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Help a terminally ill woman get her surgery

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Hi Everyone, 
I’m not very good at asking for financial assistance but I will try.  My name is Annie and I’m disabled and I suffer from multiple serious illnesses including Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Rheumatoid Arthritis along with multiple birth defects that can be quite debilitating and can cause a great deal of pain.  Much of my pain I have had to suffer through my entire life. I have to use a wheelchair or a walker a lot primarily due to tremendous pain.  It also prevents me from being able to work very often and prevents me from engaging in a lot of activities outside of work that I would love to do.  I like to participate in volunteer activities and I have a few hobbies I enjoy that are extremely difficult to do when my pain is not being well controlled.  I see a pain doctor that provides me with multiple different oral pain medications that help with the pain but come with a lot of side effects.   Plus on several of the pain medications I take, I have reached the maximum oral dosage that my doctor feels comfortable prescribing.  I have been offered one other option though that if it works, it would change my life forever.  It could potentially give me a life with little to no pain at all.  

What I’m talking about is a pain pump surgery.  Otherwise known as a intrathecal pain pump.  It’s a procedure where a pump is inserted into the belly just underneath the skin and a cord is then connected to the pump and is threaded through the body until it is connected to the spine.  And then after the surgery is complete, I would have to make multiple trips each week to the pain doctor’s office for about a month to calibrate the pump to figure out exactly how much medication is needed in the pump to make me comfortable and to last a month. This is a long process but in the end it’ll most likely pay off.  The doctor says this is my absolute best option to relieve my pain.  Plus it’s ultimately much safer and easier than taking the medication orally for multiple reasons.  

1. I won’t have to be on such a high dose of pain medication because the medication won’t have to pass through my digestive system, it’ll go directly from the pump to my spinal column where it’ll be directly able to treat pain anywhere in my body.  

2.  And this is one of the biggest benefits for me.  There are strict rules about prescribing some of the medications that I’m prescribed for pain.  And the pharmacy itself has rules about it.  I have faced issues multiple times with getting my prescriptions filled at my local pharmacy.  I have had to go as long as a week before because my pharmacy was out of stock of one or more of my pain medications.  And I can’t call around to other pharmacies to see if they have any because they likely won’t give you that information over the phone.  Even other locations of the pharmacy I go to!!! And if I have to switch to another pharmacy, I have to call the doctor’s office which is often hard to reach and go through a whole process of getting them to send the prescription to a different pharmacy.  It can be a huge headache if this happens and it’s happened to me about 3-4 times just this year.  And while I wait for them to restock or to get it somewhere else, I’m often sick from going through withdrawal symptoms and my pain level is out of control.  If I can get the pump, after the first month of calibrating the pump to the right dosage, I will only have to go to the doctor’s office once a month for a refill.  No more hassles trying to get it through my local pharmacy!!!  

3. I won’t have to deal with many of the side effects of taking the pain medication orally!!! Like stomach ulcers or intestinal constipation!! I will be able to be on a lower dose since it’ll be going directly to my spine so I should experience less fatigue as well.  Especially because I’m on multiple pain medications that causes fatigue and that can be a real problem at times.  

4. And finally, I will have better control over my pain with less medicine.  I will be able to do more of the activities I want to do and love to do with less restrictions.  And I’m hoping that I will not have to use my walker or wheelchair as much.  But only time will tell about how much I will be able to do.  I have never in my life had a day without pain, regardless of the many conditions that have caused me pain since I was a baby.  I just want a chance to get my life back with less pain.  

But, here’s the catch and the reason why I’m here and asking for your help.  It’s not a cheap procedure and the co-pays in order for my insurance to cover the two procedures required to make this happen are kinda high. The test procedure co-pay (done just prior to the surgery) is $500.  But the co-pay required for the surgery itself is significantly higher than that at $2,500.  What’s the remaining $1,500 for you might ask?  Well, it’s to help cover co-pays and transportation costs to several other important medical appointments that I have not been able to address due to the costs.  I don’t have a car right now and the Uber bills are starting to pile up so I would like to use a portion of the money raised to help me get into a cheap car so I can get to all of my medical appointments and be able to work in my field of private investigation so I may better support myself.  I have had multiple job offers that I have had to turn down (where I could have better health insurance and other important benefits) simply because I don’t have a vehicle.  I have been a PI for about 13 years now and it is a job I love to do and it’s one of few jobs that isn’t too physically demanding of me.  I’m currently living on less than $1,000 per month through Social Security benefits and that has to cover my portion of the rent, bills, food, and medical expenses.  I need to be able to return to work and get my other medical issues addressed before my situation gets worse and I’m just looking for a cheap and affordable vehicle to help me accomplish these needs.  

I’m incredibly grateful for every penny that comes in.  Even small donations help me get one step closer to my goal.  Every donation will receive a personal thank you message from me and I will post updates at least 1-2 times per week to keep y’all updated.  Thank you so much for your help and if you can’t donate you can still help by sharing the link to my page on your social media accounts to help spread the word about my situation.  Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!

Thank you for reading my message and donating!! I will talk to y’all soon!!

Equipe de arrecadação de fundos: Fundraising team (3)

Annie Tracey
Organizadora
$325 arrecadados de 9 doações
Tampa, FL
Christopher Lemont
Team member
Mila Secrest
Team member

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