#OperationLayla

My husband isn't into blogging really, but he gets that I love it. At first when I would say things such as my "friend" so and so from Twitter or blogging, he thought that was weird. Then, once he got to know some of the folks from reading their blogs or meeting them in person, he understood. He told me that he understands that just because we may have never met, we are still friends.

With that being said, please allow me to introduce you to Layla. Layla is a dear woman that I have the pleasure of calling a friend. You may have noticed on my sidebar that I have a donation button for #OperationLayla. And you may furthermore be wondering what the heck is that all about? Well, I'll tell ya.

"One month after her 30th birthday, Layla was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer (1A Adenocarcinoma). She was extraordinarily lucky that it was caught early, and was able to have a simple surgery to remove the cancerous cells. Three years later, Layla had been in horrible pain that affected nearly every aspect of her life. Temporarily uninsured due to a job change, she paid out of pocket last October to go to the doctor and make sure that the cancer had not returned. Thankfully, it had not. However, her doctor believes that she has pelvic adhesions and Endometriosis due to the previous surgery, but it can not be diagnosed until an additional surgery (laparoscopy) is performed. The doctor also found out that Layla has cervical stenosis, which basically means her cervix has completely shut due to the scar tissue from the previous surgery. These issues make her miserable most of the time, making simple things like going to the bathroom and menstruation horribly painful, and sexual intercourse impossible. He stated that if she did want to have children one day, even sperm could not pass through her cervix, and she would have to have intrauterine insemination. The doctor wanted to schedule surgery as soon as the insurance at her new job went into effect. Her company fired her the day her insurance became valid, ten days before Christmas, plainly stating that it was because of her health issues.


Fortunately, she was able to get on her husband’s insurance, which went into effect on February 1st. As soon as she could, Layla scheduled surgery for March 22nd. Then her insurance company dropped a bomb: because she had gone to the doctor (even as a self pay patient) within a three month period prior to her enrollment date, they were considering her health issues to be a pre-existing condition, and would not insure any doctor visits, medication, or surgery for them for 388 days.

388 days is a long time to wait when you are in near constant pain and can’t work. The sooner Layla can have this surgery, the sooner she can return to work (hopefully with a nicer company!) and start living her life again. Her doctor has been nice enough to work out a deal with her, decreasing the amount of her surgery to $4,000, the cost of the anesthesia to $500, with additional fees for biopsies of removed tissue to be determined, if Layla can pay as a cash patient.

The problem is, Layla is unemployed due to this, has used her savings to pay for living expenses and medical bills, and has been denied loans for the surgery because of her unemployment status. She does not have a close family, so she can’t ask them for help. Surgery is scheduled for March 22nd, and Layla and her husband are still trying to secure a loan through several banks."

So how can you help? Spread the word! Plus, March is endrometriosis awareness month, so this cause hits right at home!

We are doing an online bake sale, an ebay auction, and taking donations. She is a great person, full of love and joy and she totally deserves this.