Stand with Me: Fund Recovery and Healing

Good morning friends and strangers,

I’m honestly terrified to be typing this out. I don’t like asking for help; I’ve always been so independent. I own my own home, three dogs I love and care for, and have had many successful careers. Unfortunately, 2024 changed my life.

Those who know me know that since as early as 2021, I’ve been fighting with BMC’s doctors to get an explanation for all the extreme pain I have been experiencing. I have lost partial use and feeling in my left leg. I’m on an incredible amount of gabapentin, leaving me sick and dizzy more than I feel well, and I experience 6/10 pain and higher every day.

After a painfully long fight to get an MRI, in September of 2024, I was finally diagnosed by Dr. Shapiro of Baystate Neurology with a congenital birth defect that caused my L5-S1 joint to fail. I need a spinal fusion, and I need one this year. If the surgery is not completed before September of 2025, we will HAVE to attempt to do all imaging again.

I am fortunate enough to have insurance, but I am not fortunate enough to have the funds to continue to pay my bills, and pay for care for myself and my pets, while also being in recovery for 8 to 12 weeks.

During the last few

I have been left with no income, no help, and I live alone. It’s a harsh reality to swallow, but unless I initiate by lying on every job interview here on out, no one is going to hire a disabled woman who needs to take a 10-week leave of absence in the first year. It’s just not how the world works.

My hope is to raise enough money to pay my bills for the two months I need to recover, so I can start fresh and find a new career without being held back by disabilities, pain, and surgery dates.

I have unfortunately also been struggling with employment due to some very unfortunate events, and have been left jobless at this time.

Since I’m unemployed anyway, I may as well consider having this surgery done now, rather than finding another just to have to take three months off almost immediately.

Unfortunately this does make the need for money a higher priority as Kyle(my partner) will not be living here yet and I’ll have to consider hiring a live in nurse for the initial weeks as I can’t care for my pets, or much of myself and will be in extreme pain.

I know everyone is struggling in this economy, so please don’t feel it necessary, but if you have something to spare to help me get through this troubling time, and use it to better my long term health and happiness, I would be eternally grateful.

If you can’t donate, please consider sharing.

Anything helps. ❤️

Please help if you can. I know life is hard on all of us, but if those of you who do have a little extra to give would like to make life a little easier on me - I want nothing more than to get this surgery, be out of pain, and back to real life.