Please help with my Long Covid-19 Medical Bills..
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- Bill paid with donations!
- Hello, my name is Jennifer. I want to thank you for taking time to read this!
- I would also like to give you some background information about myself. I am a 41 year old married woman. I was finally deamed 100% disabled in 2013 after being assaulted by a patient while working at The Buffalo Psychiatric Center in 2008. I was punched in my face while my neck was turned the other way. When I turned my neck forward it caused 4 of my discs in my neck to herniate. I have been receiving pain management treatment for 14 years. Every 3 weeks I go and have shots (trigger point injections) in my neck. This helps reduce the pain and improves my range of motion. Fortunately, I have Workman's Compensation, and there is no cost to me for treatment. Unfortunately I do not receive any money from Workman's Compensation.
- Currently I am on disability for physical and mental conditions. I have Medicare health coverage, which I pay out of pocket for every month directly from my Social Security Disability allowance. Medicare is not the same as Medicaid. It does not cover a lot of the costs. It has a deductible and co-pays on appointments and prescriptions. On average I take 15 different medications daily. After my Medicare premium is deducted, I receive $1,200 a month.
- In October 2022 I got COVID-19. Thankfully I recovered rather quickly without many symptoms. About 2 weeks after I tested negative for COVID-19 I starting getting the symptoms of COVID-19. I later learned that I have Long COVID-19. For about 3 months all I could do was sleep. I slept 20 hours a day. I started coughing extremely bad. I struggled just to breathe and was put on 24 hour oxygen. I became very weak. I was nauseous all the time. My body started filling up with fluid. My doctor team did not know what to do. Their main goal was to keep me out of the hospital. They started sending me for many tests. I was put on several medications to manage the symptoms of Long COVID-19. The many tests the doctors ordered revealed many health problems. I was diagnosed with Severe COPD, Emphysema, Diabetes, and Anemia. One test that was ordered was a CT scan. The scan showed small nodules covering my lungs. Multiple doctors feel these may have been caused by COVID-19. I was carefully and frequently monitored making many trips to multiple doctors and specialists. I continue to visit doctors to this day. I am still on and off multiple medications for current symptoms. Some symptoms will come and go and some are just constant. New ones are appearing and tests are still being conducted.
- This forced my husband to not work as much. He has to take care of all the responsibilities that I was taking care while taking care of me. Needless to say this makes his income less and all my doctor appointments, prescriptions, and testing makes our expenses higher. Our current income has not been enough to cover the extra expenses and our living expenses. My mother has been using her savings to help with the extra expenses due to my Long COVID-19. The cost has depleted her savings over the past year. Bless her heart! Any donations that I am to receive will pay for medical expenses. Any amount of money you could spare will be greatly appreciated. I thank you for taking the time to read my cause and I ask that you share my story on your page. God Bless You All!
- My current medical obstacles are still being addressed. Long COVID-19 has made it so my lungs fill with fluid. The doctors have been able to mange it with water pills. Just recently they have filled up more than usual. I just had another chest x-ray and am waiting for results. Also my blood work has come back showing that my anemia has gotten worse. I am already on iron pills. It also showed that my potassium levels are low. I am taking potassium pills now. My primary Dr (One of the many doctors I have) has demanded a telehealth appointment with me tomorrow. A new symptom that started is my right foot, ankle and leg is swelling. Tests were done to rule out a blood clot and x-rays taken. Nothing can explain the cause. I am waiting to be seen by a rheumatologist for further testing. My pulmonologist has been trying to find an inhaler for my breathing. I have tried 4 already and have had bad reactions to all of them. Thank God at this time they are able to give me sample inhalers because they cost $400+ a month. I can not afford that. But now I need them to breathe. The doctors and I have been using prednisone on and off for the past year to help my breathing until I can find an inhaler that will not cause me terrible side effects. I am also trying not having the oxygen when we can find an inhaler. The prednisone has caused me to gain 40+ pounds and may be the reason I became diabetic. I now have a chronic cough from Long Covid-19. I have had it since it began. Sometimes it is worse than others. I control it with prescription cough pills and over the counter cough medicine. At times i need to take both and at times it is controlled with just one medication. Needless to say, it wont go away. I will update my progress or recession regularly. When the Long COVID-19 started the bipolar medication that i have been on for 12 years, Latuda, started giving me problems with my breathing. I have currently tried 3 other medications for my bipolar without any success. For the time being I have chosen to hold off on trying any more since they have given me bad experiences with severe side effects. For now we are just treating depression and anxiety. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Fundraising team (2)
Jennifer Macchia
Organizer
Buffalo, NY
Emily Fitch
Team member