Living with Crohn's disease, ER & hospital stays

Hi, my name is Linda, and I'm raising funds to help pay my granddaughter's medical bills. She has been fighting Crohn's disease for sixteen years and has sixteen years of medical debt. Kenna Dianne, who I call Di, has been in and out of hospitals since she was diagnosed with Crohns when she was twelve.

 

She has suffered unbearable pain, but you would never know it! I posted this video she took only two weeks ago while traveling in the car on a mountainside in Washington State. I chose this video because it partially depicts her carefree, joyful spirit. She was in the hospital a week or two before she took this video and back in the hospital less than two weeks afterward. She's in the hospital for her fifth surgery on July 5, 2022. She's had three bowel resections and gallbladder surgery. 

 

Believe me, she's tough, and she hates going to the hospital, so she waits until the pain is unbearable before she goes. Just in the last two years, she had to go to the ER ten times. She was hospitalized each time from three to nine days. She has suffered unbearable pain and constantly must run to the restroom everywhere she goes. This girl has never let this disease stop her from living her life, though! She is the most giving, loving person you will ever meet, and has an incredibly positive outlook about everything, even this disease. On one of our FaceTime calls, she had just gotten out of the hospital and was in the kitchen making food for an older gentleman recovering from heart surgery. She was still in pain, but she pushed it aside to serve someone else. 

 

She went to college and works a full-time job in a dental office. They have been very understanding when she had to be hospitalized, probably because she's so valuable to the team. Even though she has insurance with her company, she has a mound of medical bills from all the ER visits, hospital stays, and surgeries that are too many to count. The money we are asking for will not cover all her medical bills, but it will certainly help. She will use part of the funds to help her pay bills since she's going to be in recovery for the next six weeks. 

 

She posted the following on her FB page the day before her surgery: 

Just a quick update:

As many people already know I’ve been in and out of the hospital the last year, and after a lot of discussions with my doctors I’m scheduled to have surgery tomorrow afternoon around 2P. It’s a pretty major operation, I’ll have around 6 weeks recovery time and the recovery is not fun. There’s going to be a lot of life changes with this surgery, but I’m hopeful it will allow me a better quality of life and keep me out of the hospital every two months! Thank you to everyone who has prayed/is praying/will pray for a safe and successful surgery and recovery!

Love you all so much and looking forward to being able to hike up mountains and go on adventures again!!! (end post)

 

 

Anything you can contribute is appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Linda Wells