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The Price of Health
Posted by Abrra on Saturday, May 23, 2015
A tweet by fa3rygirl came to my attention recently. I recognized the name but had not seen her on fan sites for awhile. Her name is Sheila Roposa, a fan I had met a few times at concerts.
She is most memorable to me because of the compassion she showed to a young man named Michael. His dream was to attend a concert and meet David Archuleta. He was ill with cancer and had to be in a wheelchair. Not only did she get Michael to the show in Northhampton, MA, but she made sure he got to meet David backstage. This was not a simple task because there were 12 inches of snow on the ground. I will never forget the picture of David reaching out to Michael to say hello.
Sheila was tweeting about a GoFundMe page her family had set up. It is a crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. The company is based in San Diego, California. I clicked the link and read the story about how her daughter, Tiffany, was ill with Lyme disease. I came away with the feeling that this was nothing short of a tragedy. My heart went out to Tiffany and her family. It’s a helpless feeling when you are told that there isn’t any coverage for medicine that is desperately needed. I knew I had to do something to help spread the word about a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for Tiffany’s medical costs.
My hope is that Tiffany will get what she needs to get her life back. By sharing her story I hope to raise awareness about Lyme disease.
Credit for all photos: Sheila Roposa
A message from Sheila:
My name is Sheila. My 15-year-old daughter Tiffany was bitten by a tick infected by Lyme Disease and several other infections two years ago. Her doctor at the time did not recognize the bulls eye rash and Tiffany went one year without any treatment while the Lyme Disease progressed.
Tiffany started taking antibiotics two years ago. Due to the infection being in her nervous system, brain, and heart, she has needed extended treatment, including IV antibiotics.
Recently she was placed on a PICC line, which is an IV line for antibiotics. Our health insurance would only cover one month of treatment. Tiffany started to improve once on the IV line, which is the only time in two years she had this much improvement, but due to insurance guidelines that only cover one month of treatment, the IV line was pulled today. We are setting up this account to try to get some funding to pay for Tiffany’s medical bills and additional time on the IV line.
Before getting sick, Tiffany was an active girl that played soccer and rode horses. For the last two years, Tiffany has been severely ill. She has been out of school with home tutoring as she can’t walk or sit in a classroom. She is bedridden a lot of the time. She has had numerous ER visits, doctor visits, hospitalizations, and sees several specialists for her brain and heart. She’s lost weight, had periods of paralysis, seizures, lost all her hair, has fluid around her heart, developed autoimmune disease, and countless other complications. She’s missing out on life.
We want Tiffany to be able to receive this treatment to get her life back. If you can, please consider donating. Any amount, no matter how small, will help. If you can’t donate (we understand not everyone is in the position to), please share this link with everyone you know and ask them to pass it on. http://www.gofundme.com/tiffanylymefund#
Update May 20, 2015
Hi, thank you everyone for all your help. We have now been able to schedule Tiffany an appointment with the Lyme Center of New England, which is a private facility. They will be able to further help her and maybe get her IV back in. We found out just with one medicine that her IV out of pocket will cost us $2,000 a month so we increased the goal, but we do now have enough to get things started, so thank you! Tiffany is feeling pretty sick still. She lost her hair again, but she’s handling it well. A neighbor and friend had her a wig made and people from the community donated to pay for it. So thank you to everyone for that also. We are very blessed. Sharing with everyone you know will help us so much. We’ve received donations from family and friends of people we know, so it does work! Thank you again to everyone.
If you would like to learn more about Lyme Disease, please visit http://www.ilads.org/
The Voice David Archuleta 
djafan said
Abrra, thank you for bringing to our attention the plight of this young girl. It is unbelievable to me how insurance works. Thank God for caring people such as you.
I remember Sheila’s efforts in getting Michael to meet David, that picture still brings tears to my eyes.
Sheila, prayers for you, Tiffany, and all the medical staff treating her 🙏
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tawna21 said
Thank you, Abrra. I will never understand insurance companies. You pay and they don’t. 😦 Prayers to all involved in this heartbreaking issue. ♥
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Sheila said
Thank you so much djafan for the prayers. And Abrra for posting. Not too much time or energy to be around the fan sites now but I am definitely still lurking and keeping up with things. Fan since 2008 and that won’t end any time soon 🙂
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Sheila said
Tawna21 thank you so much. We appreciate all the prayers very much.
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Dayzee said
Sending prayers for good things for Tiffany. Thanks Abrra for bringing this to us. I have not met Sheila but remember her postings. Nice, smart lady.
I love the picture of David with Michael. David has that special way of giving his full attention to those who need him. That compassionate face reveals him.
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Sheila said
Dayzee thank you for your kind words and prayers. David has the best fans.
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jans11 said
Thanks for the article. I remember the story on Mike. ☺ loved what Sheila and David did for him. Sheila may you be blessed with a speedy recovery. you are a jewell. ☺
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bluesky4home said
Sheila
Prayers for you and your daughter and family. So glad that I can hear about it here. Thank you for sharing your journey. Thanks, Abrra for posting.
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bebereader said
By publishing this article here I hope that we help bring Sheila’s daughter closer to the goal for treatment and back to good health.
Sheila,
Sending prayers for your daughter’s full recovery.
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Abrra said
Thank you all for commenting and send well wishes to Tiffany and her family.
I want to share a bit of practical information surrounding Lyme Disease prevention.
What can I do to prevent Lyme disease?
Deer ticks live in shady, moist areas at ground level. They will cling to tall grass, brush and shrubs, usually no more than 18-24 inches off the ground. They also live in lawns and gardens, especially at the edges of woods and around old stone walls. Deer ticks cannot jump or fly, and do not drop onto passing people or animals. They get on humans and animals only by direct contact. Once a tick gets on the skin, it generally climbs upward until it reaches a protected area.
In tick-infested areas, your best protection is to avoid contact with soil, leaf litter and vegetation. However, if you garden, hike, camp, hunt, work, or otherwise spend time in the outdoors, you can still protect yourself:
Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.
Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors and check again once indoors.
Consider using insect repellent. Follow label directions.
Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Avoid contacting vegetation.
Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.
Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
How to Remove a Tick
You find a tick attached to you or your child!
Now what?
Don’t panic. Not all ticks are infected, and your risk of acquiring Lyme disease is greatly reduced if the tick is removed within the first 36 hours after attachment.
Remove the tick promptly and properly:
Using tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.
Gently pull the tick in a steady, upward motion.
Wash the area with a disinfectant.
When trying to remove the tick:
DO NOT touch the tick with your bare hands.
DO NOT squeeze the body of the tick as this may increase your risk of infection.
DO NOT put alcohol, nail polish remover or Vaseline on the tick.
DO NOT put a hot match or cigarette on the tick in an effort to make it “back out.”
DO NOT use your fingers to remove the tick.
These methods do not work and only increase the likelihood the tick will transmit Lyme disease to you. Applying alcohol, nail polish remover, or a hot match can irritate a tick and cause it to regurgitate its gut contents into your skin. The gut contents of a tick can contain the Lyme disease-causing bacterium.
While removing a tick, if the tick’s mouthparts break off and remain in your skin, don’t worry. The mouthparts alone cannot transmit Lyme disease, because the infective body of the tick is no longer attached. The mouthparts can be left alone. They will dry up and fall out by themselves in a few days, or you can remove them as you would a splinter.
After cleaning the area, watch the site of the bite for the appearance of a rash 3 to 30 days after the bite. The rash will usually be at least 2 inches in diameter initially and will gradually expand to several inches in size. Rashes smaller than the size of a quarter are usually a reaction to the bite itself and do not mean you have Lyme disease.
If you develop this type of rash or flu-like symptoms, contact your health care provider immediately. Although not routinely recommended, taking antibiotics within three days after a tick bite may be beneficial for some persons. This would apply to deer tick bites that occured in areas where Lyme disease is common and there is evidence that the tick fed for more than one day. In cases like this you should discuss the possibilities with your doctor or licensed health care provider.
Source: https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2825/
Abrra
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Abrra said
Sunday puzzle photo is shared by Kimmie.
http://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=3f299d0a4aac
Abrra
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Abrra said
David sighting in Utah
Abrra
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tawna21 said
Thanks, Abrra, for the puzzle. David + pink shirt = beauty. ♥
David sure seems to like the drink shops 🙂 I should let him know that I’m more than I’m more than willing to create a smoothie for him with my awesome blender! I’d even be willing to bake a batch of sugar cookies!! #justathought 🙂
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betsy said
Sheila, hoping and praying that Tiffany gets all the help she needs.
Abrra, thanks for shining a light on this.
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Abrra said
https://twitter.com/HyperThreatCO/status/602637974162006016
http://hyperthreat.com/
David is working hard on new music !
Abrra
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tawna21 said
Once again, just when we think we know where David is (Utah, because there are pics of him), he really isn’t there… he’s moved on to the neighboring state. #soconfusing
Thanks for the link for Hyper Threat Sound, Abrra…. I read clear thru that just like I knew what I was reading about… got to the end and had to laugh that I had actually read thru it and it meant absolutely nothing to me. haha It’s kind of like reading insurance paperwork…. you read the words but don’t have a clue what you’re reading about. 😉 Well, maybe this was just a tad more understandable. And, it did relate to someone that I know about, and I know it means good things to him so it must mean good things are coming for all of us!! whatcha think?
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Abrra said
Tawna
If we can’t pry any info from David, we can sure as heck get it from his associations.
Dear David,
Embrace your fame. It’s not a bad thing. 😉
Abrra
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djafan said
Abrra & Tawna,
David sightings and mentions is where we are at at this point in time lol. Several spazzing tweets of seeing David on the freeway driving, cracks me up. #patience #iamhuman #davidarchuletawearewaitingforyou
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MT said
Sheila,
I’m so sorry to hear your news. Praying for the very best for your daughter, and your family.
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bebereader said
I think I love Hyper Threat Sound Studio. I found this on their Twitter page. It answers our questions about why David’s voice makes us feel so good and why we can never let it go.
https://twitter.com/HyperThreatCO/status/598492938994253825
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MT said
20. Bebe,
That’s interesting to read. But I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. It explains why I always pop in one of David’s CDs and put on something upbeat when I’m having a bad day. Listening to his voice makes me feel better. 🙂
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Sheila said
Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers, my family and I appreciate all the help very much.
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Abrra said
Sheila
Please keep us updated on her progress?
Abrra
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Sheila said
I will. She’s not doing very well right now but we have the appointment with the specialist in another month (end of June).
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