High School Teacher in desperate need!

Hey! Thank you for stopping to read my story. It's been crazy, and the crazy is still going.

I am a single mom and high school senior math teacher plus one of the graduation coaches. I absolutely LOVE my job, my students, and all my coworkers (which, if you've ever been in or worked in a school, you know how RARE it is). I love it so much, but this year God must have other plans for me and is giving me one heck of a test! Now, I have no other option than to reach out to you.

It started in July of this year. Around the 4th, I began feeling not my best. I was FREEZING so badly, I had to turn on my fireplace. It was the middle of summer in east central GEORGIA! I had a 104.8 fever. This lasted for a few days without waiver. My sister who told me to get in an immersion ice bath, then get to urgent care. It was literal torture to get in a bathtub full of ice. When I went to urgent care, they ran some standard tests like flu, covid, UTI, etc. They saw I had a UTI and stopped. [Side note: if anyone knows a teacher, we LIVE with UTIs]

They gave me some antibiotics and sent me home. They did nothing, so I went back and was given another antibiotic round with no success.

By the end of July, my fever was now at 104.2 and pre-planning was beginning. I went to work anyway. Made it through open house and the 1st 2 days of school when I couldn't take it anymore and was actually in a lot of pain.

My principal finally convinced me to go to the ER. When I tried to stand up, everything went black. My son, 11yrs old, told me I was trying to pull up my pants when I passed out and fell hard towards my nightstand hitting my head hard, knocking the nightstand and everything over. He was able to get me close to my bed to help me up when I passed out again.

He called 911 and the firemen, 2, came 1st. My son is my HERO! They couldn't find a pulse but said I was moaning so I was still alive. They called the ambulance. 4 EMTs came in and also couldn't find a pulse!

Everything went black again, yet I felt as though I was floating. I found out later that I had, in fact, died and was revived in the ambulance. I have no memory of this.

I woke up and was in the ER with all kinds of wires attached to me. My blood pressure was 60/30! I was in septic shock and was admitted and sent to ICU where I spent 9 days.

I was diagnosed with sepsis, double kidney injury, and pyelonephritis. Basically, the UTI was a bladder infection which contained blood, feces, and bacteria. It festered a month when spreading to my kidneys, which then got in my blood, turning me into toxic poison.

I had so many IVs in that I couldn't bend my arms or alarms would go off.

The other arm looked the same! 6 IVs!!! On top of getting 2 viles of blood drawn every morning.

After 9 days, I was finally released to go home, but didn't know what I was in for.

The recovery was/is (yes, it's still going) worse...memory loss, confusion, hallucinations, extreme weakness, lightheaded, dizziness, insomnia, no appetite, couldn't drive due to not being able to stay on the road or in my lane, no stamina, or strength. I was losing 9-11 POUNDS each week!

I was finally released to go back to work the beginning of October. But, when I got to work, I noticed I couldn't remember what to do or even how to take attendance! My students had to teach me how!

It has been and still is a daily struggle. I'm still having memory problems have lost over half my hair and still losing it.

I received my paycheck and it was only $149...FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH!!! I have had to learn how to pawn things I thought would be passed down just for gas to get to work, and the bare necessities like milk & bread.

[Oh...does it get worse]

I had to go to my OBGYN due to continuous bleeding (12 days straight) when I'm postmenopausal!!!!! She thought it had to do with going through a traumatic bodily event.

It turns out I now have ovarian cancer and am about to have to be out for a long time AGAIN!!

I have to have a hysterectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy in hopes that I beat it.

[...and it KEEPS going...]

I just received my pay for the month of October...it was, again, low. This is for living during the WHOLE month of November!!!!!

I'm at my wits end. I don't know what to do other than ask y'all for help. Help for all these medical bills, for our normal monthly bills, and for food and gas.

I've never been in a situation like this, but I know God has a plan and is giving me the hardest, toughest test of my life.

So I ask ANYONE that is able to PLEASE HELP in anyway you can. Anything will be humbly and graciously accepted. 60% of donations will go to medical bills (labs, doctors, meds, treatments, hospital, doctors, etc.), and the remaining 40% of donations will go towards living expenses.

Thank you for reading and hearing my story as I'm about to go through what seems like the hardest part.

With thanks and blessings,

Allison Bird