The Boyd family
Donation protected
Hello Everyone,
Over the last 20 months, my family has endured severe hardships due to COVID-19. In January of 2021 my Son and I tested positive for COVID-19, with my daughter and wife (Shelby) developing symptoms days later. While the children recovered fairly quickly, my wife and I remained ill with Mono-like symptoms for more than 3 weeks. Post-Covid, my symptoms primarily resolved but my wife’s consistently grew worse.
On January 28th, 2021 Shelby woke up with full dementia-like symptoms, dizziness, panic, accelerated heart rate, etc. This began the first of many hospital visits to the ER and more than 215 Dr visits that would follow. As you can imagine our medical bills alone are making it nearly
impossible to cover our basic expenses. Over the span of the last 20 months Shelby has endured blackouts, burning/pain sensations in her neck and back, swelling/tension, migraines, insomnia, tremors, fibromyalgia-like pain, pins and needles sensation, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, severe fatigue, adrenaline dumps, stroke-like symptoms, severe brain fog, dizziness, difficulty balancing & etc on almost a daily basis. These symptoms stem from two chronic illnesses: Long COVID Syndrome and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
As you would expect, adapting to this new life has been a huge challenge for our family in multiple ways. It has also caused stress mentally, emotionally, and financially. My wife and I have been working to put the pieces back together but having most difficulty doing so in the area of finances as she was terminated from terminated from the position she held at Tillamook Creamery after her FMLA ran out and as she was unable to perform her job duties due to the extreme symptoms she was experiencing. Shelby was also denied government benefits, unemployment insurance for the first 12 months and PUA for the entirety of her illness.
While being interviewed for an article that the Oregon Public Broadcast (OPB) was going to be publishing on the Financial Impact of COVID, Shelby opened the determination letter she’d received from the disability office and learned that her disability claim was denied despite the fact that long COVID-19 is a federally recognized disability. Medical bills and lack of finances has forced my wife back to working 20 hours a week for us to survive. Since returning to work Shelby has continued to experience consistent blackouts, severe and constant pain, and is often bedridden due to overexerting herself which delays her recovery.
All of this being said, our finances and lives have taken a huge hit and has made it extremely difficult to stabilize or recover. Shelby is in the process of starting an advocacy program with one of the members of the long COVID program she participated in through OHSU. COVID CONNECT is the name of the peer-to-peer advocacy program that they will be starting. The goal of this program will be to provide resources, peer-to-peer support and an environment where those who attend can feel safe to share their personal experiences with others who are going through some of the same challenges. Their first meeting will be held on December 3rd, 2022 at Mountain Park Church which is located at 40 McNary Pkwy, Lake Oswego, OR 97035.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, thinking about/praying for us and for donating to support our family.
Below you find the article published by OPB which you can read and or listen to. I’ve also provided the links to two other interviews Shelby was featured on by Koin 6 and CBN News.
Love & Peace,
The Boyd Family
Organizer
JD Boyd
Organizer
Lake Oswego, OR