Michelle Cook pay for surgery

11/28/22 - UPDATE:

Michelle's doctor has scheduled her surgery for December 7th. She has insurance that will cover most of the cost after she pays the deductible, and she will still be responsible for her co-pay. However, there is a part of the surgery that is not covered by her insurance at all, and that part will cost an additional $7000. The hospital will NOT do the surgery if she doesn't pay them half of that $7000 by the day of the surgery.

We are a little under 1/3 of the way to our goal of having the $3500 she will need by December 7th so she can have this surgery without the hospital turning her away. If you were thinking about donating, now is the time!

Thank you in advance!

-- Deanne

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Hi. My name is Deanne, and I am Michelle's sister. I want to share with you the message I received from Michelle this week.

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"I saw Dr. Spencer yesterday. She is the doctor that did my venous reconstruction in 2017 for the blood clots in my leg and abdomen. As I suspected, I have venous insufficiency in the left leg that is causing swelling, dry skin, and blood pooling. I also have venous insufficiency in the pelvis, causing issues with the bowel, bladder, bloating, abdominal and back pain, and chronic inflammation. The varicose vein in my left leg has become severe and complicates all other issues. Finally, there is a significant narrowing of the iliac vein at the top of my stent and another narrowing in the inferior vena cava, partially occluding blood flow back to the heart.

"Additionally, when my stents were put in, vein stents didn't exist. The surgery was considered experimental because, in Dr. Spencer's words, she was "experimenting with treatments and medical products because the alternative was often death." Thank God for her experiments!

"Treatment will be another venous reconstruction, though much less complicated than last time. They will 'close' the gonadal vein in the pelvis through ablation, replace the stent with a longer venal stent, and open the partial occlusions with angioplasty and additional stents if necessary. About a month later, they will also close the varicose vein by ablation.

"The only bad news, in my opinion, is that my insurance won't pay for the gonadal portion. It will be $7,000 if done with the venous reconstruction and much more if done separately. Does anyone want to donate to my future health?

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My sister has struggled with medical issues ever since her first back surgery when she was 13. While having another surgery in 2000, one of the doctors cut a vein that he shouldn't have. Michelle didn't want to sue the doctor who had cared for her since childhood to recover costs for the complications that another doctor caused. It wasn't until just this year that she was finally able to pay off the over $200,000 in bills that those complications caused her. Now she is faced with another surgery and more bills. The hospital won't even schedule the surgery until she comes up with half of the cost of the surgery, which will be $3500.00.

Michelle has spent her whole life helping other people. In just the last year alone, she has started a new company serving special needs adults in the Laramie area. She spent two weeks volunteering with the Red Cross in Florida after the hurricane hit the Tampa area and then came home to plan the grand reopening of the new Fire Department.

Now, it's our turn. Let's all come together to help her preserve her health.