Butterfly - Lauren Watt
Donation protected
January 2021 Financial Update from Lauren:
Thank you all for your generosity. I and my family appreciate your support for the cost of my out-of-pocket medications and supplements. With these costs averaging $2,000 a month, I am currently funded until mid 2021. However as I will likely need treatment until June of 2023, I am raising this GoFundMe goal by $24,000 to cover another year of treatment. Samaritan Ministries, my Christian health-sharing ministry, continues to cover the costs of my lab work and doctor appointments, and I am blessed to live at home with my parents, who have been my loving caregivers since I became ill in 2015 at age 14.
I have made significant progress in treating Bartonella since this GoFundMe was launched in August of 2019. From 2018 and 2019, when I was bedridden and in a wheelchair, I have now progressed to taking ⅓ of a mile walks and can usually spend 2-3 hours out of bed each day. My reactions to foods, chemicals, and smells no longer require me to carry an EpiPen, and my parents can cook indoors again. I am no longer constantly nauseous, and I have regained weight. I have successfully weaned off a pain/sleep medication I needed for 4.5 years.
I still have a lot of symptoms (my primary ones are severe fatigue, brain fog, fevers, joint and muscle aches, headaches, and occasional episodes of nausea), but little by little the severity and frequency of my symptoms are slowly improving. My doctors and I are encouraged by my improvements and are hopeful about my future. On the days I am able, I have been spending an hour taking online self-paced courses through Hillsdale College. We celebrate each baby step in the right direction knowing that the little victories are what add up to the bigger milestones.
How much longer will I need treatment for Bartonella? Because my case is complicated (eg, hormone dysregulation and inflammatory disorder), and because we are balancing my treatment with my daily functional abilities, my doctors and I have customized a treatment protocol for me. My testing shows that this protocol is indeed working, but my doctors will only know how long it is needed by my symptoms and continued testing. And in addition to Bartonella, my doctors are now also concerned that I also have a blood parasite, Babesia. We are looking to begin a targeted Babesia protocol in the summer of 2021, which will likely last one or two years.
Your donations have been and are what makes my progress possible. I am so thankful and humbled by your support! Your support in whatever form reminds me I’m not going this alone and uplifts me as I keep pushing. As I regain my health, I hope to eventually be able to work, to cover my treatment costs myself, and to bless others as I myself have been blessed.
Lauren and Lisa (my mother) on a phone consult with one of my doctors in 2019
Lauren took her first walk in years in the backyard on May 9, 2020
Thank you all for your generosity. I and my family appreciate your support for the cost of my out-of-pocket medications and supplements. With these costs averaging $2,000 a month, I am currently funded until mid 2021. However as I will likely need treatment until June of 2023, I am raising this GoFundMe goal by $24,000 to cover another year of treatment. Samaritan Ministries, my Christian health-sharing ministry, continues to cover the costs of my lab work and doctor appointments, and I am blessed to live at home with my parents, who have been my loving caregivers since I became ill in 2015 at age 14.
I have made significant progress in treating Bartonella since this GoFundMe was launched in August of 2019. From 2018 and 2019, when I was bedridden and in a wheelchair, I have now progressed to taking ⅓ of a mile walks and can usually spend 2-3 hours out of bed each day. My reactions to foods, chemicals, and smells no longer require me to carry an EpiPen, and my parents can cook indoors again. I am no longer constantly nauseous, and I have regained weight. I have successfully weaned off a pain/sleep medication I needed for 4.5 years.
I still have a lot of symptoms (my primary ones are severe fatigue, brain fog, fevers, joint and muscle aches, headaches, and occasional episodes of nausea), but little by little the severity and frequency of my symptoms are slowly improving. My doctors and I are encouraged by my improvements and are hopeful about my future. On the days I am able, I have been spending an hour taking online self-paced courses through Hillsdale College. We celebrate each baby step in the right direction knowing that the little victories are what add up to the bigger milestones.
How much longer will I need treatment for Bartonella? Because my case is complicated (eg, hormone dysregulation and inflammatory disorder), and because we are balancing my treatment with my daily functional abilities, my doctors and I have customized a treatment protocol for me. My testing shows that this protocol is indeed working, but my doctors will only know how long it is needed by my symptoms and continued testing. And in addition to Bartonella, my doctors are now also concerned that I also have a blood parasite, Babesia. We are looking to begin a targeted Babesia protocol in the summer of 2021, which will likely last one or two years.
Your donations have been and are what makes my progress possible. I am so thankful and humbled by your support! Your support in whatever form reminds me I’m not going this alone and uplifts me as I keep pushing. As I regain my health, I hope to eventually be able to work, to cover my treatment costs myself, and to bless others as I myself have been blessed.
Lauren and Lisa (my mother) on a phone consult with one of my doctors in 2019Lauren took her first walk in years in the backyard on May 9, 2020Organizer and beneficiary
Robert Watt
Organizer
Irwin, PA
Lauren Watt
Beneficiary