HELP SAVE PHOENIX MARIE

We are raising funds to get urgently needed medical treatment for our friend Phoenix Marie, who has been battling a life-threatening progressive heart valve disease since 2006. Phoenix was not covered by health insurance at the time of her first heart failure, so all her medical treatment has to be paid for.

We hope you will help us raise the funds she needs to complete her treatment. Even the smallest of donations could help save her life.

THE SITUATION

Phoenix had her first heart failure and near death experience in 2006. She has experienced several similar life-threatening heart failures since then, one of which caused her to fall and dislocate a cervical vertebra (C2) next to the skull. The vertebra twisted 180 degrees sideways pinching vital nerve bundles going into the brain and the spinal column. As a result, she has suffered excruciating pain, paralysis, and temporary brain damage in the form of memory loss, hearing loss, partial blindness, and vertigo. She has been mostly bedridden for the last three years and often has difficulty doing even minor tasks.

Phoenix’s doctor has warned her that without continued treatment, these symptoms and the brain damage could become completely disabling and permanent. The degeneration of the nerves in her brain is similar to patients her doctor treats who are in their 80s and 90s. Phoenix has just turned 40 years old.

With no insurance coverage, Phoenix and her family have had to finance all her medical expenses to date. Unable to work since her initial heart failure, Phoenix sold most of her valuables, clothing and shoes in order to pay to see a heart specialist and fund the tests and costly x-rays needed to diagnose her condition. Her heart disease is a congenital defect (from birth) that was misdiagnosed in childhood as harmless and left unchecked. 

Phoenix’s family have managed to find a reputable physician who has been giving her a tremendous discount on her treatment and she has been under his care for two and a half years. She only has one more year left of treatment and must complete this in order to recover fully, but her family have now run out of funds and have no other resources apart from donations at this time.

LATEST NEWS

Thanks to the donations received through this page (which was created in November 2009), Phoenix has been able to continue her treatment and has been experiencing a promising recovery. Her dislocated cervical vertebra is almost in place and since May 2010 she’s been recovering her hearing, vision and her balance.

In the next year to come, she will be facing consistent medical treatments, but with no way to physically work or bring in an income until possibly the beginning of 2011. She is on a pay-as-you-go basis right now for her doctor consultations, X-rays, medical tests and medication, any hospital visits and travel, and she has thousands of dollars in unpayable medical debt.

At present, her treatment has ceased due to lack of funds coming in. It’s imperative that we continue to raise funds now so the cumulative affects of the last eight months of treatment aren’t wasted and her condition doesn’t decline again.

OUR GOAL

If Phoenix receives one more year of consistent treatment with occasional monitoring afterwards, her doctor believes that she will be able to lead a normal life with minimal pain and will be capable of most activities. If not, she will have permanent hearing and brain damage, vertigo, become crippled, end up in a wheelchair and will assuredly die a very painful death at too young an age.

The total cost of one year of treatment and medication at present is roughly $900-$950 dollars a month, depending on how many days there are in the month. She needs consistent treatment every month for the next 12 months – and our goal is to help her to achieve this.