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I need help getting answers, starting treatment, and getting my life back. One thing I want to clarify for anyone who sees the total amount raised on this fundraiser: That money was raised over several years. It is not money that is still sitting there waiting to be used. Those donations have already gone toward my care. They have helped pay for specialist appointments, blood work, MRIs, prescriptions, treatments, IV therapy, compounded medications, and many other medical expenses that allowed me to keep looking for answers and continue treatment.

Without that help, I would not have been able to get this far.

 Unfortunately, my health has taken a much more serious turn this year. Hi, I’m Whitney.

If you are new here, the short version is that I have been dealing with chronic illness for years, but 2026 has brought a level of decline I have never experienced before.

 Over the last several months, my pain, fatigue, weakness, neurological symptoms, balance problems, and mobility issues have become so severe that I now spend roughly 80 to 90 percent of my time resting, sitting, or lying down. Earlier this month, I was hospitalized after waking up unable to stand or walk independently because my legs would not support my body weight.
 After months of testing and specialist appointments, I finally feel like we may be getting closer to understanding what is happening. Right now, I have two doctors investigating several different pieces of the puzzle, including autoimmune disease, ankylosing spondylitis, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Lyme and other tick-borne infections, environmental or toxin-related factors, gut health, inflammation, and neurological issues.

That gives me hope.

But it also means I suddenly have a lot of important testing in front of me, and I cannot afford to do all of it without help.

 Right now, I am trying to raise funds before October 7 so I can complete the remaining specialty testing recommended by my Lyme-literate doctor.

And additional funds as soon as possible for newly ordered tests, including rheumatology blood work and a sacrum MRI. For exact totals on what is needed, please see my latest update on this page.  My immediate goal is not the end of the medical expenses. Once we finally have clearer diagnoses and understand what needs to be treated, I will likely be facing ongoing medical care, medications, specialist visits, monitoring, therapy, and potentially other treatments. If tick-borne infections or related issues turn out to be a significant part of what is happening, it’s likely a lot of the specialty care and longer-term treatment will not be covered by insurance. I also have medical bills I need to pay off, including $4,250 from the hospital, $4,800 for carecredit, $2,500 owed to Labcorp, and a little over $800 for the recent MRIs.  That is why the overall goal of this fundraiser is much higher than the amount I am asking for right now. First, I need help getting the answers. Then I need to be able to afford to act on those answers. How this fundraiser started I originally created this GoFundMe several years ago when I became very sick and was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease along with other chronic health conditions.

Since then, I have needed help paying for testing, appointments, medications, treatments, IVs, supplements, imaging, and other medical expenses. What happened this year I have lived with chronic pain and fatigue for a long time, so I am used to having limitations.

What has happened this year feels very different. Beginning earlier this year, I started experiencing increasing weakness, severe fatigue and heaviness, balance problems, neurological symptoms, cognitive issues, worsening pain, difficulty walking, and episodes where my legs felt like they were struggling to support me. Things became dramatically worse over the summer.

My birthday was July 29.

I was already sick then. A brunch and plant shop outing still caused pain and fatigue that took days to recover from, and I was nowhere near my pre-illness level of functioning.
 But I could go out. I could participate in things.

Just over a month later, a relatively small outing caused my weakness to escalate so severely that my legs were barely supporting me. The next morning, I could not stand or walk independently.

I could move my legs while lying in bed, but when I tried to stand, they would not hold me up.

I ended up hospitalized from September 8 through September 10. The difference between what my body could tolerate at the end of July and what happened just weeks later genuinely scares me. What the hospital testing showed With the help of people who donated toward my medical expenses, I was able to complete MRIs of my brain, cervical spine, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine.

Those scans helped rule out some of the things we were most afraid of.

They did not show the type of lesions that would point toward multiple sclerosis, and they did not show a structural spine problem severe enough to clearly explain why my legs suddenly stopped supporting me. I also had a spinal tap and further neurological evaluation while I was hospitalized.

In some ways, having serious conditions ruled out was reassuring.

But I still came home without an answer for why my body had deteriorated so dramatically.

So I kept pushing. A major new development from rheumatology

 On September 25, I saw a new rheumatologist. I left feeling like someone had really listened to the entire story.

She spent a lot of time talking with me, reviewing my symptoms, examining me, and trying to understand what has been happening. Based on what she saw, she told me that she believes ankylosing spondylitis and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or hEDS, are both very likely possibilities.

These are not confirmed diagnoses yet.

We still have more testing and evaluation to do.

But she was very confident that they need to be investigated. She also told me that I am experiencing a disproportionate amount of pain, even considering the diagnoses I already have. That was validating to hear.

I know what my normal chronic pain feels like. What has been happening this year has felt different and much more severe. She has now ordered several tests through Quest and LabCorp.

One of these tests can take around three weeks to come back, and I see her again in four weeks, so I need to have the blood work done very soon.

She also wants an MRI of my sacrum so she can get a better look at the sacroiliac area and gather more information that may help with the evaluation. We have already made progress toward my October 7 testing There is also something very positive that I want to make sure does not get lost in all of this.

Because of recent donations, I will be able to complete the comprehensive tick-borne infection testing my Lyme-literate doctor recommended.

I cannot adequately express how grateful I am for that.

That is a major step forward. My doctor has recommended approximately $2,750 in specialty testing through Vibrant Wellness.

The testing is intended to give her a much broader look at several areas that may be relevant to what is happening in my body, including tick-borne infections and possible co-infections, environmental and toxin-related factors, gut health, immune issues, and neurologically relevant markers. The testing is divided into four panels:
 $1,250 for comprehensive Lyme and tick-borne infection testing $500 for toxin and environmental testing $500 for neurological testing $500 for comprehensive gut-health testing

 Thanks to the people who have already donated, the $1,250 tick-borne panel is now covered.

I am trying to raise the remaining $1,500 before October 7 so I can complete the other three panels at the same time.

Ideally, I do not want to complete one test, wait, save more money, do the next one, wait again, and stretch this process out for months. My symptoms have changed too quickly for me to feel comfortable delaying things if there is any way to avoid it.

No single test is guaranteed to explain everything.

I understand that.

The goal is to give my doctor as complete a picture as possible so we can make informed decisions about what needs to be addressed first and where treatment should begin. Other testing is happening at the same time

 There are several different pieces moving at once right now.

I recently received blood work back from MDL Labs that included some positive bacterial and viral markers.

I am waiting for my doctor to fully interpret what those findings mean in the context of my medical history and symptoms. I do not want to assume that a positive marker automatically means an active infection. I also recently went to Quest for another round of blood work, including testing ordered as part of a CIRS evaluation.

Unfortunately, it appears that several of those orders were missed or did not come through correctly.

I am working with the office to determine what was completed, what is still missing, and to get the remaining orders sent over so I can finish that testing. So right now, there are several doctors looking at different parts of the same bigger picture.

My rheumatologist is investigating autoimmune disease, inflammation, ankylosing spondylitis, hypermobility, and possible hEDS.

My Lyme-literate doctor is looking more deeply at tick-borne infections, environmental factors, gut health, immune issues, and neurological factors. For the first time in a long time, it feels like we may actually be narrowing things down. What my life looks like right now Some of my leg strength has returned since the hospitalization, but I am still extremely limited.

I rely heavily on my rollator.

My legs can become weak very quickly and can feel unpredictable.

Relatively small amounts of activity can cause a major increase in pain, fatigue, weakness, and instability.

Sometimes that means needing days to recover. Right now, I spend approximately 80 to 90 percent of my time resting, sitting, or lying down. I am largely homebound.  I am still working full-time from home because I need my income and my health insurance.

Even that has become difficult.

I often work reclined because sitting upright for long periods increases my pain and other symptoms. Basic things I used to do without thinking now require planning.

Can I shower and still have enough energy left for the day? Can I do a load of laundry without causing too much fatigue? Can I leave the house for an appointment without triggering a major flare afterward?

Can I do this task today without spending the next several days recovering? That is what daily life has become. And this is happening on top of an already complicated medical history that includes Lyme disease, Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, small fiber neuropathy, chronic pain and fatigue, and degenerative disc disease throughout my spine. Now we are investigating whether ankylosing spondylitis and hEDS may also be part of the picture. Testing is only the beginning I want to be transparent about why this fundraiser has a much larger overall goal. Getting a diagnosis is not the end of the financial burden.

It is often the beginning of a new one. Once we have a clearer understanding of what is happening, I will need to be able to start whatever treatment my doctors recommend and continue it long enough to have a chance to help.
 I do not know exactly what that treatment plan will look like yet because it depends on what the testing shows.

If autoimmune disease is confirmed, that may mean ongoing rheumatology care, medications, imaging, physical therapy, and monitoring.

If tick-borne infections or related problems are found to be contributing significantly, some of the longer-term, specialty care will likely not be covered by insurance. Depending on what my doctors ultimately recommend, treatment could involve medications, supplements, IV therapies, physical therapy, supportive care, or other ongoing expenses. And I already have medical expenses from getting this far. I still have remaining balances from previous MRIs ($800).

I just got the bill from my hospitalization ($4,250).

I have patient portions of specialty labs.

I have ongoing specialist appointments.

I have existing medical debt (Carecredit: $4,800; Labcorp: $2,500).

I have prescriptions and other recurring medical costs. That is why the overall GoFundMe goal may look high compared with the funds needed immediately. The larger goal is meant to help me continue care once we finally know what we are treating. Finding an answer does not help very much if I cannot afford to act on it. What I am trying to get back to I do not want my entire life to become doctors, blood draws, medical bills, pain, and recovery. I love life.

I love being outside.

I love camping.

I love exploring new places and trying new things.

I love trying new food.

I love cooking and sharing meals with people I care about.

I love long walks.

I love spending time with my dogs.

I love being able to wake up and decide to do something without immediately calculating how much it might cost my body afterward. I miss that life. I do not expect everything to magically go back to exactly the way it used to be.

If I need a mobility aid long-term, I can accept that.

I can adapt.

What I want is the ability to participate in my own life again. I want enough energy to cook dinner.

I want to go camping and fishing.

I want to spend time outside.

I want to keep working.

I want to show up for the people I love.

I want to make plans.

I want to have new experiences.

I want more of my life to happen somewhere other than the couch or my bed.

And for the first time in a while, I feel like we may have doctors who can help us figure out how to move in that direction. How you can help If you are able to donate, thank you.

Whether it is $5, $20, $100, or something larger, it all gets me closer. And if you have already donated, please know that your help is not disappearing into some vague pool of medical expenses.

It is already accomplishing things.

Recent donations are the reason I can say that I will be able to move forward with the comprehensive tick-borne testing. Previous donations helped me afford imaging that ruled out serious neurological possibilities.

 Donations have paid for appointments, medications, labs, treatments, and other care that I could not have managed on my own. You have helped me keep looking. If you cannot donate, I am asking you to please advocate for me.

Share this fundraiser with your friends, family, coworkers, church, business, social media community, or anyone else who may be willing to help. If you know me personally, please add your own words when you share.

Tell people how you know me.

Tell them what you have seen change.

Tell them why you are sharing. Your circle reaches people mine never will. So much of my limited energy already goes toward managing symptoms, working, making appointments, finding doctors, following up with offices, getting labs done, gathering medical records, managing medications, and simply taking care of myself. When other people help carry some of the fundraising and advocacy, it takes a little weight off of an already very full plate. I am scared by how quickly my body has changed this year.

But I am hopeful too.

I finally have doctors who are listening, taking what is happening seriously, and giving us real directions to investigate. I just need help being able to follow those directions. I want answers.

I want to start treatment.

I want to be able to stay in treatment once we find something that can help.

And more than anything, I want the chance to get some of my life back. Thank you for helping me keep going. Whitney

Alexander Medrano

Alexander Medrano

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