From Nurse to Patient

Hi, my name is Tina and I am Kirstie's mother. Kirstie is a daughter, a mother, a nurse and a friend. During the COVID pandemic, Kirstie started nursing in cities most affected. She was a valued employee who worked hard and took on extra shifts as the shortage of nurses increased.

Kirstie has suffered from 'belly issues' for many years now. She has had many tests, tried many medications and seen several doctors, but with little to no relief.

While nursing out of town, Kirstie's symptoms became unbearable. She lost an extreme amount of weight, was severly dehydrated, very malnurished and began suffering from muscle waste. It was finally time she had to listen to her body and her family and come home and find treatment.

After 3 ER visits, a 10-day hospital admission, several G-Tube surgeries and many tests and procedures, Kirstie's symptoms continued to get worse. With a lot of research and phone calls, she was accepted at The Cleveland Clinic for treatment. The doctor and the whole staff there have been wonderful and seem determined to find the proper diagnosis and plan.

The physician there has been able to rule out several possibilites for diagnosis, but still needs results from one more test to be able to accurately come up with a treatment plan.

Once an accurate diagnosis is found, the doctor can then start a treatment plan to improve Kirstie's quality of life. It is possible that she will need additional testing and surgery in the future, but that is all unknown without knowing what is causing the issues.

Kirstie's physician has said that she at significant risk of global dysmotility given the symptoms and lack of response to all previous treatments. The most effective and vital approach to evaluate the entire intestinal motility is wireless capsule motility testing. Without this testing there is an increased risk of inappropriate therapy as well as delay in care and worse outcome.

Unfortunately, Kirstie's insurance has denied the test. The physician has called the insurance company to plea for coverage, but the test was denied again. The Cleveland Clinic has graciously offered to do the test at a discounted rate, but it will have to be paid for before the test is completed.

The test is currently scheduled to be performed at The Cleveland Clinic at the end of August. We are asking that our friends and family come together to help cover the cost of this test and gas and lodging for the trip to have the test done.