Help Donnie Fight Lyme Disease

Hi, my name is Donnie and I'm fundraising to help cover some of the costs that a recent Lyme disease diagnosis has created.

On 4/6/24, I received a positive Lyme disease diagnosis. This was after weeks of consistently having a high fever, a trip to the Emergency Room, and several doctor's appointments. I am currently living with tremendous fatigue and exhaustion that makes it hard to keep my eyes open and impossible to function throughout the day, headaches, fevers, chills, body aches and pains, joint pain, blurry vision, a dry cough, nerve pain, and more. The doctors are unsure of which stage of Lyme disease I am in (there are three stages), and have consulted with Infectious Disease specialists. I'm waiting to hear the results of that consultation, but today (4/10/24) I begin a regimine of antibiotics that will hopefully start to offer some relief soon.

Lyme disease is a serious and seriously misunderstood medical issue. It can cause facial palsy (loss of muscle tone on one side of the face), heart palpitations, shortness of breath, inflamation of the brain and spinal cord, dizziness, arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, and more. (CDC.gov) I'm hoping that we caught it early enough for the antibiotics to help, but as I have no recollection at all of recently having a tick bite, the timeline is up in the air.

I'd just been hired for a new job after months of unemployment due to PTSD left over from being the target of a homophobic assault in June of 2023. After calling in numerous times to my new place of employment because of fevers and exhaustion, they have asked me to take a step back for thirty days to get my health in order and then "we'll reasses our staffing needs at that time." I may have permanently lost my job because of Lyme, but I definitely lost it for the next thirty days.

I am sorry to once again be asking for community support, but I don't know what else to do. I am hoping to raise $2,200 for the following:

$770 - rent

$150 - electric bill

$23 - gas bill

$350 - for Ubers to and from upcoming medical appointments, job interviews, social security, and commitments

$300 - for co-pays, meds, treatment

$150 - food and pet supplies

$466 - breathing room, incidentals, more possible treatment costs, anything that comes up, etc.

There are a few programs I can apply to that can potentially help with treatment costs if I am selected, and I am applying to them immediately. I have also applied to SNAP (food stamps) and have received them in the past, but have recently been denied again so that is a never-ending battle. I am also applying for SSDI, but first have to get my name changed from my birth name to my legal name on my social security card which I can't do until at least the end of this week, so that slows down an already complex and complicated process (I know I will be denied the first time.)

It has been a really difficult 9 months since the attack, and now to receive such a debilitating medical diagnosis is the cherry on top. The fatigue and exhaustion and the fever really are the worst - I can drink 3 cups of coffee and fall asleep while sitting at my desk. It's wild and scary.

I am at the mercy of the kindness of friends, family, and strangers. Any help you can give would be most appreciated. If you prefer not to donate through GoFundMe, I do have a Venmo account at @Donnie-Cianciotto, as well as a PayPal account at paypal.me/donniecianciotto. I promise to put this money right back into the community at my first available opportunity. I will update frequently about my health and the ongoing situation.

For more information on Lyme disease, please visit:

More About Lyme Disease

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please share if you can. I am humbly grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Donnie Cianciotto