For most of my life, I dedicated myself to helping others. I worked in EMS before becoming an emergency department nurse and later a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE nurse). I was athletic, active, independent, and passionate about caring for people during some of the hardest moments of their lives.

Everything changed after my first COVID infection in July 2021.

That infection triggered a devastating cascade of health problems that progressively stole my health, independence, and normal life. Despite continuing to push forward and work in healthcare, my condition worsened over time until I was forced to stop working in March 2024, when I became fully disabled.

I am now mostly bedbound, reliant on a wheelchair, and dependent on caregivers for many daily activities. I live with severe Long COVID symptoms including crushing fatigue, neurological issues, vascular complications, dysautonomia/POTS symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, and debilitating post-exertional crashes that make even basic activities overwhelming.

Over the past several years, I have exhausted countless appointments, testing, medications, and treatments while draining my savings and retirement accounts trying to get better.

Earlier this year, I traveled to Alabama to see a specialist experienced in Long COVID and microclot-related illness. Specialized testing revealed severe and widespread amyloid fibrin microclots throughout my blood, along with evidence of significant vascular and endothelial dysfunction believed to be contributing to many of my debilitating symptoms by impairing oxygen delivery and circulation throughout my body.

For the first time, I finally had objective answers showing that something measurable and serious was happening inside my body.

Recently, I found a treatment program at Edogawa Hospital that specifically focuses on treating these exact underlying issues.

The Edogawa/McCairn protocol is an intensive treatment approach aimed at addressing amyloid fibrin microclots, vascular and endothelial damage, chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, and impaired oxygen delivery associated with Long COVID. The protocol combines advanced blood filtration/apheresis-style therapies, anticoagulation and vascular-focused treatment, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, metabolic and mitochondrial support, and other targeted therapies designed to improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and help restore cellular function.

Patients from around the world are traveling to Japan seeking this treatment, and many who were previously bedridden have reported meaningful improvement in their quality of life and functioning.

For the first time in years, I feel genuine hope.

The cost of the treatment itself is approximately $60,000, not including international travel, accessible lodging, transportation, medications, caregiving support, mobility accommodations, and other medical and incidental expenses during an extended stay in Japan.

Asking for help is incredibly difficult for me after spending my life caring for others, but I am fighting for the chance to heal and reclaim some quality of life.

If you are able to donate, share, or pray for me, I would be deeply grateful. Every contribution helps bring me one step closer to this opportunity for treatment and recovery.

Thank you for supporting me during the hardest fight of my life.