Meg’s Medical Bills

Hello everyone, my name is Meg and I’m a lesbian student based in the Austin area. I’m unemployed thanks to COVID and have no healthcare coverage and my family has been dealing with one emergency after another for nearly a year straight. TW: menstruation, excessive bleeding, emetophobia Over spring break back in March, I started experiencing unusually heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding that got to a point where I was having dizzy spells, falling, and fatigue. When I went to an urgent care center, I was prescribed birth control and iron pills, and unfortunately the recommended dose of iron pills made me so violently ill that we had to call paramedics to our house to stop my vomiting. After a follow up at my local clinic, I was told to IMMEDIATELY go to the emergency room for a blood transfusion because my anemia was so severe. But when I got there, I was told that I was just barely above the threshold for a transfusion and so they refused to give me one. My doctor referred me to a hematologist to get an iron infusion instead, but because I’m uninsured, it was too expensive and I had to keep taking the iron pills instead, slowly recovering over the course of a couple of months. I was too weak to do much of anything at all, and basically had to drop the second half of the spring semester and give up on trying to find a new job until I was stronger. Between clinic visits, referrals to a gynecologist and hematologist, the paramedics, and the ER visit (where they gave me an IV, ultrasound, and a few routine examinations), my medical bills added up to around $5000 with $4000 that we still have yet to pay off. My dad shouldered most of this debt since I was unable to work, and at first we thought it would be manageable, but since then it’s been one family emergency after another thanks to the pandemic. Between all the emergency expenses, my tuition, and moving my siblings out of their old apartment, we’re having a really hard time staying afloat. Funds raised will go toward paying off our debts, as well as covering future follow-ups with my hematologist and gynecologist to screen for blood clotting disorders and other complications and get formally diagnosed with PCOS. I am so grateful to everyone who has been supporting me through this and for every little bit of help I get. I know times are hard and I hope that everyone is taking care of themselves first, but I’m so so touched by everyone who has reached out to take care of me, too. Thank you all so much and please stay safe and healthy.