Sarah's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hi everybody! I am nervous to share this and a little embarrased. I am not sure where to start and it will probably be long-winded, but I was encouraged by a sister-in-Christ to start one of these and had a very sweet person set this up for me.
Back in October, I started experiencing wheezing through the night and was having trouble breathing. Eventually, it turned into a wheezing cough that was not only at night, but during the day too.
In December, I developed a sore throat and my cough was getting worse each day. It felt like I had a "knob" stuck in the right side of my throat. I had fevers that kept coming and going, but was reluctant to get help because I had just lost my health insurance.
Josh encouraged me to finally go in and see a doctor. Once there, they suspected that it was likely GERD and that I had aspirated. He also figured that the pain in my neck was just a pulled muscle from coughing. I left with antibiotics, an inhaler, Nexium, instructions to follow a GERD diet, make sure to elevate during the night, and try to lose some weight.
Through January, I worked very hard to walk daily, got a wedge to elevate me at night, and I completely changed my diet. I was losing weight, but was not getting better. In fact, I was getting worse. I felt miserable, but kept pushing through telling myself that I was going to get better as long as I kept eating well and exercising.
Towards the end of January, I called my doctor and explained that the first round of antibiotics hadn't worked. So she decided to try a different one. That night my fever sky rocketed to 105. From this point on, my fevers kept cycling high and I was coughing constantly. I was scared, exhausted, and it was affecting my daily life.
Every night it was a struggle to breathe. I felt like I was suffocating. All day long it was a cycle of coughing and then throwing up. I homeschool our daughter and could barely get through a sentence. I couldn't talk much, sing, or laugh. I didn't know what to do and was trying everything to try and remedy this: GERD medicines, antihistamines, essential oils, probiotics, cough medicines, humidifiers, you name it - I tried it.
Last Thursday, I finally had enough. The fevers were awful, the wheezing was driving me nuts, I was losing weight rapidly, and the pain in my throat was getting to be unbearable. I was sure that it had to be mono or tonsillitis. Fortunately, I was able to get in to see an amazing doctor who knew something was not right.
She said with GERD, I would not be having fevers. She could also feel the lump in my neck. So she immediately ordered blood work and sent me for a Soft Tissue Neck CT and Chest X-Ray.
There it was found that the knob I was feeling in my throat was actually a very enlarged right paratracheal lymph node. They also found an enlarged right hilar lymph node down by my breast bone. My blood tests showed high inflammation markers and low white blood cell counts. Also low iron (anemia). So they ordered more blood tests and a Chest CT.
That CT showed a lesion on my spleen, Bronchiectasis, intrathoracic lymphadenopathy with confluent moderate right hilar and subcarinal lymphadenopathy with mild internal necrosis, esophageal wall thickening, and more.
I was immediately ushered in for more blood tests and sputum tests. They started me on the strongest antibiotic and nebulizer treatments in hopes that it could help until we figure out what's going on.
They said given my age, that this was most likely caused from a very severe infection (bacterial or fungal), but that lymphoma (cancer) cannot be ruled out. So they were referring me to a Pulmonologist.
Yesterday, I received a call that the Pulmonologist decided to skip the consult and have me go straight to the University of Minnesota to have a Bronchoscopy, Endobronchial Ultrasound, with Trans-Bronchial Biopsies. I will be put under with general anesthesia, but it is a same day procedure so I won’t have to stay.
Unfortunately, I received a phone call today from the University explaining that before this procedure, I have to have an 80% down payment since I am self-pay. Talk about shocking! My primary care physician says that this is very urgent and it cannot wait. She said that they need to know what they are dealing with.
If it is fungal, antibiotics will not make it go away and it can kill me. If it's cancer, then we need to know. I keep telling myself that I am not that sick, but my doctor told me today that I need to stop downplaying this and that this will not go away on its own. My procedure is already scheduled for next week and I have to have the 80% before the day of.
I hate asking for help, but a lovely person encouraged me that it is okay to let others help me in a time of need. My doctor explained that I will need another follow-up CT in a couple of weeks, follow-up blood tests, and an EGD for my throat thickening. Not to mention, the care that I will need once we figure out what monster we are dealing with.
I would so appreciate your prayers and if you feel led, your donations are incredibly appreciated!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to read through this novel. Thank you for your prayers and your help! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing doctor, husband, daughter, family, and friends. I'm so thankful for the help that has been received already with donations, rides to my appointments, watching our daughter, meals, prayers, and encouragement!
I know that God is bigger than anything that I face. I know and trust that He will see me through this. I am so thankful for his unending peace and hope during this time that I feel like my life has been flipped upside down. I am just trying to take each day at a time. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that this has made me appreciate life so much more. It is so precious. The things that used to seem so important, no longer are. I am just so thankful to be alive and for each moment!
Much love and many thanks to you all! <3
Back in October, I started experiencing wheezing through the night and was having trouble breathing. Eventually, it turned into a wheezing cough that was not only at night, but during the day too.
In December, I developed a sore throat and my cough was getting worse each day. It felt like I had a "knob" stuck in the right side of my throat. I had fevers that kept coming and going, but was reluctant to get help because I had just lost my health insurance.
Josh encouraged me to finally go in and see a doctor. Once there, they suspected that it was likely GERD and that I had aspirated. He also figured that the pain in my neck was just a pulled muscle from coughing. I left with antibiotics, an inhaler, Nexium, instructions to follow a GERD diet, make sure to elevate during the night, and try to lose some weight.
Through January, I worked very hard to walk daily, got a wedge to elevate me at night, and I completely changed my diet. I was losing weight, but was not getting better. In fact, I was getting worse. I felt miserable, but kept pushing through telling myself that I was going to get better as long as I kept eating well and exercising.
Towards the end of January, I called my doctor and explained that the first round of antibiotics hadn't worked. So she decided to try a different one. That night my fever sky rocketed to 105. From this point on, my fevers kept cycling high and I was coughing constantly. I was scared, exhausted, and it was affecting my daily life.
Every night it was a struggle to breathe. I felt like I was suffocating. All day long it was a cycle of coughing and then throwing up. I homeschool our daughter and could barely get through a sentence. I couldn't talk much, sing, or laugh. I didn't know what to do and was trying everything to try and remedy this: GERD medicines, antihistamines, essential oils, probiotics, cough medicines, humidifiers, you name it - I tried it.
Last Thursday, I finally had enough. The fevers were awful, the wheezing was driving me nuts, I was losing weight rapidly, and the pain in my throat was getting to be unbearable. I was sure that it had to be mono or tonsillitis. Fortunately, I was able to get in to see an amazing doctor who knew something was not right.
She said with GERD, I would not be having fevers. She could also feel the lump in my neck. So she immediately ordered blood work and sent me for a Soft Tissue Neck CT and Chest X-Ray.
There it was found that the knob I was feeling in my throat was actually a very enlarged right paratracheal lymph node. They also found an enlarged right hilar lymph node down by my breast bone. My blood tests showed high inflammation markers and low white blood cell counts. Also low iron (anemia). So they ordered more blood tests and a Chest CT.
That CT showed a lesion on my spleen, Bronchiectasis, intrathoracic lymphadenopathy with confluent moderate right hilar and subcarinal lymphadenopathy with mild internal necrosis, esophageal wall thickening, and more.
I was immediately ushered in for more blood tests and sputum tests. They started me on the strongest antibiotic and nebulizer treatments in hopes that it could help until we figure out what's going on.
They said given my age, that this was most likely caused from a very severe infection (bacterial or fungal), but that lymphoma (cancer) cannot be ruled out. So they were referring me to a Pulmonologist.
Yesterday, I received a call that the Pulmonologist decided to skip the consult and have me go straight to the University of Minnesota to have a Bronchoscopy, Endobronchial Ultrasound, with Trans-Bronchial Biopsies. I will be put under with general anesthesia, but it is a same day procedure so I won’t have to stay.
Unfortunately, I received a phone call today from the University explaining that before this procedure, I have to have an 80% down payment since I am self-pay. Talk about shocking! My primary care physician says that this is very urgent and it cannot wait. She said that they need to know what they are dealing with.
If it is fungal, antibiotics will not make it go away and it can kill me. If it's cancer, then we need to know. I keep telling myself that I am not that sick, but my doctor told me today that I need to stop downplaying this and that this will not go away on its own. My procedure is already scheduled for next week and I have to have the 80% before the day of.
I hate asking for help, but a lovely person encouraged me that it is okay to let others help me in a time of need. My doctor explained that I will need another follow-up CT in a couple of weeks, follow-up blood tests, and an EGD for my throat thickening. Not to mention, the care that I will need once we figure out what monster we are dealing with.
I would so appreciate your prayers and if you feel led, your donations are incredibly appreciated!
Thank you SO much for taking the time to read through this novel. Thank you for your prayers and your help! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing doctor, husband, daughter, family, and friends. I'm so thankful for the help that has been received already with donations, rides to my appointments, watching our daughter, meals, prayers, and encouragement!
I know that God is bigger than anything that I face. I know and trust that He will see me through this. I am so thankful for his unending peace and hope during this time that I feel like my life has been flipped upside down. I am just trying to take each day at a time. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that this has made me appreciate life so much more. It is so precious. The things that used to seem so important, no longer are. I am just so thankful to be alive and for each moment!
Much love and many thanks to you all! <3
Organizer
Sarah C.
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
