Mom who is battling valley fever
Donation protected
Hello, I want to first thank you for reading my story and in advance I want to say how truly greatful and thankful I am for helping me and my children.Its been a year and a half that I havnt been able to work! I have been declared permanently disabled and the long,long process of denial and appeals to try and get permanent disability (ssi/Ssdi/Ltd) has been such a grueling process and still I have received nothing!! I am not able to even get welfare , due to the fact that I have a child support case open for my daughter and if he pays only $20 here and there it's still considered income and they won't give it to me only food stamps. All these years, as a single mom I have lived paycheck to paycheck but worked hard all these years and was working in a hospital for 16 years but as of over year ago I am to sick to work and my disability ran out last year so I have struggled terribly to keep a roof over our heads etc.. I know some People don't know if they can trust gofundme stories and campaigns.If you go on YOUTUBE, you will find many videos, taken by media or other people. Kvie channel 6 news about 3 years ago did a story documentary on valley fever and I was in a big part of this. Type in "Gina Potter Deadly dust" YouTube this was back before I was sicker and was able to get myself to work! This will help you to understand more, my tough decision to set aside my pride and do this campaign.I encourage you to see my videos on YOUTUBE, they were filmed about 2 years ago before this relapse, but you will not only be able to trust my story, it has been validated by media, but also, I promise,You will be given a lot of necessary information on the disease and see me tell my story,will help you to understand more what I'm going through. I was actually doing pretty well for few years on my treatment during the time of my videos, not normal but for all my body is fighting, all the doctors in California say I'm a "walking miracle." The professor at uc Davis, who you will see in the kvie video, professor in valley fever! We met at the premiere, he was at a loss for words, for me to be alive, and much more so, he says the fact that I was talking normal and looked great! Although the way we look on the outside with this disease , does not show usually the severity of what is going on in your body and how Awful you feel! ANYONE!! Can get this disease, The fungus spore is in the soil in the ground. When it's windy or your working in your yard, or someone else is doing construction etc even miles away it can and does travel through the air, in which , this point, is when people breathe in the spores and get valley fever ! ONLY FROM BREATHING!! That's all it takes. I have a very severe and critical case of it! I have found beyond the best education and support with Sharon and Dave Fillip owners of Valley Fever Survivor support group on Facebook!! A HUGE blessing in my life!! I couldn't do this without them!!! They have dedicated there lives to the research on valley fever!!! They wrote the book as seen on talk shows etc. The book has everything one would need to know! They speak at conventions and do so much for all of is valley fever survivors and to bring awareness to the public!
I am a single mommy! My children are my life!! They make every day worth fighting for!! The happiness and laughter they provide to me keeps me going . I'm batteling a disease a lot of people don't know about or don't understand. Valley fever!! Alot of people just think it's allergies or hay fever, this debillitating,painful,persistent,dangerous disease is in no way in connection to those things and has claimed thousands of lives!!I am a severe case, known as disseminated valley fever. I am on life long treatment with a medication that is in high dose with severe side effects. Just being in high dose of medication is debilitating and the side effects are horrible !! This treatment is like taking chemo. I will be taking this every day until I pass on. I have been a very complicated case and have actually almost met death many times.I was misdiagnosed many times by many doctors!! And while I had "cocci menengitis"!!! These misdiagnoseses lead to me fighting for my life and life long treatment!These misdiagnosis created permanent damage to me ,things I can never get back, such as my deafness, I went complete deaf in my right ear and have hearing loss in my left ear and it's permanent, 8th cranial nerve damage, I have a loud blow dryer noise 24 hours a day non stop from nerve damage and deaf, in my ears from brain to nerves auditory and not being treated properly with what I really had!! I was young and healthy before this ! I had the disease move from my lungs to the spinal cord and brain creatIng masses allover my brain. I have cocci menengitis. The disease also progressed into my auditory canals and in my whole spine and bones, also behind my eyes almost left me blind. I Was bedridden on my back only for almost a month to try to preserve me from going blind and the valley fever masses all in my brain caused me to get yet another awful illness, hydrocephalus "water on the brain" caused by my disease. And 2 brain surgeries. Many long hospitalizations in agony and being treated with a drug called amphotericin b injected into a device in my brain! And also in iv. The drug is called "ampho terrible" to all the doctors because the drug is worse than chemo. And the side effects are like something you would see in a horror movie! I am still on life long treatment with Diflucan, high dose not as bad as ampho b but another drug that is chemo like and has severe side effects especially in high doses, in which I am on, very dangerous! The ampho terrible treatments caused even more damage but also saved me along with a lot of prayer! I spent 6 months getting injection of ampho terrible into my reservoir to the brain and also in pic line and hi dose of diflucan all at once! Doses were huge! After each treatment it compared to what you would see in a crazy sci-fi movie or a live episode of "house", ending with your body feeling it's on fire,body tremors allover like a whole body seizure and extreme vomiting and diarrhea all at once with my vision blacking out and my head spinning in side for hours on end and I could go on. A year ago I got sicker another setback with my valley fever and my dose had to go up and then I was taken off of it for a week then put back on again at high dose for until the end, I also have rheumatoid arthritis, this is another terrible disease I got since my valley fever also! I have also been dealing this last year with a relapse in this also causing me to get a lot worse and my joints in my hands,fingers,knees,feet,toes,neck,back get very full of inflammation every day and my fingers and toes go stiff and swollen and very very painful also allover were as I have it and I'm ridden with extreme lethargy and weakness all the time and I spend most of my time in bed and in my room which is very sad and hard. With the valley fever and rheumatoid arthritis relapses and treatment Also now brought on another terrible thing! Sleep apnea and being on county insurance it's been impossible to get help for it . For me, a typical day of symptoms this last year and now is awful and I have severe dizziness,bad headaches,lethargic and weak and fatigue ridden,trouble breathing,light headed,nausea,diarrhea, stomach pain in severe episodes,anxiety,neck pain and stiffness , night sweats and severe pain in my lower back (im sure 35 spinal taps and a ton of scar tissue there does kilt help), pain in spine,bones,pressure In my head,roaring loud blow dryer noise in deaf ear from nerve damage ,severe light sensitivity and eye problems ,hearing problem severe and I could keep going , I am not able to get through a day without sleeping part of it and to just get my kids around we're needed and do small things here and there. My life has changed dramatically! I no longer have been able to work and I desperately need your help! there was a time when I could force myself to work everyday come home , drive kids around ,cook, clean etc. Be feeling pretty bad by the night and overly exhausted but I was doing it and yes it is a miracle! However I can not work anymore, in sept, my level in my body of medication was built up from so long being on it that the blood level was and is high enough to shut down all my vital organs ! I have no money set aside as a single mom. I desperately need help to pay rent,utilities, necessities and my car which is old and I can't afford to fix all the problems with and still have payments on. I will be forever thankful and greAtful for your help right now. I believe in god and miracles! And I believe that I truly am one! Prayers in numbers does heal! Please pray for my healing .There are good people who can help us. AT THIS TIME,im also batteling a serious problem with my medication for vf! i have blood tests done often to check the amount of diflucan in my body and recently i have a BAFFELING HIGH AMOUNT IN ME,normal being 0.5, mine is 40.9!!! another thing tearing my body down and at a level in a range of creating heart failure!! YET I HAVE NO CHOICE to continue on with this dose or I will die sooner than llater! Relapse ,hospitalization,death.I need stay on high dose to keep my disease under control but now being on the dose i need is damaging me and at extreme toxic levels in me and will also end!Every little bit adds up! I have faith in you! To make the decision and make a donation. God bless you and your family, Gina and children
I am a single mommy! My children are my life!! They make every day worth fighting for!! The happiness and laughter they provide to me keeps me going . I'm batteling a disease a lot of people don't know about or don't understand. Valley fever!! Alot of people just think it's allergies or hay fever, this debillitating,painful,persistent,dangerous disease is in no way in connection to those things and has claimed thousands of lives!!I am a severe case, known as disseminated valley fever. I am on life long treatment with a medication that is in high dose with severe side effects. Just being in high dose of medication is debilitating and the side effects are horrible !! This treatment is like taking chemo. I will be taking this every day until I pass on. I have been a very complicated case and have actually almost met death many times.I was misdiagnosed many times by many doctors!! And while I had "cocci menengitis"!!! These misdiagnoseses lead to me fighting for my life and life long treatment!These misdiagnosis created permanent damage to me ,things I can never get back, such as my deafness, I went complete deaf in my right ear and have hearing loss in my left ear and it's permanent, 8th cranial nerve damage, I have a loud blow dryer noise 24 hours a day non stop from nerve damage and deaf, in my ears from brain to nerves auditory and not being treated properly with what I really had!! I was young and healthy before this ! I had the disease move from my lungs to the spinal cord and brain creatIng masses allover my brain. I have cocci menengitis. The disease also progressed into my auditory canals and in my whole spine and bones, also behind my eyes almost left me blind. I Was bedridden on my back only for almost a month to try to preserve me from going blind and the valley fever masses all in my brain caused me to get yet another awful illness, hydrocephalus "water on the brain" caused by my disease. And 2 brain surgeries. Many long hospitalizations in agony and being treated with a drug called amphotericin b injected into a device in my brain! And also in iv. The drug is called "ampho terrible" to all the doctors because the drug is worse than chemo. And the side effects are like something you would see in a horror movie! I am still on life long treatment with Diflucan, high dose not as bad as ampho b but another drug that is chemo like and has severe side effects especially in high doses, in which I am on, very dangerous! The ampho terrible treatments caused even more damage but also saved me along with a lot of prayer! I spent 6 months getting injection of ampho terrible into my reservoir to the brain and also in pic line and hi dose of diflucan all at once! Doses were huge! After each treatment it compared to what you would see in a crazy sci-fi movie or a live episode of "house", ending with your body feeling it's on fire,body tremors allover like a whole body seizure and extreme vomiting and diarrhea all at once with my vision blacking out and my head spinning in side for hours on end and I could go on. A year ago I got sicker another setback with my valley fever and my dose had to go up and then I was taken off of it for a week then put back on again at high dose for until the end, I also have rheumatoid arthritis, this is another terrible disease I got since my valley fever also! I have also been dealing this last year with a relapse in this also causing me to get a lot worse and my joints in my hands,fingers,knees,feet,toes,neck,back get very full of inflammation every day and my fingers and toes go stiff and swollen and very very painful also allover were as I have it and I'm ridden with extreme lethargy and weakness all the time and I spend most of my time in bed and in my room which is very sad and hard. With the valley fever and rheumatoid arthritis relapses and treatment Also now brought on another terrible thing! Sleep apnea and being on county insurance it's been impossible to get help for it . For me, a typical day of symptoms this last year and now is awful and I have severe dizziness,bad headaches,lethargic and weak and fatigue ridden,trouble breathing,light headed,nausea,diarrhea, stomach pain in severe episodes,anxiety,neck pain and stiffness , night sweats and severe pain in my lower back (im sure 35 spinal taps and a ton of scar tissue there does kilt help), pain in spine,bones,pressure In my head,roaring loud blow dryer noise in deaf ear from nerve damage ,severe light sensitivity and eye problems ,hearing problem severe and I could keep going , I am not able to get through a day without sleeping part of it and to just get my kids around we're needed and do small things here and there. My life has changed dramatically! I no longer have been able to work and I desperately need your help! there was a time when I could force myself to work everyday come home , drive kids around ,cook, clean etc. Be feeling pretty bad by the night and overly exhausted but I was doing it and yes it is a miracle! However I can not work anymore, in sept, my level in my body of medication was built up from so long being on it that the blood level was and is high enough to shut down all my vital organs ! I have no money set aside as a single mom. I desperately need help to pay rent,utilities, necessities and my car which is old and I can't afford to fix all the problems with and still have payments on. I will be forever thankful and greAtful for your help right now. I believe in god and miracles! And I believe that I truly am one! Prayers in numbers does heal! Please pray for my healing .There are good people who can help us. AT THIS TIME,im also batteling a serious problem with my medication for vf! i have blood tests done often to check the amount of diflucan in my body and recently i have a BAFFELING HIGH AMOUNT IN ME,normal being 0.5, mine is 40.9!!! another thing tearing my body down and at a level in a range of creating heart failure!! YET I HAVE NO CHOICE to continue on with this dose or I will die sooner than llater! Relapse ,hospitalization,death.I need stay on high dose to keep my disease under control but now being on the dose i need is damaging me and at extreme toxic levels in me and will also end!Every little bit adds up! I have faith in you! To make the decision and make a donation. God bless you and your family, Gina and children
Organizer
Gina P Rinauro
Organizer
Tracy, CA
