Help Valentina pay her UC medical bills

Hi! I'm Valentina and last year I was diagnosed with a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) known as Ulcerative Colitis (UC). UC is a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory condition characterized by inflammation in the colon which causes ulcers and symptoms such as bleeding, abdominal pain, weight loss, anemia, fatigue, among other symptoms, which can become severe.

At the time of my diagnosis, symptoms were very mild and I began managing my condition through diet and lifestyle changes. This worked for almost a year until my condition suddenly worsened and I began experiencing unexpected weight loss, anemia, and intense cramping due to the ulcers in my digestive tract. In July of 2022, I was admitted to the hospital due to my symptoms. I was hospitalized for a total of six days and placed on a high dose of prednisone to manage the inflammation. For the first three days, I couldn't eat anything due to extensive inflammation and was dangerously close to needing a blood transfusion.

I lost nearly 15 lbs from my hospitalization and had to take a month of medical leave as I recovered and began a new treatment to get me into remission. The first treatment failed and I came down with intense symptoms once more in October, which required another round of prednisone and the realization that I needed to take another medical leave if I wanted to beat this and get into remission. I've since started a new treatment which we're hoping will get me into remission in the next few months, but recovery is slow and while there is progress, it's too soon to tell whether the treatment is working.

I've been battling this condition for nearly 5 months now with lots of ups and downs. I've lost over 20 lbs to date which I haven't yet been able to regain, I'm now on my second round of prednisone which has brought on side effects which have affected my weight, mental health, and energy level, and I've struggled to find a diet which my body can properly tolerate. At my worst, I couldn't even get myself up to shower and could barely do the minimum needed to function day to day. While there's been some progress and I'm finally starting to regain my strength and my life, there's still a ways to go.

All of this has of course meant lots of medical bills, specialist doctor visits, tests and exams, expensive medications, and a significant investment in my health and wellbeing which I was not anticipating. I've now spent almost 3 months on medical leave, which has also meant I've been earning less while at the same time spending more on my medical needs.

All of this has added up, and I'm now asking for any help possible to cover the mound of medical bills that seem to just keep coming. Any help is much appreciated and will go towards paying down my medical bills.

Thank you for your contribution!

Best,

Valentina