My Son's Recovery
Donation protected
Asking for help is one of the most difficult things I can imagine doing, except watching my only child go through a severe mental and physical health crisis and not having the financial means to get him the help he needs. We could really use the love and support of our community right now during this difficult time, so I am putting my ego and self-reliant strategies aside and humbly asking for your help.
(If you want to hear the whole story, please continue reading. If you just want to find out how you can help, feel free to skip to the bottom.)
What Happened
A little over a year ago, my son (Sabastian) had his first panic attack. He was in his last semester of community college and applying to transfer to CU. Perhaps due to the stress of this transition and/or an accumulation of other emotional and physical challenges, his normal low-level anxiety erupted into a full-blown panic attack. Like most people experiencing a panic attack for the first time, he thought he was dying or having a heart attack, so his dad called an ambulance.
Luckily, Sabastian was able to recover from this panic attack pretty well, but it required a lot of life-style changes. To reduce stress, he decided not to go to CU, but he did graduate from Front Range with an Associate's Degree in Computer Programming. He also started seeing a therapist every other week and began eating a low-histamine diet. This diet was recommended by his doctor who thought he might have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome/Disorder.
Unfortunately, Sabastian had another major panic attack a few weeks ago, and he has not been able to recover yet. Instead, he has been plagued by ongoing intense emotional disturbances, anxiety, and panic. These feelings have been accompanied by physical sensations including rapid heartbeat, pain/tightness in his chest and abdomen, tingling/numbness in his arms and legs, dizziness, fatigue, mild seizures/uncontrollable trembling, and difficulty regulating his body temperature (alternating feeling hot and sweaty and freezing cold and shivering). He also has a history of fainting, but that hasn't happened recently even though he has felt light-headed at times.
In response to these mental, emotional, and physical symptoms, he has been unable to get out of bed for the last few weeks and is currently afraid to leave the house or be alone. This has required his dad and I to provide extensive care and emotional support for him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This has been extremely hard on all of us, and we could definitely use some extra support.
What's Needed
We are very holistically minded and believe healing takes place on all levels – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Sabastian has been primarily addressing the physical through healthy diet, supplements, exercise, and massage. The mental/emotional through talk therapy, hypnosis, NLP, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the creative arts (dance therapy, music, drawing, and writing). And the spiritual through yoga, meditation, and prayer.
Sabastian's dad (Ryan), my husband (Duff), and I are all healing practitioners, so we have been able to provide most of this care for Sabastian on our own. However, we would also like Sabastian to receive some professional medical care to help navigate the intensity of the mental and physical challenges he is experiencing.
Specifically, we would like him to be seen by a Functional Medical Doctor or Nurse Practitioner to confirm the diagnosis of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome/Disorder and also find and treat the root causes of this disorder. This will require a lot of expensive testing and $200-$300/hour to be seen by the doctor or NP. (The doctor Sabastian saw last year after his first panic attack thought this might be the cause of his symptoms, but we were unable to pursue further testing at the time to confirm her diagnosis.) We'd also like to rule out any other physical causes such as thyroid problems or neurological conditions.
Additionally, we would like to find a holistic psychiatrist who believes that people can recover from extreme states of mental-emotional disturbances and is knowledgable about drug-free interventions. While psychiatric medication can be incredibly valuable for some people, we will only pursue this option as a last resort because of potential side-effects. The primary concern being that people under the age of 24 have an increased risk of suicide while taking SSRI's (the main treatment for anxiety). Still, having him evaluated and monitored by a psychiatrist does seems important and necessary.
Why Insurance Won't Cover These Costs
We've run into two major problems trying to use Sabastian's insurance (Medicaid) to get the medical attention he needs. The first issue is that Medicaid only covers the most basic, low-quality care our health system has to offer. They do not cover (or have available) the types of holistic and integrative approaches to healing that Sabastian needs and wants in order to recover fully.
The second and bigger issue is that Sabastian had a bad experience at The People's Clinic (the main center in Boulder that accepts Medicaid), and now he is unwilling to go back there. I took him there three weeks ago to see a doctor and get a referral to a psychiatrist, but as we were waiting for the doctor, Sabastian began having another panic attack and needed to leave before the doctor could see him. They did send in a mental health practitioner while we were waiting, but it only made things worse for Sabastian.
Since then, Sabastian has been unable to leave the house because he's afraid that it will be too overwhelming or he'll have another panic attack. Luckily, we have found a holistically-minded nurse practitioner in Boulder who will allow Ryan and I to meet with her on Sabastian's behalf (with his written consent) and/or consult with Sabastian over the phone. We are hoping to find a psychiatrist who will do the same, but neither of these things will be covered by Medicaid. Nor will any of the testing that we have done.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Sabastian has been going through a severe mental and physical health crisis for the last four weeks. We could really use your help in any of the following ways to aid in his recovery:
1. Donate Money: This money will be used for Sabastian to see one or more of the following medical providers not covered by Medicaid: Functional Medical Doctor, Holistic Nurse Practitioner, Holistic Psychiatrist, and/or Therapist specializing in EMDR or CBT. The money will also be used to do extensive medical testing to find and treat the root causes of his symptoms.
2. Send Healing Thoughts Our Way (especially for Sabastian): If you are a person of faith, please say a prayer for us. If you are a Buddhist practitioner, please do a meditation for us (such as metta or tonglen). If you are a healing practitioner, please do a remote healing for us (such as reiki, chi kung energy clearing, or shamanic journeying).
3. Send Words of Encouragement: When going through a prolonged crisis, it is easy to lose perspective and be afraid that things are not going to get better. It is helpful to be reminded that people can and do recover from mental and physical illness, so feel free to leave a comment with any inspiration and well-wishes you have.
4. Share This GoFundMe Campaign with Others: Please share this link on social media and/or email it to your close friends and family. We could use all the love and support we can get.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter! Community is so important. As hard as it is to ask for help, I am very grateful to have people that I can call upon in times of need.
With love and gratitude,
Jessica
(If you want to hear the whole story, please continue reading. If you just want to find out how you can help, feel free to skip to the bottom.)
What Happened
A little over a year ago, my son (Sabastian) had his first panic attack. He was in his last semester of community college and applying to transfer to CU. Perhaps due to the stress of this transition and/or an accumulation of other emotional and physical challenges, his normal low-level anxiety erupted into a full-blown panic attack. Like most people experiencing a panic attack for the first time, he thought he was dying or having a heart attack, so his dad called an ambulance.
Luckily, Sabastian was able to recover from this panic attack pretty well, but it required a lot of life-style changes. To reduce stress, he decided not to go to CU, but he did graduate from Front Range with an Associate's Degree in Computer Programming. He also started seeing a therapist every other week and began eating a low-histamine diet. This diet was recommended by his doctor who thought he might have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome/Disorder.
Unfortunately, Sabastian had another major panic attack a few weeks ago, and he has not been able to recover yet. Instead, he has been plagued by ongoing intense emotional disturbances, anxiety, and panic. These feelings have been accompanied by physical sensations including rapid heartbeat, pain/tightness in his chest and abdomen, tingling/numbness in his arms and legs, dizziness, fatigue, mild seizures/uncontrollable trembling, and difficulty regulating his body temperature (alternating feeling hot and sweaty and freezing cold and shivering). He also has a history of fainting, but that hasn't happened recently even though he has felt light-headed at times.
In response to these mental, emotional, and physical symptoms, he has been unable to get out of bed for the last few weeks and is currently afraid to leave the house or be alone. This has required his dad and I to provide extensive care and emotional support for him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This has been extremely hard on all of us, and we could definitely use some extra support.
What's Needed
We are very holistically minded and believe healing takes place on all levels – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Sabastian has been primarily addressing the physical through healthy diet, supplements, exercise, and massage. The mental/emotional through talk therapy, hypnosis, NLP, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the creative arts (dance therapy, music, drawing, and writing). And the spiritual through yoga, meditation, and prayer.
Sabastian's dad (Ryan), my husband (Duff), and I are all healing practitioners, so we have been able to provide most of this care for Sabastian on our own. However, we would also like Sabastian to receive some professional medical care to help navigate the intensity of the mental and physical challenges he is experiencing.
Specifically, we would like him to be seen by a Functional Medical Doctor or Nurse Practitioner to confirm the diagnosis of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome/Disorder and also find and treat the root causes of this disorder. This will require a lot of expensive testing and $200-$300/hour to be seen by the doctor or NP. (The doctor Sabastian saw last year after his first panic attack thought this might be the cause of his symptoms, but we were unable to pursue further testing at the time to confirm her diagnosis.) We'd also like to rule out any other physical causes such as thyroid problems or neurological conditions.
Additionally, we would like to find a holistic psychiatrist who believes that people can recover from extreme states of mental-emotional disturbances and is knowledgable about drug-free interventions. While psychiatric medication can be incredibly valuable for some people, we will only pursue this option as a last resort because of potential side-effects. The primary concern being that people under the age of 24 have an increased risk of suicide while taking SSRI's (the main treatment for anxiety). Still, having him evaluated and monitored by a psychiatrist does seems important and necessary.
Why Insurance Won't Cover These Costs
We've run into two major problems trying to use Sabastian's insurance (Medicaid) to get the medical attention he needs. The first issue is that Medicaid only covers the most basic, low-quality care our health system has to offer. They do not cover (or have available) the types of holistic and integrative approaches to healing that Sabastian needs and wants in order to recover fully.
The second and bigger issue is that Sabastian had a bad experience at The People's Clinic (the main center in Boulder that accepts Medicaid), and now he is unwilling to go back there. I took him there three weeks ago to see a doctor and get a referral to a psychiatrist, but as we were waiting for the doctor, Sabastian began having another panic attack and needed to leave before the doctor could see him. They did send in a mental health practitioner while we were waiting, but it only made things worse for Sabastian.
Since then, Sabastian has been unable to leave the house because he's afraid that it will be too overwhelming or he'll have another panic attack. Luckily, we have found a holistically-minded nurse practitioner in Boulder who will allow Ryan and I to meet with her on Sabastian's behalf (with his written consent) and/or consult with Sabastian over the phone. We are hoping to find a psychiatrist who will do the same, but neither of these things will be covered by Medicaid. Nor will any of the testing that we have done.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Sabastian has been going through a severe mental and physical health crisis for the last four weeks. We could really use your help in any of the following ways to aid in his recovery:
1. Donate Money: This money will be used for Sabastian to see one or more of the following medical providers not covered by Medicaid: Functional Medical Doctor, Holistic Nurse Practitioner, Holistic Psychiatrist, and/or Therapist specializing in EMDR or CBT. The money will also be used to do extensive medical testing to find and treat the root causes of his symptoms.
2. Send Healing Thoughts Our Way (especially for Sabastian): If you are a person of faith, please say a prayer for us. If you are a Buddhist practitioner, please do a meditation for us (such as metta or tonglen). If you are a healing practitioner, please do a remote healing for us (such as reiki, chi kung energy clearing, or shamanic journeying).
3. Send Words of Encouragement: When going through a prolonged crisis, it is easy to lose perspective and be afraid that things are not going to get better. It is helpful to be reminded that people can and do recover from mental and physical illness, so feel free to leave a comment with any inspiration and well-wishes you have.
4. Share This GoFundMe Campaign with Others: Please share this link on social media and/or email it to your close friends and family. We could use all the love and support we can get.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter! Community is so important. As hard as it is to ask for help, I am very grateful to have people that I can call upon in times of need.
With love and gratitude,
Jessica
Organizer and beneficiary
Jessica McDuffee
Organizer
Boulder, CO
Sabastian Stevens
Beneficiary