Help Mark (Mara) & Kerri with Medical Bills

Hi everyone,

This is my first time attempting a GoFundMe or any personal fundraiser. I’m not one to usually ask for financial help from others, as I have been mostly financially independent and taking care of all my bills for over 10 years, since I was 23. However, in light of recent medical issues that Kerri and I have been experiencing, along with the mounting bills that come with that, I believe this is one of those situations that warrants reaching out for financial help.

Many of you have seen the Facebook and Instagram posts from Kerri and myself about my recent medical ordeal involving appendicitis & complications from surgery that occurred when we were out of state, on what was supposed to be a family vacation in Myrtle Beach SC. The whole experience was the most difficult medical situation I’ve been in, especially since I am someone who has primarily been in good health. In short, I suffered from acute appendicitis and had emergency appendectomy surgery, in which my appendix began to burst as it was being removed. They gave me multiple rounds of antibiotics and discharged me to recover. However, instead of making an expected quick recovery, I came down with a complication called post-op Ileus, in which my digestive system shut down due to blockage and general shock from the abdominal surgery. This extended my hospital stay and required a tube to be inserted through my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach (NG-nasogastric tube) to drain my digestive tract and restart my system. This painful tube remained in for 48 hours, in which I could not eat or drink, and had difficulty swallowing. Finally, after 5 days in the hospital and a week of being bedridden in pain, I was able to slowly start eating, drinking, and regaining normal function. I am now back home in NJ and recovering well so far. I am grateful for the care and support of my mom (a retired nurse), my family, and my love Kerri, who was at my side throughout this whole ordeal, even as our vacation was completely ruined. I also want to thank anyone who reached out to Kerri and I during the past few weeks to see how we were doing.

Unfortunately, now it’s time to deal with the bills, financial hardship, and uncertainty that comes with a significant surgery and hospital stay like this, compounded by the fact that it occurred entirely out of state. I do have health insurance, but it is a New Jersey specific Horizon plan that does not cover out-of-state doctors and hospitals. The insurance will cover some of the emergency aspects of my ordeal, but I will still owe a significant amount due to my lengthened hospital stay as a result of the complications. So far I owe $4,395 after insurance, with more claims to come (which is why we have set the goal at $5k).

As a result of these medical bills, we decided to create this GoFundMe and are reaching out to you–friends, family, and acquaintances–for any financial assistance to help us pay our medical bills. We decided to set a starting goal at $5,000 for now, but every little bit will help, even if we don't reach that goal. Times are tough for everyone with inflation and rising cost of living, so we understand that it may be difficult for people to donate, but again any help will be much appreciated!!

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UPDATE:

It’s now been a year since my medical ordeal, and I am in a much better place with my mental and physical health. As many of you know, I have recently come out as trans and am now embarking on that medical journey as well!

However, the past year has been difficult financially as we struggled to pay off medical bills and other debt. The good news is that I was finally able to pay off the lingering medical bills from the appendectomy in May!! However, in the meantime, Kerri has had unexpected medical issues. In June she suffered a seizure (something that has never happened before) and had to receive a lot of follow-up care. Because of this, she was out of work and unable to drive for more than a month while we waited to take care of the appointments and get her cleared to work & drive again. Thankfully she was cleared and does not appear to have epilepsy or lasting effects from the seizure. It was determined to likely be caused by high blood pressure (something she’s struggled with for a while) and a bad interaction of some of her meds. She has since been put on BP meds and has made adjustments to her other meds.

As a result of these new medical bills and the money I had to spend on settling my medical debt, we are again struggling with finances and bills. I decided to share this GoFundme again now, a year later, as any little bit of donations will help. Thank you to anyone who has helped and shown support for us (in any way) throughout our medical issues!!

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Thank you for taking the time to visit this page and for reading this write-up!! We are grateful for whatever support you are able to offer.

Mark & Kerri