Raising Funds to Help with Keith's Growing Medical Bills

Hi - my name is Keith Wilkins and I am fundraising to help pay medical bills from a recent emergency hospitalization I had.

Before I get into the specifics of what's happened, I find it extremely difficult to ask for help for anything. While I'm always willing to go out of my way to help others and lend a hand - for some reason to ask others for help just doesn't feel right. After a few friends suggested "Go Fund Me" as well as receiving a slap of reality with the medical bills I decided to swallow my pride and ask for help.

Several months ago I started to experience severe pain in my abdomen. Being a typical man I ignored it and it passed. Not having medical insurance I really did not want to see a doctor due to the costs. Over a few weeks, I found that I could eat very little and feel full like I ate a complete meal. I eventually visited my doctor with no real findings. I cut out carbonated drinks and ate more frequent, smaller meals.

In January I had the pain return. It hurt to take a deep breath and if I ate just a bit more than my normal small meal the pain was worse. I also started having sharp, intense pain in my left shoulder which would come and go. After researching my symptoms I felt like I knew the problem and I was scared. I visited my doctor once again who confirmed that all indications were that I had an enlarged spleen.

Would I have to have my spleen removed? What was the root cause? Was my liver going bad? Was it cancer?

On January 31st I had a CT Scan which showed I did have an enlarged spleen. My doctor wanted me next to have an MRI so they could better understand what was going on and possibly get some ideas as to the root cause. Due to severe claustrophobia, I was unable to complete my first MR appointment and had another appointment scheduled for April 23rd at a special imaging center which had a very open MRI for people with claustrophobia.

Unfortunately, I woke up the morning of April 7th in severe pain and went to the Emergency Room. I spent the next week in the hospital. I had additional CT Scans, an MRI - and a procedure to install a drain in my side due to the fluid buildup in my spleen. They drained 1.6 liters out of the cyst on my spleen. 1.6 liters! That's almost an entire bottle of soda.

After the fluid was drained the pain was worse than ever. That large, empty space in my abdomen had organs moving to fill the space and the pain was excruciating. Nurses came in to check blood pressure, oxygen levels, and temperature and provided pain meds all day and all night. By the end of the week I was able to come off the IV pain medication which allowed me to go home.

Recovery has been slow and as I type this I still have the drain in my side. Although we still do not know the root cause it appears there is no cancer and my liver seems fine. Will my spleen need to be removed at some point? Time will tell. I just had another CT Scan and have several appointments scheduled. A few months ago I weighed 205 pounds and two weeks after being hospitalized I'm weighing 181 pounds.

Beyond the health aspects of this event, the financial impact is almost immeasurable. I'm not sure how I'll recover financially.

YOU can help and I am so appreciative!

1) GIVE whatever you can. No donation is too small (tax-deductible)

2) SHARE on social media

3) EMAIL this page - https://gofundme.com/f/help-keith-medical-bills-no-insurance - to your family + friends.

All donations will go towards paying off my medical bills. Thank you so much for your support and God bless each and every one of you!!

Keith Wilkins