Help Jaymie Shrink (her bills)!

Hi there!

My name is Jaymie, and I live in the twin cities.

I work in IT, I write as a hobby, I play the violin, and I love games.

For most of my life I have been a big girl - not so much because of diet or lack of exercise, but a constant battle between me, my body, and my genetics.

I did my best to get active as I got older - Football, some martial arts lessons, fencing, being part of a marching band, and just walking as much as I could daily, but the weight just wasn't going anywhere. Even at my "best weight", I was still considered obese since I weighed more than 250 pounds.

After a while I decided that as long as I was otherwise healthy, the best thing I could do was take care of myself as well as I could, and just keep going.

But then about a year and a half ago, I got sick.

Really, really sick.

At the first sign that something wasn't right, I went to the ER. A few hours later I was diagnosed with necrotizing cellulitis. I had surgery at about 2am the next day to see if I would be able to keep my leg. (Spoiler alert: I did!)

Recovery was a long, slow process, and after having to be hospitalized a second time in April, I finally started to get better in early summer of 2023.

Except I noticed I had gained a lot of weight that wasn't coming off - and that the leg which had been infected continued to swell up more even after hours of compression and different therapies.

Long story short, I had developed what the doctors term "exceptionally severe" lipedema in my leg. That's where fat has been pushed out of where it's supposed to be, and it sort of takes up residence in othr places.

After working with several doctors and specialists, we agreed the best way to go forward is to go through bariatric surgery (that's the sleeve procedure in the picture) to help me shed as much weight as possible before we look at the best way to fix my leg.

I've spent the last six months preparing for surgery, and I have my surgery date set for early July.

Insurance will help with the main surgery bills and medications (though I do expect to still be on the hook for a couple of thousand dollars), but it doesn't begin to touch the non-medical costs, including having to spend several weeks to potentially two months on a very limited liquid diet while my stomach heals, and I slowly readjust to "regular" food.

I'm going to be out of work on disability, but that also means my paychecks may be reduced depending on how long I am absent from my job.

And then there's the things I'm going to need as I lose weight - several potential sets of clothes, underwear, and even shoes as my body changes and my fat burns off, wedge pillows and cushions to help me be comfortable as I heal and to keep my legs elevated properly while working, and continued physical therapy, doctor visits, and nutrition supplements to help me stay healthy.

(Oh - and I am going to have friends who will be stopping by to help with cleaning my house, cooking, and giving me support when I am off my feet. I'd really like to be able to throw gas money or get them some food to say thank you for their help!)

I am pretty terrible about asking for help, but I feel like this is the time, so here I am.

My initial goal of $1000 will help immensely towards these goals, and my hope is to raise more money past the goal so that I can make sure I get through the various bills and inevitable unexpected costs and find myself in the best place to succeed and launch into the next stage of my life!