Saving Summer Carroll #FightTheBite
Donation protected
"I don't know what the future holds, but I do know with my Abba Father nothing is impossible."
Before I get started I would like to say that putting aside my pride in writing this letter of help is one of the toughest things I've ever had to do next to actually being very sick and coming close to death. My husband and I have been fighting this battle for the past 5 years with no help other than immediate family. It has come to the point where I have had to realize that I cannot get the medical help that I need without outside help. Especially, since my husband has had to stop any type of full-time work to be able to be with me around the clock for help with even the simplest daily activities that I can no longer do.
Now, with that being said let's back it up to where it first started with that stinkin tick bite! Yep, that's right one simple little tick bite is all it took. I contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Alpha-Gal Allergy (red meat allergy) but it did not affect me right off the bat. It came on at such a slow rate over the course of a year or so that I did not have all the initial symptoms of RMSF. Finally, after about 2 years or so my body started rejecting more and more foods and after a series of blood work the results showed a previous infection of RMSF and was positive for Alpha-Gal Allergy.
Here's where it gets complicated, my immune system rose up to fight the RMSF and in the midst of my body fighting the infection I developed Mast Cell Activation Syndrome which in turn makes me literally allergic to almost everything I come in contact with from perfumes, smoke, fertilizers and other chemicals to foods, city/bottled water, medication and even the sunshine!
The severity of my reactions varies depending what I come in contact with but range from hives and burning skin to swelling of the face, lips, eyes, tongue - throat and complete anaphylaxis to where it affects more than one bodily system. Along with that I've had 39 seizures in the past year and have experienced some heart issues. It also affects my breathing severely (burning lungs and shortness of breath) if I come in contact with items such as air fresheners and perfumes or even the slightest whiff of a cigarette will cause everything on my face to swell, lungs on fire, skin will hive out and burns like it's on fire.
Then Foods, I have very few Foods that I can eat without making me extremely sick. We are not sure if it's the fertilizers used or the pesticides or what but almost everything I have tried in the past 5 years has gone bad other than a few items I found that my body can tolerate. With all this, it completely keeps me from going into public places and even a simple ride to town I risk getting a whiff of someone's cigarette from the next car over at the red light. On top of all of that, it's a constant feeling of fatigue and weakness leaving me to rely on someone to help me with daily activities throughout every day.
Now, the breaking point (you're probably thinking and all that wasn't?). By December 2017 I had become so malnourished that I became paralyzed in my feet, experiencing burning neuropathy so severe that my feet and legs felt as if they were in a fire and nothing would relieve it. I had extreme muscle wasting, and I nearly lost all the muscles in my body. After seeing an allergist/immunologist, a rheumatologist and a neurologist all that month without absolutely no hope from any of them my doctor's office got me in with a nutritionist who immediately hospitalized me. He said my malnutrition was to the point that if he didn't help me I would be dead within a few months.
That's when reality sunken, as I sat there in the hospital through Christmas knowing I was dying and knowing I was fixing to leave my beautiful son and husband behind.
On top of the heart-wrenching reality of what state I was in everything the nutritionist was trying wasn't going so well. It seemed that my body was rejecting the IVs and the nutrition that he was giving me because about every 24 hours my IV would blow and a blood clot would form in its place. After about 8 IVs and blood clots in each arm, the doctor said he wanted to put a tpn in and try the nutrition through a larger vein deep in my chest but he felt I needed to see the hematologist first to try to find a safe blood thinner (Alpha-Gal Allergy makes this hard.). So, that fell right around New Year's and the hospital's hematologist that was overseeing me was gone on vacation. The nutritionist suggested that I just go home and rest for a few days since there was nothing he could do without the Port being inserted in my chest and the hospital was only causing me continuous reactions.
The turning point, as I laid at home literally dying and in so much pain that death didn't sound so bad but with my family in mind, I continued to cry out to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in whom I fully believe can heal and restore any that call on his name. That's when I came across an article of a study on a natural herbal Mast Cell stabilizer and decided since none of the pharmaceutical Mast Cell stabilizers were tolerated by my body I would give the natural approach a try. This was the first relief I have felt in years, I could literally feel the inside of my body calming down. I have since been able to eat a few new foods that I wasn't able to eat prior. Which in return has slowly started regaining a little weight (From 90 LB to 101 LB Yay!) And returning some function to my lower limbs. I'm nowhere near back to a normal physical state and still have a long road ahead of me that I cannot take on by myself.
Unfortunately, the proper doctors and medical help are not available where I'm located forcing me to either not get help and face ending up back on my deathbed (at the age of only 29) which is where I was a couple of months ago or set my pride aside and ask for financial help so that I am able to travel and be treated by the doctors that know what to do with my illness.
So that's where I am now, the specialist I need to see is in New York and does not take insurance. That requires me being able to afford transportation and board, along with the very expensive office visits, medical testing, and medications that will all have to be paid out-of-pocket. With my husband not being able to work that only leaves me with the option to ask for your help.
Big or small even $1, anything will help me reach my goal to get proper treatment. All of the money raised will be strictly use on medical treatment, travel expenses, and my basic home bills so that they don't get behind any farther during this process of recovery.
If you have made it this far, thank you so much for taking your precious time to listen to my story. If you cannot help financially, you can help by sharing this with your friends and standing with me in prayer. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer especially when we all come together as one!
Thank you and God Bless!
Here are some attached links giving a better description of what Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and how it attacks the body.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome
https://www.drtaniadempsey.com/mastcellactivationsyndrome
You can find me on Facebook @ Www.Facebook.com/summer.l.carroll
Articles/News
http://mastcellsunited.com/2018/08/10/fight-the-bite-summer-carrolls-mcas-story/
Jane Maddox is my mother-in-law and she is handling all of my fundraising finances for me at this time. ❤❤
If You feel lead to make a donation by mail please make it payable to Jane Maddox.
Jane Maddox
P.O Box 335
Moundville, AL. 35474
Before I get started I would like to say that putting aside my pride in writing this letter of help is one of the toughest things I've ever had to do next to actually being very sick and coming close to death. My husband and I have been fighting this battle for the past 5 years with no help other than immediate family. It has come to the point where I have had to realize that I cannot get the medical help that I need without outside help. Especially, since my husband has had to stop any type of full-time work to be able to be with me around the clock for help with even the simplest daily activities that I can no longer do.
Now, with that being said let's back it up to where it first started with that stinkin tick bite! Yep, that's right one simple little tick bite is all it took. I contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Alpha-Gal Allergy (red meat allergy) but it did not affect me right off the bat. It came on at such a slow rate over the course of a year or so that I did not have all the initial symptoms of RMSF. Finally, after about 2 years or so my body started rejecting more and more foods and after a series of blood work the results showed a previous infection of RMSF and was positive for Alpha-Gal Allergy.
Here's where it gets complicated, my immune system rose up to fight the RMSF and in the midst of my body fighting the infection I developed Mast Cell Activation Syndrome which in turn makes me literally allergic to almost everything I come in contact with from perfumes, smoke, fertilizers and other chemicals to foods, city/bottled water, medication and even the sunshine!
The severity of my reactions varies depending what I come in contact with but range from hives and burning skin to swelling of the face, lips, eyes, tongue - throat and complete anaphylaxis to where it affects more than one bodily system. Along with that I've had 39 seizures in the past year and have experienced some heart issues. It also affects my breathing severely (burning lungs and shortness of breath) if I come in contact with items such as air fresheners and perfumes or even the slightest whiff of a cigarette will cause everything on my face to swell, lungs on fire, skin will hive out and burns like it's on fire.
Then Foods, I have very few Foods that I can eat without making me extremely sick. We are not sure if it's the fertilizers used or the pesticides or what but almost everything I have tried in the past 5 years has gone bad other than a few items I found that my body can tolerate. With all this, it completely keeps me from going into public places and even a simple ride to town I risk getting a whiff of someone's cigarette from the next car over at the red light. On top of all of that, it's a constant feeling of fatigue and weakness leaving me to rely on someone to help me with daily activities throughout every day.
Now, the breaking point (you're probably thinking and all that wasn't?). By December 2017 I had become so malnourished that I became paralyzed in my feet, experiencing burning neuropathy so severe that my feet and legs felt as if they were in a fire and nothing would relieve it. I had extreme muscle wasting, and I nearly lost all the muscles in my body. After seeing an allergist/immunologist, a rheumatologist and a neurologist all that month without absolutely no hope from any of them my doctor's office got me in with a nutritionist who immediately hospitalized me. He said my malnutrition was to the point that if he didn't help me I would be dead within a few months.
That's when reality sunken, as I sat there in the hospital through Christmas knowing I was dying and knowing I was fixing to leave my beautiful son and husband behind.
On top of the heart-wrenching reality of what state I was in everything the nutritionist was trying wasn't going so well. It seemed that my body was rejecting the IVs and the nutrition that he was giving me because about every 24 hours my IV would blow and a blood clot would form in its place. After about 8 IVs and blood clots in each arm, the doctor said he wanted to put a tpn in and try the nutrition through a larger vein deep in my chest but he felt I needed to see the hematologist first to try to find a safe blood thinner (Alpha-Gal Allergy makes this hard.). So, that fell right around New Year's and the hospital's hematologist that was overseeing me was gone on vacation. The nutritionist suggested that I just go home and rest for a few days since there was nothing he could do without the Port being inserted in my chest and the hospital was only causing me continuous reactions.
The turning point, as I laid at home literally dying and in so much pain that death didn't sound so bad but with my family in mind, I continued to cry out to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in whom I fully believe can heal and restore any that call on his name. That's when I came across an article of a study on a natural herbal Mast Cell stabilizer and decided since none of the pharmaceutical Mast Cell stabilizers were tolerated by my body I would give the natural approach a try. This was the first relief I have felt in years, I could literally feel the inside of my body calming down. I have since been able to eat a few new foods that I wasn't able to eat prior. Which in return has slowly started regaining a little weight (From 90 LB to 101 LB Yay!) And returning some function to my lower limbs. I'm nowhere near back to a normal physical state and still have a long road ahead of me that I cannot take on by myself.
Unfortunately, the proper doctors and medical help are not available where I'm located forcing me to either not get help and face ending up back on my deathbed (at the age of only 29) which is where I was a couple of months ago or set my pride aside and ask for financial help so that I am able to travel and be treated by the doctors that know what to do with my illness.
So that's where I am now, the specialist I need to see is in New York and does not take insurance. That requires me being able to afford transportation and board, along with the very expensive office visits, medical testing, and medications that will all have to be paid out-of-pocket. With my husband not being able to work that only leaves me with the option to ask for your help.
Big or small even $1, anything will help me reach my goal to get proper treatment. All of the money raised will be strictly use on medical treatment, travel expenses, and my basic home bills so that they don't get behind any farther during this process of recovery.
If you have made it this far, thank you so much for taking your precious time to listen to my story. If you cannot help financially, you can help by sharing this with your friends and standing with me in prayer. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer especially when we all come together as one!
Thank you and God Bless!
Here are some attached links giving a better description of what Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and how it attacks the body.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome
https://www.drtaniadempsey.com/mastcellactivationsyndrome
You can find me on Facebook @ Www.Facebook.com/summer.l.carroll
Articles/News
http://mastcellsunited.com/2018/08/10/fight-the-bite-summer-carrolls-mcas-story/
Jane Maddox is my mother-in-law and she is handling all of my fundraising finances for me at this time. ❤❤
If You feel lead to make a donation by mail please make it payable to Jane Maddox.
Jane Maddox
P.O Box 335
Moundville, AL. 35474
Fundraising team: Saving Summer Carroll #FightTheBite (2)
Jane Ellen Maddox
Organizer
Tuscaloosa, AL
Jane Maddox
Beneficiary
Summer Carroll
Team member
