Kristi's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read this. I would like to start by saying that anything helps; whether that be good vibes, prayers, sharing this post, or being able to donate.
Kristi was diagnosed with epitheliod sarcoma on April 15th of this year. It all started with numbness in her right pinky toe and when she brought this to the attention of her doctor nothing was done and it didn't seem to be a concern to anyone else. Between 2011-2014, the numbness progressed to about half of her right foot and she started to experience pain, which was often times very intense. The pain seemed to be worse at night, which caused her to have issues sleeping. The issue was brought to the attention of her primary care physician once again, at this time she was referred to a neurologist. She visited the neurologist about 6 times. The first time she was tested for neuropathy, which was ruled out. Every visit after that she was told that it was a B-12 deficiency and was only recommended B-12 supplements, no other assistance or solutions were given. At that point, she gave up on visiting her neurologist and just coped with the numbness and pain until the summer of 2015. At this point, she noticed a lump on the inside of her right foot.
No one believed the lump to be abnormal, because there is naturally a lump on the inside of your foot. Hers however appeared to be larger than normal. Finally, she went back to her primary care physician in December of 2015 who said, "I have never seen anything like that before" and referred her to a podiatrist to be seen that same month. The podiatrist thought the cause of the pain and numbness was attributed to Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome is essentially constriction/compression of the nerves in the foot. He ordered x-rays and an MRI to see what the lump was. Once he recieved her MRI results, he stated he believed it was just a lipoma, or non-cancerous fatty tumor. He then sent her back to her neurologist to confirm his diagnosis of Tarsal Tunnel.
That same month, December 2015, she went back to the same neurologist and he informed her that it could be many different things that are causing the pain/numbness. The neurologist ordered blood work and told her to return in a month. At this point, she was upset and called her podiatrist. The podiatrist had asked her to call if she had the same sense of helplessness after visiting her neurologist once more, since she had expressed her concerns that he had never tried to help in the past. The podiatrist then informed her that there were two options for pain management: 1) medication for nerve pain, and if that didn't work they could try steroid injections to help the inflammation go down. 2) Tarsal Tunnel release surgery to decompress the nerves and have the lipoma removed. She started with the medications, which did not work and had various side effects, which led her to try the steroid injection. The injection made the pain more intense, and at times unbearable.
She met with a surgeon in the beginning of April 2016 to have the Tarsal Tunnel release surgery. The surgery was schedule for April 11, 2016. He informed her that there was a 1 in 100,000 chance the lipoma was cancerous, but he wanted to send it to pathology just in case. She received a call on April 15th and was told the prognosis was not good; it was cancer. She went and had another MRI that same day to see if the surgeon had successfully removed all of the cancer from her foot.
The following week, she had her first appointment with her oncologist after having a PET scan to see if the cancer had spread to anywhere else in her body. She was informed that the cancer had not spread; it was localized to her foot, but not all the cancer had been removed from the first surgery. The cancer had spread all throughout her foot and the oncologist told her the best option was amputation of the right foot. This was the best option, because the cancer she had (epitheliod sarcoma) was very aggressive and has a high rate of metastasis and recurrence. She was also informed that chemotherapy is not effective on that type of cancer and radiation hadn't been proven to be much more effective. However, the cancer is very rare, so the research is limited. She opted for amputation, because it seemed to offer the best chance for survival.
Her right foot was amputated on April 22, 2016. The skin did not heal correctly, so she had to go back and have revision surgery on May 13th. Due to all of the surgeries and doctor's appointments she had to miss a few months of work. After she had some time to heal, her job offered to let her work from home. In August, her insurance approved her prosthetic and she was fitted in September. She was supposed to get to take the prosthetic home in September, but she received a letter from her insurance that the prosthetic was not deemed medically necessary and would not be covered by them due to it not being the most basic model. The prosthetic that had been picked out, had been recommended by her prosthetist as being the best option for her.
She is currently awaiting a response from the insurance to the appeal of the denial of coverage. Along with all the physical struggles she has had to face, she has been struggling with depression. She is now unable to work at the moment. On top of not being able to work and facing issues with the insurance company, she still has to pay rent, bills, car insurance and car payments.
She will be visiting the MD Anderson soft tissue sarcoma center in Houston, TX. With those trips comes extra costs and concerns of how to take care of current costs. Any funds donated will go to bills, car payments, trips to MD Anderson, thousands owed for medical bills or toward getting her prosthetic.
Once again, thanks for reading. And anything and everything is appreciated by Kristi and her loved ones. If you aren't able to donate, please spread the word.
Kristi was diagnosed with epitheliod sarcoma on April 15th of this year. It all started with numbness in her right pinky toe and when she brought this to the attention of her doctor nothing was done and it didn't seem to be a concern to anyone else. Between 2011-2014, the numbness progressed to about half of her right foot and she started to experience pain, which was often times very intense. The pain seemed to be worse at night, which caused her to have issues sleeping. The issue was brought to the attention of her primary care physician once again, at this time she was referred to a neurologist. She visited the neurologist about 6 times. The first time she was tested for neuropathy, which was ruled out. Every visit after that she was told that it was a B-12 deficiency and was only recommended B-12 supplements, no other assistance or solutions were given. At that point, she gave up on visiting her neurologist and just coped with the numbness and pain until the summer of 2015. At this point, she noticed a lump on the inside of her right foot.
No one believed the lump to be abnormal, because there is naturally a lump on the inside of your foot. Hers however appeared to be larger than normal. Finally, she went back to her primary care physician in December of 2015 who said, "I have never seen anything like that before" and referred her to a podiatrist to be seen that same month. The podiatrist thought the cause of the pain and numbness was attributed to Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome is essentially constriction/compression of the nerves in the foot. He ordered x-rays and an MRI to see what the lump was. Once he recieved her MRI results, he stated he believed it was just a lipoma, or non-cancerous fatty tumor. He then sent her back to her neurologist to confirm his diagnosis of Tarsal Tunnel.
That same month, December 2015, she went back to the same neurologist and he informed her that it could be many different things that are causing the pain/numbness. The neurologist ordered blood work and told her to return in a month. At this point, she was upset and called her podiatrist. The podiatrist had asked her to call if she had the same sense of helplessness after visiting her neurologist once more, since she had expressed her concerns that he had never tried to help in the past. The podiatrist then informed her that there were two options for pain management: 1) medication for nerve pain, and if that didn't work they could try steroid injections to help the inflammation go down. 2) Tarsal Tunnel release surgery to decompress the nerves and have the lipoma removed. She started with the medications, which did not work and had various side effects, which led her to try the steroid injection. The injection made the pain more intense, and at times unbearable.
She met with a surgeon in the beginning of April 2016 to have the Tarsal Tunnel release surgery. The surgery was schedule for April 11, 2016. He informed her that there was a 1 in 100,000 chance the lipoma was cancerous, but he wanted to send it to pathology just in case. She received a call on April 15th and was told the prognosis was not good; it was cancer. She went and had another MRI that same day to see if the surgeon had successfully removed all of the cancer from her foot.
The following week, she had her first appointment with her oncologist after having a PET scan to see if the cancer had spread to anywhere else in her body. She was informed that the cancer had not spread; it was localized to her foot, but not all the cancer had been removed from the first surgery. The cancer had spread all throughout her foot and the oncologist told her the best option was amputation of the right foot. This was the best option, because the cancer she had (epitheliod sarcoma) was very aggressive and has a high rate of metastasis and recurrence. She was also informed that chemotherapy is not effective on that type of cancer and radiation hadn't been proven to be much more effective. However, the cancer is very rare, so the research is limited. She opted for amputation, because it seemed to offer the best chance for survival.
Her right foot was amputated on April 22, 2016. The skin did not heal correctly, so she had to go back and have revision surgery on May 13th. Due to all of the surgeries and doctor's appointments she had to miss a few months of work. After she had some time to heal, her job offered to let her work from home. In August, her insurance approved her prosthetic and she was fitted in September. She was supposed to get to take the prosthetic home in September, but she received a letter from her insurance that the prosthetic was not deemed medically necessary and would not be covered by them due to it not being the most basic model. The prosthetic that had been picked out, had been recommended by her prosthetist as being the best option for her.
She is currently awaiting a response from the insurance to the appeal of the denial of coverage. Along with all the physical struggles she has had to face, she has been struggling with depression. She is now unable to work at the moment. On top of not being able to work and facing issues with the insurance company, she still has to pay rent, bills, car insurance and car payments.
She will be visiting the MD Anderson soft tissue sarcoma center in Houston, TX. With those trips comes extra costs and concerns of how to take care of current costs. Any funds donated will go to bills, car payments, trips to MD Anderson, thousands owed for medical bills or toward getting her prosthetic.
Once again, thanks for reading. And anything and everything is appreciated by Kristi and her loved ones. If you aren't able to donate, please spread the word.
Organizer and beneficiary
Christina Marie
Organizer
El Reno, OK
Kristi Loyall
Beneficiary