Help Briana Survive Medical Crisis

My name is Erika and I’m raising money to help a dear friend who is in need of financial support as she navigates a combination of a concussion, Lyme Disease and Post COVID Syndrome that left her unable to work and completely flipped her life upside down.

I have been friends with Briana for more than twenty years and she has always been one of the hardest working, most giving, most compassionate, kindest women I know. Briana was an extremely active, outgoing woman who was always on the go, working as a Manager of an busy restaurant/craft bar, and constantly attending concerts, going camping, etc. before her health underwent a series of events that changed her life drastically.

In September 2019, Briana sustained a life changing concussion when she hit her head while opening a car door. The concussion affected her 10x worse than a standard concussion, due to the fact that at the time she had been unknowingly living with an undiagnosed Late Stage Lyme Disease infection. In March 2020, WHILE undergoing Lyme antibiotic treatments, she was then infected with Covid. Along with Covid she developed pneumonia and was extremely sick for months.

In May 2020 while she had a PICC Line in her arm for the Lyme, she developed a life threatening blood clot called a Deep Vein Thrombosis. And was still “sick” from Covid. Constantly in and out of the ER for extreme chest pain and difficulty breathing.

Due to her underlying autoimmune conditions combined with her brain injury, it was determined that Covid took a dramatic toll on her overall health and well-being, and she has now been diagnosed as a “Covid Long Hauler”. Briana has had MORE THAN 350 doctors appointments in the last fifteen months, and is being treated by every single specialist you could think of. She has completed countless rounds of antibiotics, steroids, multiple inhalers, nebulizer machines, etc.

She is CURRENTLY under the care of a team of Pulmonologists, Cardiologists, Neurologists, Rheumatologists, Otolaryngologists, Physiatrists (physical medicine doctor), Gastroenterologists, Colorectal surgeons, Hematologists, Ophthalmologists, Neuropsychiatrists, Orthopedic surgeons, Podiatrists, Vascular surgeons, as well as a therapist that she meets with weekly. She is a patient at the Yale New Haven Hospital Winchester Chest Post-Covid Recovery program where they are overseeing her care.

Her current symptoms are quite extensive and range from: constant periods of dizziness/lightheadedness, sensitivity to light/sound, erratic heart rate, confusion/terrible brain fog/slow processing speeds/significant memory loss, pressure in her brain, debilitating pain and stiffening of all joints and muscles (she was already living with terrible joint pain bc of the Lyme, but she now feels crippled some days, and is barely able to come out of prolonged positions), irritability, being easily startled, extreme mental and physical fatigue, weakness, chest pain for 11 months combined with shortness of breath, extreme anxiety/depression/depersonalization, multiple allergic reactions/new sensitivities, on top of just always feeling unwell and being more susceptible to other viruses.

She has recently been diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea, that is newly developed since Covid. She has also developed POTS (post orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), scarring on both lungs, a pericardial effusion, nodules on her lungs, polyps in her colon, and an abnormal heart rhythm pattern, as well as being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in addition to all of her other symptoms that she’s been struggling with. She is currently at a high risk for developing another blood clot.

During this whole Post Covid experience, while she has been so sick and so weak, she also had to have a Breast Surgery, two Colonoscopies, Urodynamics testing, a Defacograpy, and multiple other more private invasive procedures/tests for some other more chronic medical issues she’s been dealing with.

Briana had been on unemployment and has recently been living off of her savings, while amidst a lengthy disability application process. She has exhausted all financial assistance at this point and has depleted her personal savings and is in a truly critical, emergency financial state.

Let’s all come together to help alleviate some of her stress so she doesn’t have to worry about continuing to fall behind on bills while she is already navigating all of this unbelievably heavy stuff.

On top of a major financial need just to survive as a woman who is unable to work, she has recently found out the house she has rented from for four years is being sold and she will need to find a new residence, and she is also in need of more specialized Lyme Disease care that insurance doesn’t cover and is very expensive.

Briana would be the first to help anyone out and would give you her last dollar if you were in need, and she would be the last person to ask for help.

She has been so strong, but let’s show her the same love that she shows everyone because nobody deserves to be suffering so badly alone, and nobody can be strong forever, especially with the weight of the world on their shoulders. Thank you in advance for helping my friend! She has so much magic to offer the world and I just want to see her healthy again so she can share that magic with the world!