Fifteen years to pay for gallbladder surgery?!
Arielle Heath is one of my best friends. I met her at the Girl Scout Rally held at our daughters’ school when they were in kindergarten. I noticed her right away because she had a Harry Potter tee-shit on, and I thought, “she’s my kind of people!” When they asked for volunteers to help lead a new troop, both of our hands went up - and not only did a new troop and an amazing new Girl Scouting tradition at their school start that night, but so did an amazing friendship.
I soon learned that Arielle was a full-time mom taking care of her young daughters - one of whom was not even 1, and that she had tried for years to get pregnant. She nursed her mom through her cancer journey, just as I had nursed mine - but Arielle was barely 20 when she did it. I learned she was in school, and so was her amazing husband Raph. He was also working THREE jobs to support them. Y’all - this family knocked my socks off with their love, their hard work, their diligence, their outright AMAZINGNESS.
After three+ years of working with Arielle, I have shared many highs and lows with her - graduations, Raph’s job promotions and only needing to work TWO jobs, our first Girl Scout camping trip, birthdays, paying off credit card debt, and too many losses and illnesses. But Arielle recently went through a terrible ordeal and needs our help.
She had a night then a morning of TERRIBLE stomach pain. Nothing helped, and urgent care couldn’t see her in person because nausea is a symptom of COVID. So she ended up in the emergency room where they diagnosed her with pancreatitis. A couple of days, more pain, and many scans later, they realized her gallbladderneeded to come out. After six days, she was finally home. A week later, she’s doing great!
EXCEPT FOR THE MEDICAL BILLS! Even with discounts, charity help, and more, the hospital bill comes to $50,000. I don’t know about you but I don’t have that kind of money lying around. Neither do Arielle and Raph.
Some people have asked about insurance. Raph’s company doesn’t offer insurance, and unfortunately they don’t make enough to afford even ACA insurance - every penny of income is devoted to something. Their kids are on Medicaid, but they don’t qualify. This is just another indication of how crazy our medical system is....
This amazing family needs our help. They have never asked for this kind of help before and we had to twist their arm to let us create this GoFundMe for them. But nobody should have to spend 15 years of their lives paying for gallbladder surgery. It is not right. And for a family that is so generous, that gives back to their community, and that is so loving towards so many -it hurts even more.
if you can contribute please do! Anything helps - and all funds will go to their hospital bill and expenses. And if you have a secret stash of lottery winnings you’ve been holding onto - THIS is where you want to spend it. On behalf of Arielle, Raph, and her amazing girls - thank you so much for your generosity!
Love, Annie (her GS Troop co-leader and fellow mischief maker) and Jollin (her loving and dedicated big sister)
