Jake's Appendicitis Emergency Fund

At about 2:30 am Sunday morning pain in my lower abdominal region began to creep up. Originally, I thought of it as a regular stomachache, one that I'd get if there were bad gas or something I ate. As the hours passed, it never stopped and only grew worse. Yet I knew I couldn't just simply go to the hospital, I have no job, and can barely afford to pay rent let alone food. I still have to pay $800 worth of medical visits for getting the flu a few years back and the lowest form of medical care would cost me $150 a month which is something I couldn't settle for either.

At around 5:30am, I sent out a couple Facebook messages to my girlfriend Delia, who just left for her parent’s house for the weekend. The pain was unbearable, curling up with my knees to my chin rocking back and forth breathing as deep as I could trying to put the discomfort off. I tried to walk to the nearest gas station but as soon as I was able to pick myself up, pain shot through my body with each step I took. Eventually, I had to sit back down and crawl back to bed, watching whatever I could to pass the time before finally receiving a call from Delia around 7:42am. We began to talk and barely holding back tears as I know this might take her away from her family, on a Father’s day, and make her drive 2hours to see me.

I knew that getting outside help was a possibility now that it was 9 in the morning. I did what I could to walk outside and ring what doorbells I could… but no one answered. Each minute now felt like an hour as I tried to keep the pain out of my thoughts.

At around 10:30am, I felt so relieved, that it was Delia who came through the door. I quickly asked her to get some Pepto-Bismol from the pharmacy. Not long after she left, I immediately had to run to the bathroom to throw up. When Delia arrived, I drank the liquid medicine hoping that the ache would finally be over. 15 minutes passed and the pain shot back up again. She asked me to at least go to the Walgreens clinic and ask for help, I agreed and we left.

We finally reached Walgreens and headed for the clinic. The doctor took a glance at me and said, “He may have to go to the emergency room”. I told her “we can’t do that, we can’t afford it. Is there anything you can do?” She walked over in front of me and asked me a couple questions of how I felt but she already knew the answer. She came out and said, “I’m sorry but there’s no choice, we’re going to have to call 911”.

The paramedics arrived and I thank them for their care and kindness. We made it to the hospital but each bump and turn just made it worse as screams are now impossible for me to hold back. After the lab tests they came to the conclusion that the problem was Appendicitis. They said they would need to remove my appendix, as it seemed that I could be in danger of it bursting if I left it as it was. At 7:35 pm, they conducted the surgery and two hours later I woke up and finally the pain was over. But I knew that was only part of it.

Currently the bill stands at $38,850.95 I put a request to try and reduce the cost. However, it is not guaranteed. Any help would be greatly appreciated and it would reduce the financial pressure placed upon my family, my girlfriend, and myself.