Save Steph
Donation protected
By: Janete Rodas
My sister, Stephanie Veloso Rodas, is 28 years old. Stephanie has been struggling with anorexia for over 15 years and in mid-February of 2017, we came within inches of losing her.
I found my sister unconscious in my apartment. She is currently weighing in at under 70 lbs and we need to get her into the right program quickly. At this point, we are facing a desperate life or death situation.
Please help me save my little sister.
Stephanie has a strong heart and will to overcome this disease but she needs help getting there. She deserves a chance to live a real life, she is not meant to leave this earth so early.
As of today, we are facing some roadblocks to getting Stephanie quality help, and soon.
Funds are no longer available to put Stephanie through treatment (inpatient or outpatient). All we can give her is faith, courage, emotional support and lot’s of love but sadly it is just not enough. Unfortunately, my only family is my mother and sister, as we lost my father in 2016 due to a heart attack - his heart could no longer bear seeing his daughter suffer this way. He felt helpless, we all feel helpless.
Issue #1: You might be aware there is not much in the way of financial support to help those struggling with eating disorders to receive the appropriate level of care needed. Since Stephanie can't work she receives Social Security Benefits and was given Medicare insurance but the care available under this policy is the bare minimal and the market place has denied her for any other insurance.
Any scholarship programs take up to a year to process, and our time with her is running out.
Treatment for eating disorders costs over $1,200+ a day, and private insurance is over $7,000+ a month, and that is if we fight to get her qualified to get a secondary health insurance, which is almost impossible because insurance companies don’t want her case due to her multiple health issues.
Issue #2: Many eating disorder hospitals, are extremely unnurturing and leave patients worse off than when they enter treatment. Imagine someone with an eating disorder being reintroduced to food through white bread, doritos and soda, or forced to drink Ensure, even if you're allergic and get terrible side effects and be denied water...and then punished if they do not consume it? Rather then healthy options like fruits and vegetables, soup, protein, yogurts, smoothies, etc. This is what is happening today - the complete opposite of a supportive environment and a healing path.
The solution we are seeking: Residential treatment at a private facility.
Stephanie needs a residential facility with a nurturing philosophy, which takes the importance of balanced exercise into consideration, nourishing foods and therapy.
It is going to be a long and expensive journey – we hope you will take the time to share her story, her struggle with finding adequate treatment, and the many other factors that have made this battle even more challenging to fight.
We are hoping with your help, we will be able to gift this to her. We believe she deserves to heal on all levels, so she can continue recovery for the rest of her life.
I believe I was born to save my sister .
If you do not find yourself in a position to financially contribute, please share this on your social media platforms.
FACTS ABOUT EATING DISORDERS:
- Eating Disorder are not about food or body
- Eating Disorders are a serious illness affecting the lives of 8 million Americans and their families
- The number has continued to rise in the past five years as adolescents are not taught enough about self-awareness at early stages in their lives
- There are no government funded initiatives to support research
- Insurance companies refuse to pay the costly treatment
- All while Eating Disorders are one of the leading causes of increase suicide rates
ABOUT STEPHANIE:
Stephanie is kind. She is loving. She is a poet and a soul of many colors. She loves to volunteer and make others feel important. She loves to create jewelry
and candles.
In 2012 she graduated from New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, with honors - a 4.75 GPA with a bachelors in Pyschology and Studio Arts.
She enjoyes sitting on the edge of the river and pray that one day she will finally be able to laugh.
She has gone through treatment multiple times - at inpatient residential facilities, outpatient hospitals and centers, as well as holistic approaches . She has tried everything because she is determined to fight this battle.
She has tried to manage her health issues on a behavioral level by organizing her own local support team consisting of a weekly nutritionist and therapist session, but over time has progressively worsened mentally, emotionally and physically and is now at her most critical stage. She has been fighting a horrendous battle, has never felt joy for her life, has never seen light, in essence she has never lived. It breaks our hearts every day.
She is an angel and I only wish she could experience a glimpse of life through my eyes, even if it is just for one second - I wish she could hear the birds sing and see the sun shine.
Thank you so very much for reading this.
Love and Light,
Janete Rodas
BEFORE:
My sister, Stephanie Veloso Rodas, is 28 years old. Stephanie has been struggling with anorexia for over 15 years and in mid-February of 2017, we came within inches of losing her.
I found my sister unconscious in my apartment. She is currently weighing in at under 70 lbs and we need to get her into the right program quickly. At this point, we are facing a desperate life or death situation.
Please help me save my little sister.
Stephanie has a strong heart and will to overcome this disease but she needs help getting there. She deserves a chance to live a real life, she is not meant to leave this earth so early.
As of today, we are facing some roadblocks to getting Stephanie quality help, and soon.
Funds are no longer available to put Stephanie through treatment (inpatient or outpatient). All we can give her is faith, courage, emotional support and lot’s of love but sadly it is just not enough. Unfortunately, my only family is my mother and sister, as we lost my father in 2016 due to a heart attack - his heart could no longer bear seeing his daughter suffer this way. He felt helpless, we all feel helpless.
Issue #1: You might be aware there is not much in the way of financial support to help those struggling with eating disorders to receive the appropriate level of care needed. Since Stephanie can't work she receives Social Security Benefits and was given Medicare insurance but the care available under this policy is the bare minimal and the market place has denied her for any other insurance.
Any scholarship programs take up to a year to process, and our time with her is running out.
Treatment for eating disorders costs over $1,200+ a day, and private insurance is over $7,000+ a month, and that is if we fight to get her qualified to get a secondary health insurance, which is almost impossible because insurance companies don’t want her case due to her multiple health issues.
Issue #2: Many eating disorder hospitals, are extremely unnurturing and leave patients worse off than when they enter treatment. Imagine someone with an eating disorder being reintroduced to food through white bread, doritos and soda, or forced to drink Ensure, even if you're allergic and get terrible side effects and be denied water...and then punished if they do not consume it? Rather then healthy options like fruits and vegetables, soup, protein, yogurts, smoothies, etc. This is what is happening today - the complete opposite of a supportive environment and a healing path.
The solution we are seeking: Residential treatment at a private facility.
Stephanie needs a residential facility with a nurturing philosophy, which takes the importance of balanced exercise into consideration, nourishing foods and therapy.
It is going to be a long and expensive journey – we hope you will take the time to share her story, her struggle with finding adequate treatment, and the many other factors that have made this battle even more challenging to fight.
We are hoping with your help, we will be able to gift this to her. We believe she deserves to heal on all levels, so she can continue recovery for the rest of her life.
I believe I was born to save my sister .
If you do not find yourself in a position to financially contribute, please share this on your social media platforms.
FACTS ABOUT EATING DISORDERS:
- Eating Disorder are not about food or body
- Eating Disorders are a serious illness affecting the lives of 8 million Americans and their families
- The number has continued to rise in the past five years as adolescents are not taught enough about self-awareness at early stages in their lives
- There are no government funded initiatives to support research
- Insurance companies refuse to pay the costly treatment
- All while Eating Disorders are one of the leading causes of increase suicide rates
ABOUT STEPHANIE:
Stephanie is kind. She is loving. She is a poet and a soul of many colors. She loves to volunteer and make others feel important. She loves to create jewelry
and candles.
In 2012 she graduated from New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Studies, with honors - a 4.75 GPA with a bachelors in Pyschology and Studio Arts.
She enjoyes sitting on the edge of the river and pray that one day she will finally be able to laugh.
She has gone through treatment multiple times - at inpatient residential facilities, outpatient hospitals and centers, as well as holistic approaches . She has tried everything because she is determined to fight this battle.
She has tried to manage her health issues on a behavioral level by organizing her own local support team consisting of a weekly nutritionist and therapist session, but over time has progressively worsened mentally, emotionally and physically and is now at her most critical stage. She has been fighting a horrendous battle, has never felt joy for her life, has never seen light, in essence she has never lived. It breaks our hearts every day.
She is an angel and I only wish she could experience a glimpse of life through my eyes, even if it is just for one second - I wish she could hear the birds sing and see the sun shine.
Thank you so very much for reading this.
Love and Light,
Janete Rodas
BEFORE:
Organizer and beneficiary
Arabella Dunbar
Organizer
New York, NY
stephanie Rodas
Beneficiary
