Jessica's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Who I Am and What Exactly We’re Doing Here
My name is Jessica Weisenfels. I’m thirty-two years old, the mother of two excellent children, and the wife of my fantastic second husband. I’m a writer, a grad student, a devoted employee of a job I love, a pretty excellent friend and family member to have in your corner, and I have been chronically and sometimes critically ill for about five years. I’m also super tough and incredibly proud when it comes to being able to take care of myself and my own, so setting up this Go Fund Me is almost more than I can bear. But here I am, because I need help, and frankly I don’t know what else to do.
In March of 2011, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. This might not seem like a big deal if you know someone whose UC is well-controlled, but that is not the situation here. Since March of 2011, I’ve had some ups and downs that frankly it would be too depressing to list, and you aren’t here to get depressed. You’re here because you saw this and either wanted to help or had some morbid curiosity about what is happening.
Let me answer some questions real quick: Yes, I still have my colon. No, I’m not dead. Yes, we’re trying every medically acceptable treatment. Yes, I do have a colonoscopy once a year. No, it’s not over and it doesn’t appear to be getting much better. Just this April I stayed in the hospital for a week for a flare that no one could stop for almost six months. I became so dehydrated from the flare that I had something called “volume depletion” that caused my heart to beat too fast. I received a blood transfusion. They found lesions on my liver that eventually required a biopsy. The lesions are fine, not cancer, but I’m trying to tell you what this year has been like.
Fear of cancer had me down for the little while between when they found the lesions had grown until the biopsy results came back, but nothing in my life has compared to the fear I felt yesterday when I opened the mail. You see, I have been on Medicaid since 2012. I’m not proud of it, but I haven’t been able to work a full time job because of my various health crises, and I have two children and a vast network of family and friends who need me to stay alive. Yesterday, I received a letter saying my Medicaid had been cancelled. That’s why we’re here, because the thing I have depended on to keep me alive is suddenly gone, and I have become desperate.
What I Need, If You Can Help
I am currently working on a plan for our family finances that would allow me to purchase and maintain insurance that would go into effect on January 1st. The problem is, I need a lot of insurance to make sure I’m covered, and the only insurance being offered to me has a high deductible. In the coming weeks, I have three doctor’s appointments that I must attend in order to get prescriptions refilled. At least two of those appointments will require serious lab work. I am conservatively estimating the cost of that lab work because frankly I feel bad asking for loose change, much less the higher estimate, and perhaps they will let me pay it out. I am aware that this number still seems high, and I will tell you why that is: an office visit with my gastroenterologist costs $500, which I know because I called to ask. You’ll be glad to know I did not pass out upon receiving the news, even if it was a close call.
There is also the matter of purchasing the medication I need. According to my calculations, I will need enough money to purchase medications to make it through this month and the next. My total medication cost is much lower than it used to be, but it is still $441 per month, so $882 is the amount I am seeking to cover medications for December and January.
If you’re wondering if I have family who can help me, the only family I have like that are my grandparents, who are in their seventies and living on a fixed income. They would gladly go broke to save me, but I would rather they not be forced to do that.
If you can’t contribute financially, I would ask that you consider asking our politicians to take a hard look at how this country manages its healthcare system.
My name is Jessica Weisenfels. I’m thirty-two years old, the mother of two excellent children, and the wife of my fantastic second husband. I’m a writer, a grad student, a devoted employee of a job I love, a pretty excellent friend and family member to have in your corner, and I have been chronically and sometimes critically ill for about five years. I’m also super tough and incredibly proud when it comes to being able to take care of myself and my own, so setting up this Go Fund Me is almost more than I can bear. But here I am, because I need help, and frankly I don’t know what else to do.
In March of 2011, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. This might not seem like a big deal if you know someone whose UC is well-controlled, but that is not the situation here. Since March of 2011, I’ve had some ups and downs that frankly it would be too depressing to list, and you aren’t here to get depressed. You’re here because you saw this and either wanted to help or had some morbid curiosity about what is happening.
Let me answer some questions real quick: Yes, I still have my colon. No, I’m not dead. Yes, we’re trying every medically acceptable treatment. Yes, I do have a colonoscopy once a year. No, it’s not over and it doesn’t appear to be getting much better. Just this April I stayed in the hospital for a week for a flare that no one could stop for almost six months. I became so dehydrated from the flare that I had something called “volume depletion” that caused my heart to beat too fast. I received a blood transfusion. They found lesions on my liver that eventually required a biopsy. The lesions are fine, not cancer, but I’m trying to tell you what this year has been like.
Fear of cancer had me down for the little while between when they found the lesions had grown until the biopsy results came back, but nothing in my life has compared to the fear I felt yesterday when I opened the mail. You see, I have been on Medicaid since 2012. I’m not proud of it, but I haven’t been able to work a full time job because of my various health crises, and I have two children and a vast network of family and friends who need me to stay alive. Yesterday, I received a letter saying my Medicaid had been cancelled. That’s why we’re here, because the thing I have depended on to keep me alive is suddenly gone, and I have become desperate.
What I Need, If You Can Help
I am currently working on a plan for our family finances that would allow me to purchase and maintain insurance that would go into effect on January 1st. The problem is, I need a lot of insurance to make sure I’m covered, and the only insurance being offered to me has a high deductible. In the coming weeks, I have three doctor’s appointments that I must attend in order to get prescriptions refilled. At least two of those appointments will require serious lab work. I am conservatively estimating the cost of that lab work because frankly I feel bad asking for loose change, much less the higher estimate, and perhaps they will let me pay it out. I am aware that this number still seems high, and I will tell you why that is: an office visit with my gastroenterologist costs $500, which I know because I called to ask. You’ll be glad to know I did not pass out upon receiving the news, even if it was a close call.
There is also the matter of purchasing the medication I need. According to my calculations, I will need enough money to purchase medications to make it through this month and the next. My total medication cost is much lower than it used to be, but it is still $441 per month, so $882 is the amount I am seeking to cover medications for December and January.
If you’re wondering if I have family who can help me, the only family I have like that are my grandparents, who are in their seventies and living on a fixed income. They would gladly go broke to save me, but I would rather they not be forced to do that.
If you can’t contribute financially, I would ask that you consider asking our politicians to take a hard look at how this country manages its healthcare system.
Organizer
Jessica B. Weisenfels
Organizer
Alma, AR
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