Katie Ryan and Melissa are learning how to ask for and accept help - thank you for being part of our journey. We are so grateful for your kindness. 

If you would like to contribute without credit card fees, you can send it to Melissa on Venmo @melissadraley or Paypal @mdraley.

About KR’s Condition

Katie Ryan has been diagnosed with several co-occurring, complex, chronic illnesses that cause debilitating neurological/autonomic/orthostatic issues, immune exhaustion, and pain. The severity of her symptoms requires her to be horizontal or reclined the vast majority of the time She also has to limit any physical, cognitive, social, or emotional exertion as much as possible. She now uses a power wheelchair and wheelchair van for mobility.

Her newest diagnosis is cranio-cervical instability, which is exacerbating - and may be the cause of - at least some of her neurological symptoms. A cervical spinal fusion surgery has been recommended by an excellent neurosurgeon (located in Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C.) who specializes in this type of surgery for one of her complex co-occurring chronic conditions. He is the best neurosurgeon in the world for performing this particular procedure among this specialized population. Unfortunately, the surgeon is not in-network with insurance. So, insurance will not guarantee covering any part of the surgeon's fees and the surgeon requires upfront payment. We have heard from other patients that it is a hard fight to get insurance to reimburse (partial is all we could get, not full) - and could take years of appeals.

On November 18th, KR will undergo this surgery in Maryland. She'll be in the hospital for at least two days, then KR and Melissa are required to stay in Maryland for an additional 2 weeks while she begins the recovery process, has her post-op appointment, and gets her sutures removed. Her initial recovery will take about 3 months and there will be a long process of Physical Therapy. Full recovery - and an understanding of how much the surgery has helped - will take a year or longer.

The past few years have been hard, but the past year and a half has been utterly exhausting and financially devastating. We need all the help we can get as we move mountains to prepare for this surgery and navigate recovery. If you're not able to donate but want to give of your time, we have a Signup Genius for acts of service we also need and are happy to share with you.

Here is our budget for the trip:

*If reimbursed, we will still be responsible for a minimum of $10,150 for this surgery: $5,500 minimum in out-of-pocket medical bills plus ~$4,650 out-of-pocket non-medical such as lodging, food, gas, etc. If we ever can obtain reimbursement, we'd love to reallocate money to other crucial accessibility needs, such as house modifications, ramps, assistive technology needs for KR, and paying off the wheelchair van (totals ~$50k+).

KR cannot accept funding directly, as it will interfere with her disability benefits. (We have learned so much about how our systems punish poor and disabled people.) Melissa has been paying for KR's bills and will take care of these medical bills for her through this fundraiser.

Breaking her privacy has been a hard decision for KR, but the for-profit healthcare model has made this financial support request - unfortunately - necessary.

Thank you for being part of Katie Ryan’s healing journey. We are grateful for you!

All people deserve dignity and respect. Chronically ill and disabled people are very vulnerable. Copying or sharing these photos without permission is a violation of copyright and basic human dignity.