Answers for Alison (Round 2!)

***An important note about giving if you’re not up for reading the whole story right now***

GoFundMe charges nearly 10% for each contribution given through their platform. However, they allow campaigns to track donations given by any other method so they can be 1) seen by everyone and 2) count towards the total goal.

Alison Singewald and Allison Grubbs (organizer) will record every donation given by any method with the name of the person and amount given directly on this GoFundMe page (unless you request to remain “Anonymous” in a memo line). Contributions from ALL methods will count towards the goal and be listed on this page.

Would you consider giving by another method to maximize the impact of your donation? Here are options that would be more helpful than donating via GoFundMe:

*Venmo: @alisonsingewald

*Cash App: AlisonSingewald

Paypal: contact Alison for account

Check mailed to: Alison Singewald; 3205 Ivey Wood Lane, Durham, NC, 27703

Cash given to Alison Singewald or Allison Grubbs (North Wake Church member)

*Venmo and CashApp are both user-friendly apps allowing free transfers from your bank account to the username you select.

THE STORY:

In the summer of 2019, Alison was diagnosed with Lyme disease and Bartonella-infections caused by tick bites she likely contracted by working at a summer camp in college. That year, her friends created a GoFundMe so she could see a brilliant Yale Neurologist who specializes in Lyme disease. Thanks to your contributions, she has been under his care since summer 2019.

Her doctor laid out a 3-step plan over the course of 2 years. Each phase of treatment included different medications which were extremely miserable, but helped with a couple symptoms. Some periods of up to 7 days, she didn’t have a headache at all when she'd previously had a consistent, daily headache since 2013.

With the first 2 phases of this doctor’s plan, it was “3 steps forward, 2 steps back.” The side effects of each phase were pretty brutal to endure, but over time, it became obvious something was finally working. After so many years, she was finally (very slowly) improving.

The last phase—weekly IVIG for a little over a year—ended when Alison got aseptic meningitis in June 2021. Meningitis is an extremely dangerous side effect, so she had to immediately discontinue weekly infusions. While IVIG helped her with a couple significant symptoms, it surprisingly made her two most difficult symptoms—headaches and fatigue—even worse during the treatment, for the months that followed infusions, and even today.

After she recovered from aseptic meningitis and stopped IVIG, she consulted her doctor. The headache and fatigue attributed to side effects of IVIG were worse than ever. It became clear that Alison was even worse functionally than before she started treatment.

Around the same time, her Duke PCP ran extensive labs the Lyme specialist ordered. Unfamiliar with many tick-borne illnesses, her PCP ordered the wrong lab—a test for an extremely rare tick-borne illness, Brucella, instead of Bartonella. To everyone’s surprise, the Brucella test came back positive. Her Yale Neuro and Duke PCP both wanted the test run again, because her Duke PCP had never heard of this, never seen a patient with it, and neither had any of her colleagues. Surely, Alison didn’t have a disease more commonly contracted by drinking unpasteurized milk than a tick bite?! Ironically, she doesn't even like milk!

At her next consult, Alison learned that her Yale Neuro was retiring, and he wanted to refer her to a colleague who uses both antibiotics as well as integrative medicine (some herbs). Considering her complex case and medical history, he thought she’d do better with both.

Alison understood, agreed, but was also totally devastated. In her mind, the GoFundMe from July 2019 would pay this doctor until she could go back to work around July 2021 like they had planned. She was not planning to need another GoFundMe to see another doctor for another illness as any of these experts are world-renowned in their fields and not contracted with any insurances. However, this new diagnosis means she's had a brain infection that has gone untreated this entire time. She is convinced this "accidental" discovery is God’s sovereignty and goodness in her story, because no doctor would have likely intentionally tested for it.

Now it's November 2021, and the last thing she wants to do is make another GoFundMe. She doesn’t want to “take anyone else’s time or money," but rather wants to give to others, contribute to society, and do work of any type. Any of you who have had to quarantine because of Covid probably understand how an isolated life, largely confined to a bed, is not any type of luxury. And yet, she would also quickly tell you how thankful she is—how her people (locally, around the US and the world) are literally the best people. They are “learners” right along with her. They’ve provided dinners for almost 2 years and gave generously in 2019. Nobody knows how to walk this road, but we all know this is way too much for any one person to carry alone.

Would you continue to support this medical journey by giving towards the costs of starting with a new doctor for Lyme, Bartonella, and perhaps primarily Brucella treatment?

Like many world-renowned specialists, this new doctor is not contracted with any insurance companies, so Alison will be responsible for paying for all of her medical care out of pocket: appointments, prior significant medical history review and consultation with other medical professionals, extensive lab testing, and whatever treatments best suit her specific case.

She will also need funding to cover the costs associated with various people taking Alison to these appointments out of state: gas, plane tickets, lodging, food, etc. The estimated cost to cover her treatment needs and related expenses with 1 new doctor will again be around $15,000. Our goal is to raise this as soon as possible, because the majority of payment is upfront for the initial consult, labs, etc.

Would you mind sharing this story with your friends and family as well as reposting this GoFundMe link on social media? It was amazing how many people Alison has never even met who gave to her GoFundMe in 2019. The more people that share this on social media, the more generous (and confusing!) the Facebook algorithms are in making sure others see it.

Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts, and thank you for considering joining together with others to help Alison continue to get the treatment that she desperately needs. Every amount, big or small, will make a huge impact. Thank you!