoms worsened. After about 4 months I got to the point where I was getting dizzy and light-headed. It got so bad, that there were times I would nearly faint just getting from the couch. I would be unable to catch my breath and it would feel as if I had ran a marathon after just walking across the room. I ended up checking in the hospital to find out what was wrong with me. After two dats in the hospital I was informed I had CHF - Congentice Heart Failure - a disease characterized by the weakening of the heart muscle. This weakening causes your heart to not be able to pump enough blood to the body resulting in a lack of oxygen and nutrients to the body and builds up pressure in your heart. It also causes fluid to build in your body, including around the heart and lungs. The doctor prescribed me some medicines to hopefully clear up some underlying conditions that could be causing the CHF.
The medicines helped the symptoms slow down for a couple of weeks, but they eventually came back just as strong. At this point I checked myself into the best hospital in Southern California, Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Fortunately, i made sure the company provided good health insurance for me and my employees. After 9 days in the hospital and lots of testing I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension . PAH is a degenerative disease of he heart that affects blood supply to the lungs. Unfortunately, there is no cure. You can only hope to manage symptoms.
Now, during the whole time this is happening I am not able to work much and my business is really starting to suffer. By the time I get the correct diagnosis and I get on some medicines that allow me to function at about 50%, things have really gotten bad. I have had to let go of most of my employees and I am trying to run the business alone with my fiancée.
Thats when my back started flaring up. I just couldn’t catch a break. I ended up in the hospital 3 separate times with sciatica pain. By this time I had lost my insurance and was on state Medi-caid, as I currently still am.
This all came to a final conclusion last month, in early December 2017. I had to finally close the doors on my business after more than a year of trying to keep it afloat. The stress of it all cost me my relationship, too. My fiancée and I broke up right around the same time. So I packed up the necessities of my business and put it all in storage. I got rid of the rest of it. I also packed up my apartment and put it in storage and moved in with a friend.
What I am looking for right now, is a little help. I need a double discectomy on my L2/L3 and L3/L4. The recovery time for that is 2-4 weeks plus rehab afterward. If I can get that surgery done and back on my feet I have a job lined up that I can work at for 6 months to save some money and get my business reopened. My oldest son is starting college in fall and my youngest is starting the following year. I would like to be able to help them pay for that so I am hoping that with a little help I can get things back on track. Anything you can do is greatly appreciated. God Bless all of you.
Gary
Organizer
Gary Carter
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
