Hello, 

My name is Mary and I am in need of funding so that I can have much needed, advanced medical treatments. This funding will help to fund the travel portion of my trip.

I am a 41 year old, wife and mother of 3 beautiful children. Since losing our permanent positions during the pandemic, my husband and I have worked as an independent contractors and senior coordinators for companies such as: The Clean Dream, Maids on Demand, and Spot Clean. I love spending time with family and volunteering for local animsl rescues like the FOGP or Friends of Greenup Paws. Unfortunately, everything came to a screeching halt following an unexpected incident during what was "supposed" to be a thyroidectomy. 

 On August 7th, 2021, I had a thyroidectomy to remove a diseased thyroid. During the surgery, my parathyroid glands were destroyed to the point that I no longer have any viable PTH functioning. During a thyroidectomy, it is a common side effect for your Parathyroid glands to be affected; what is not common is for them ti be damaged to the point that they never work again, which is what happened to me! This is such a rare occurrence, that it has never been witnessed first hand, by any of the specialists that I have seen within my area. This illness is almost always permanent and causes very serious health issues including hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia. Following my surgery, I have not been able to return to work or even a normal life. My husband has had to pick up all of the slack which has made things even more difficult. He also has to care for me, which is very tough because my condition is extremely unpredictable. I went from only having to see 1 doctor every few months to having to see multiple specialist a week. I now take an extensive number of medications and the treatment has had subpar results at best. My metabolic system is constantly a wreck and I always feel as if I am seconds from a medical emergency. I have lost over 30 lbs and have had to change everything in my life. I have worked very hard to try and maintain my health. I eat clean, try to exercise, and do everything in my power just to stay alive. The hospital and physicians who did the surgery refused to accept any responsibility so it is now up to me and my family to deal with the consequences of this failed surgery. 

Since this is such a rare condition, there are little to no treatments available, especially in my area. Currently, Florida has the #1 parathyroid center in the world. Florida also has soecialists who are offering treatments from all natural IV Vitamin therapies to trials that involve medications which have proved successful. I desperately want and need to get to this care! The treatments I am taking right now are just barely working and I suffer daily from muscle/vascular spasms, twitching, pain, breathing and heart issues and more. You never realize how important things like Calcium is until you no longer have any.  

My main concern is my family, as I am not sure that they could make it without me. I have 3 precious children and 2 grand children who mean the world to me. My 2 older children live on their own but visit often. My 15 year old daughter is my best friend and depends on me for EVERYTHING. She should be enjoying her, doing things she loves like cooking, but instead she constantly worries about my health to the point that she chose to go on homeschool.

Bottom line is, I really need better treatments, which are not available in my area. I would really love the opportunity to go to the Parathyroid Institute in Florida, but I would be happy just to get to see a Metabolic doctor that specializes in cases such as mine. Going to Florida for treatments would be helpful in many ways; one of the most important being the temperature. The weather where I live has been very hard on me. I have muscle and vascular spasms from the low calcium and when my extremities get cold, they stay cold. I truly believe between better treatments and warm weather, I could get my health back to a sustainable level. I desperately need to get my health back to a level where I can function on a daily basis. I am desperate to return to work so I can help to provide for my family. I also need to return to animal rescue full time. My husband and I do what we can at the moment, but my health has really put a damper on our regular ability to volunteer.

I feel like so many people and creatures depend on me, and knowing that the help I need may only be 5 states away is inspiring! If you could please help in anyway, it would be greatly appreciated! Please know that my family and I are extremely grateful for any and all help!!

GOD BLESS❤️

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