Medical Expenses for our mom Teresa Chavez

Hello, community! This is Mayan and Tan on behalf of our mom, Teresa Chavez. We are starting this Go Fund Me because our mom has been diagnosed with Long Covid. Doctors have attempted various treatments including injections, prescriptions, and experimental therapies. Unfortunately, they have made minimal headway, but are still actively trying to solve the problems.

Currently, Long Covid is not well understood, but it can cause intense fatigue and brain fog, which is what our Mom is experiencing. This has resulted in reduced cognitive function, which is preventing her from working. Just last year she discovered that she had a brain aneurysm that was so large it required endovascular embolization surgery and in 2023 she had spinal surgery to help reduce extreme pain in her back. All of this has left her with massive medical debt. We have moved her to Seattle to be closer to family support.

Her insurance has only covered minimal expenses, and because she is unable to work she is at a financial breaking point. She has applied for disability, and other government support programs, but the system is failing her. She has been on waitlists and has tried every avenue to support herself but she is stuck in the red tape. We are exploring all assistance available to her, but we are concerned that it may not come fast enough to keep her in her apartment.

My sibling and I have been supporting our mom financially, but Mayan is in law school and we are struggling to make ends meet. Our goal is to ensure that her rent is paid so she does not get evicted, and that she can stay on top of her medical bills.

Our mom has been a single mother for the majority of her life. She is a woman of color who grew up in poverty as one of 12 siblings in Utah. She fought hard to get her education and start a life for herself. The last few years have been extremely hard on her, as her health has declined significantly. Teresa is a proud woman and has refused to rely on others for help, especially financially, but she knows that she has no choice but to fully focus on her health and needs help doing that.

The truth is, this is an uncomfortable and vulnerable time for our family - we are reaching out to the community because we hope that those who know our mom will show up to support her in this critical time. We just want our mom to be able to stay in her apartment, and not have to fight for her bare necessities while she is already fighting for her health.

We sincerely appreciate any support you can afford to give. Despite her trauma and financial insecurity, our mom worked tirelessly to raise us to be kind, thoughtful people and now she needs our help.