Save Sarah Hamel's Life
Donation protected
Hello All,
I'm Sarah's friend, Mandy, and I am raising money for Sarah, a 24-year-old woman without medical insurance fighting for her life. Sarah's life is at risk today because of a situation that has escalated over the past three and a half months. She now needs costly life-saving medical intervention. Here is what happened.
In September of 2020, Sarah received a sulfa antibiotic (Bactrim DS) which gave her an intense allergic reaction. Many of Sarah's family members on her mother’s side of the family have sulfa allergies, but she had no idea until it was too late. Below you'll see the swelling and rash from a photo taken in September during her reaction to Bactrim DS.
Sarah's reaction lasted for days. She had extreme gastrointestinal distress including cramping and throat spasms which made it nearly impossible to eat. Her skin reacted with hives and itching. Her joints, bones and nerves began to produce mysterious and overwhelming pains. In short, the allergic reaction put her into a crisis state of inflammation, causing her immune system to overreact and attack itself.
Fast forward a few weeks, Sarah began to drop weight on her already-small frame. Her fast metabolism became her worst enemy as she went from a healthy 103 pounds and a BMI of 18 to a shocking 80 pounds and a BMI of 13. Over this short time, Sarah's health declined as she fell into a cycle of inadvertent anorexia. She went to her primary care doctor only to be sent away with the advice to "eat more" and “drink at least a gallon of water a day” for her dehydration. At this point, Sarah's BMI was a dangerous 16 but the doctor did not refer her to a specialist or admit her for emergency care. Subsequent visits to the ER netted only prescriptions for nausea, nerve pain and some IV fluids. Below is Sarah today after suffering for more than three months.
Today, Sarah is so weak that many times when she tries to stand up, she passes out. Her nerve and bone pains are so bad, she lays on her bed in agony with no relief. She struggles to maintain body heat. Her sleep patterns are miserable as she finds herself only able to sleep 1 or 2 hours a night. Her symptoms seem endless as every part of her body fights for survival. When a person goes into starvation mode, such as this, they can no longer safely physically feed themselves because it is a dangerous and precarious process necessitating medical intervention.
During starvation, the body adjusts by lowering blood pressure as it enters a state of quiet survival. When a person in Sarah's condition tries to refeed herself, her body reacts violently as the blood levels of electrolytes increase. Her heart cannot sustain the sudden influx of nutrients in the bloodstream, and she becomes nauseated and vomits. At this point, it is too late and too dangerous for a person to refeed themselves as the risk of cardiac arrest and shock to the kidneys is perilous, requiring medical intervention. The emergency rooms turn Sarah away because she needs specialized, more long-term care.
Sarah has been unable to work or barely function during this ordeal. Her doting husband, Adam, has been her caretaker but he cannot save her life. They are more than $10,000.00 into her medical care at this point, and they do not have the funds to sustain this any longer.
What Sarah desperately needs is medical stabilization at an eating disorder clinic that treats severe cases like hers of MEDICALLY induced anorexia. Sarah has done hours of research to try and find answers. In fact, she is currently working with a team of medical professionals including a certified dietician who is providing her safe guidelines for very gradually increasing her calories at levels that her frail body can tolerate. However, her BMI is so low, and the refeeding process has taken far too long.
Her dietician and doctors agree she needs more specialized care. Sarah has been referred to a specialty hospital in Denver, Colorado, called ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders. They will take Sarah without insurance, but it comes with a devastating price: around $3,200.00 a day with no guarantee of the length of stay. Because she is currently uninsured, the center is requiring Sarah to pay $45,000.00 up front for services. Sarah needs donations IMMEDIATELY so she can get into the center to get medically stabilized, and she has NO time to waste at this point.
THANK YOU, in advance, for helping me raise these necessary funds to get Sarah to Denver.
HER LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
I'm Sarah's friend, Mandy, and I am raising money for Sarah, a 24-year-old woman without medical insurance fighting for her life. Sarah's life is at risk today because of a situation that has escalated over the past three and a half months. She now needs costly life-saving medical intervention. Here is what happened.
In September of 2020, Sarah received a sulfa antibiotic (Bactrim DS) which gave her an intense allergic reaction. Many of Sarah's family members on her mother’s side of the family have sulfa allergies, but she had no idea until it was too late. Below you'll see the swelling and rash from a photo taken in September during her reaction to Bactrim DS.
Sarah's reaction lasted for days. She had extreme gastrointestinal distress including cramping and throat spasms which made it nearly impossible to eat. Her skin reacted with hives and itching. Her joints, bones and nerves began to produce mysterious and overwhelming pains. In short, the allergic reaction put her into a crisis state of inflammation, causing her immune system to overreact and attack itself.
Fast forward a few weeks, Sarah began to drop weight on her already-small frame. Her fast metabolism became her worst enemy as she went from a healthy 103 pounds and a BMI of 18 to a shocking 80 pounds and a BMI of 13. Over this short time, Sarah's health declined as she fell into a cycle of inadvertent anorexia. She went to her primary care doctor only to be sent away with the advice to "eat more" and “drink at least a gallon of water a day” for her dehydration. At this point, Sarah's BMI was a dangerous 16 but the doctor did not refer her to a specialist or admit her for emergency care. Subsequent visits to the ER netted only prescriptions for nausea, nerve pain and some IV fluids. Below is Sarah today after suffering for more than three months.
Today, Sarah is so weak that many times when she tries to stand up, she passes out. Her nerve and bone pains are so bad, she lays on her bed in agony with no relief. She struggles to maintain body heat. Her sleep patterns are miserable as she finds herself only able to sleep 1 or 2 hours a night. Her symptoms seem endless as every part of her body fights for survival. When a person goes into starvation mode, such as this, they can no longer safely physically feed themselves because it is a dangerous and precarious process necessitating medical intervention.
During starvation, the body adjusts by lowering blood pressure as it enters a state of quiet survival. When a person in Sarah's condition tries to refeed herself, her body reacts violently as the blood levels of electrolytes increase. Her heart cannot sustain the sudden influx of nutrients in the bloodstream, and she becomes nauseated and vomits. At this point, it is too late and too dangerous for a person to refeed themselves as the risk of cardiac arrest and shock to the kidneys is perilous, requiring medical intervention. The emergency rooms turn Sarah away because she needs specialized, more long-term care.
Sarah has been unable to work or barely function during this ordeal. Her doting husband, Adam, has been her caretaker but he cannot save her life. They are more than $10,000.00 into her medical care at this point, and they do not have the funds to sustain this any longer.
What Sarah desperately needs is medical stabilization at an eating disorder clinic that treats severe cases like hers of MEDICALLY induced anorexia. Sarah has done hours of research to try and find answers. In fact, she is currently working with a team of medical professionals including a certified dietician who is providing her safe guidelines for very gradually increasing her calories at levels that her frail body can tolerate. However, her BMI is so low, and the refeeding process has taken far too long.
Her dietician and doctors agree she needs more specialized care. Sarah has been referred to a specialty hospital in Denver, Colorado, called ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders. They will take Sarah without insurance, but it comes with a devastating price: around $3,200.00 a day with no guarantee of the length of stay. Because she is currently uninsured, the center is requiring Sarah to pay $45,000.00 up front for services. Sarah needs donations IMMEDIATELY so she can get into the center to get medically stabilized, and she has NO time to waste at this point.
THANK YOU, in advance, for helping me raise these necessary funds to get Sarah to Denver.
HER LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.
Organizer and beneficiary
Amanda Ford
Organizer
New Braunfels, TX
Sarah Hamel
Beneficiary