In this week's Team Challenge newsletter, our chapter leader attached a letter written by one of our teammates who's been in and out of the hospital due to the advanced stage of her Crohn's disease. I told you about her- the "I'm gonna crawl across the f******g finish line" girl.
Well this letter... I'll just say I should have had tissues nearby.
She spoke of the pain and isolation of Crohn's disease, especially in the condition she's in. Without insurance, the hospital had to go the cheap route and send her home with an IV and pain meds until they could drain absences in her intestines and give her a course of antibiotics. Then, she learned they could not perform her surgery knowing that she would be unable to pay. She has to write letters and beg any hospital or pharmaceutical company that will hear her case to consider treating her so that her disease does not advance to the point of no return. Through all of this, she's been pushing onward with her fundraising and getting to Las Vegas. She says she wants to "stick it" to Crohn's at the finish line to prove that it won't hold her back.
The most poignant part of her letter was when she shared how much love and support she received from relative strangers - those of us in Team Challenge. People she didn't know a month ago helped collect her mail, arrange care for her cat, and sat and spent time with her in the hospital. It made me proud to be a part of something so special, and even more determined to reach my fundraising goal.
Please help spread the word about Team Challenge and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Find the link on the right side of this page and consider a small donation. Your money will go toward helping researchers find a cure for this debilitating and painful disease, as well as provide support for people like my teammate who struggle to receive the care she so desperately needs.
1 comment:
Totally sucks that anyone in this country should be facing choices and healthcare like that. Thanks for spreading the word.
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