Help Anthony’s With Sickle Cell SS Expenses

I decided to let him tell his own story This young man has inspired many and will continue to inspire more until the day he leaves this world. Man where do i start. I guess I’ll start from what i actually remember.My name is Anthony Edwards I was born April 21,1993. My life isn’t easy never has been never will be. I feel like my life was over before it even started. I look around at a lot of people and wish i could swap places and get a fair chance at things. A lot of people don’t know but i have sickle cell anemia SS. SS is the rarest type of sickle cell and gives the most problems. So far I’ve been the only person in my family to have it. Talk about lucky. I missed a lot of school growing up which turned into me being home schooled on and off. I had a stroke when i was 8 years old. I just woke up one morning and had no feeling in my left arm or right leg.That was the first time i ever been life flown to Houston but not the last. I spent a month in icu at Texas Children’s Hospital. If you have been around me i try to stay away from the emergency room as much as i can. I hide my pain until it becomes unbearable. If they see me come into the emergency room they know it’s severe. If they see me there’s usually no wait unless it’s extremely busy. One thing that will always stick with me is that doctor coming in that room and telling my mother that i wouldn’t live to see 13. If y’all ever been around me y’all know my mom is the person who backs me and continues to do anything that is needed even with all the health problems she had. It was hard for my dad to see me lying in a hospital bed. He is a strong person and i never seen him with tears in his eyes until he thought i wouldn’t make it. My dad was someone i could call on when i needed things.I wasn’t always strong I’ve had moments where i wanted to give up i didn’t want to live this life anymore. I felt i was being punished for something i had no control over. One time that comes to my mind is when i was 12 years old and i was in Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. I had pneumonia and the doctors told me i needed to get up and move around before the fluid took over my lungs. I didn’t wanna listen i didn’t feel like walking because it hurt to move.I can remember nights where i would wake up and would just hurt all over my mom,grandpa and grandma would make sure i got to the hospital 35 miles away. My grandparents have been with me everywhere I’ve been. I know when I’m away from home in the hospital they panic and worry about whats happening. My life has been full of people telling me what i can’t do. When high school graduation was coming up i wanted to be a police officer. Doctors said no because i have an enlarged heart(twice the size a normal heart) if i got tased possibly wouldn’t make it. I wanted to be a truck driver.  Every company said no they couldn’t put me on the road with my health history.Ok so i decided for the a decent job that paid good again medical records came into play. I lived in San Augustine until i graduated in 2011. 3 days later i wanted to get away and be able to live for once. I started developing ulcers on my leg. I’ve been dealing with venous ulcers on and off now since 2015. It causes my leg to swell and opens wounds on my ankles. Those are extremely painful making it to the way i can only wear slide on shoes or my leg has to be completely wrapped to my knee in order to wear shoes. During the process to heal them last year i did hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a chamber and had a seizure to i passed out. I scared the entire wound care department because i was unresponsive. By the time i was awaken i was in the emergency room. I had picked up a job during college doing cell phone repair. And i thank god to this day for blessing me to be able to keep that going. I had been to so many interviews where i was qualified for the job did great on the interview and never got a call back. So i stuck with working on phones. The place i was at understood when i got sick and didn’t rush me to return. I stayed with him until i felt like i was slowing his growth down to his business. I hated to leave him and just depend on my social security. A person at my age can’t live off social security. There have been days that I’ve didn’t have any money to my name but i never let anyone know i just kept it moving. I’ve overdrawn my bank account to make ends meet multiple times.To this day I’ve been life flighted 5 times(3 helicopter,2 jet), countless number of ambulance rides to different hospitals, and multiple icu stays. Iron overload due to countless blood transfusions, A enlarged liver, and a barely functioning spleen. The most recent hospital stay was from 12-26-2019 to 1-11-20.If I were able to work I wouldn't be asking for help.