jENN Needs Your Help: AC and repairs for Health Relief

Good moment in time!

My name is Jenn. I am raising funds for a new HVAC system and repairs to get the installation completed. I'm going to be very straightforward and say I'm a very private person so this is exhaustingly difficult for me to come to this platform to ask for help. But, I came to the realization that I need it. I need you. I appreciate your donations, your shares, and your time. Time is so precious. This moment you are spending with me right now, I cherish it!

Our AC died completely in December 2024 when it hit nearly 90° and it can not be repaired. It has refrigerant that's no longer readily available and parts are exorbitant. The entire outdoor condenser unit is shot due to a major leak. The inside unit, the air handler, also has a leak but not quite as massive. 40% of the coils do not work at all. The cost for a new HVAC system will be roughly $17,000 to $23,000, with it most likely being the higher cost due to some unusual circumstances.

I personally have had several setbacks since 2019 that is making it very tough to afford this extremely needed system. And it's not about just keeping my family comfortable, it's about them living and thriving. A few days ago it was 19° and yesterday it was 80°. When it was 19° outside, it was 62° inside. When it was 80° outside, it was 79° inside. It's already becoming very difficult to bear.

A few of the things that have caused financial and physical limitations include a Sleep Apnea diagnosis in 2019 and lost my insurance shortly after. In January 2021, a lateral incisor cracked while eating some chicken. That October, I developed achilles tendonitis and it seemed to resolve mostly after 4 months in a boot. In May of 2022 I had SOHL, Sudden Onset Hearing Loss. I couldn't hear anything except very, very low decibels in my left ear. They did a brain scan and didn't find anything(insert your favorite laugh here). They did end up seeing nodules on my thyroid. They ordered an ultrasound immediately and that part is all good! They don't know why it happened but helped get most of my hearing back on about 4 weeks with very high doses of steroids. He wanted me to go to a hyperbaric chamber but the insurance I had did not cover that whatsoever. Later that year I had a salivary gland infection. I looked like I had swallowed a tennis ball and was lodged in the left side of my throat. It was extremely painful. I found out I had a salivary gland stone. I realized I probably had the stone for years because of a strange pain under my tongue that I would experience off and on. I ended up having it removed in May 2023 after I found out that April I was going to lose my insurance at the end of June. I also had two leg vein removal surgeries along with that in a span of 6 weeks. I managed to get insurance at up for January 2024 and ended up hitting my head really hard on December 29, 2023. I ended up getting transported to the hospital and getting diagnosed with a concussion. I do not recommend any of that with or without insurance. In January 2024, I could not step up over the threshold as my right knee was in excruciating pain. It took 20 minutes to take that 1 step. My knee wouldn't bend at all. A few hours later I was able to bend it slightly. The next day it was like nothing happened and my left leg ankle, foot, and calf were not cooperating. It turns out my achilles tendonitis was flaring up and I had 2 other tendonitis' joining in. My right knee had been doing all the work. My right knee is completely fine now. So I tried the boot again for about 6 months and my doctor said I really needed to think about surgery that includes fixing up the achilles tendon, removing damaged tissue in my foot, removing bone spurs, and lengthening my achilles tendon in my calf. I was very hesitant. Finally I scheduled it for November but ended up getting Sporotrichosis in October. Sporotrichosis is very rare in the US with about 1-2 in a million infections per year! It's an infection that requires anti-fungals to treat. The medicine interacted with a different medicine I was taking so, I had to stop taking both. I ended up on steroids again and it did seem to help quite a bit. But I had to postpone my surgery to December. Then I ended up with food poisoning the day after Thanksgiving. My entire family ended up catching norovirus even though I was so extremely careful. I ended up with tears in my esophagus and I was nervous about intubation. They said it should be fine to go through with it. I felt well enough after 8 days to go out for a couple of hours. The next morning I had unbearable coughing that was bringing back all the muscular pain from vomiting and gi issues the week before. I ended up having a really bad bronchitis diagnosis 4 days before surgery. My doctor said I would be better for the Friday surgery. I was not better in time. I had to cancel it! In fact, I was coughing until January 13, 2025. I have new deductibles to meet, new referrals to get, and a slew of other things to pay for and set up to make it happen. I know that part is long but it's a lot. I also have a second broken tooth, a molar, from eating some chicken that happened last August. The teeth issues I finally got insurance last year but it barely covers more than a cleaning. Instead of $6,000 to fix both it would be around $5,500. I do need another opinion but very few places accept my insurance.

Please know that I am very grateful to be able to write any of this. I wouldn't be here without the help of 4 strangers who saved my life in 2008. Their blood donations saved me. I had internal bleeding and had no clue it was going on. Between being told I needed a blood transfusion of a liter at an urgent care to receiving 2 pints and getting my levels checked again, I had lost another liter in a 2 hour span. 4 pints and emergency surgery followed by a week in ICU, I will be eternally grateful. I had lost 40% of my blood. If you aren't able to donate here, please share, and spread the word. But all in all, if you could donate blood to a local bank, that would mean the world to me! I've been donating since 1997 when I was finally old enough. If there's one thing we can all do, do this if you're able to. It doesn't cost anything. And you usually get a cookie or some juice after!

Thank you for reading my story. I need help. It's hard to ask, but I really do. Without going into details about individual family members' needs, I just really want to take care of my family. They need the air conditioning more than ever right now. Thank you again! Take care!