Spreading Joy: Operation Layla

One good thing that came out of my previous marriage is the relationships I have formed with the gals from Weddingbee. I consider the “bees” to be great friends of mine–some I’ve only chatted to online and others I meet up with as much as my other “real life” friends. I’ve been blessed with some wonderful bee friendships, and Layla is someone I’ve quickly grown to admire, whether following her on Twitter or reading her blog, I’ve always been enchanted with her kind spirit and sassy sense of humor.

Here’s the story:

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.

How you can help…

– Keep up with the Operation Layla blog, follow on Twitter, and RT Layla’s story! #OperationLayla
– Donate! Every little bit is appreciated and helps ease the burden of medical expenses for Layla. You can donate though the Operation Layla blog here.

In just two days, the amazingly supportive blogosphere has donated the $4,000 needed for Layla’s surgery. The remainder raised will assist with pre and post op, meds and pathology, with additional funds donated to tsunami/earthquake relief. For the rest of the month of March, 50% of all sales in my Etsy shop will go toward Operation Layla. I wish I could afford to do 100%, but I have to cover the cost of printing and shipping since I’m a broke gal with a soon-to-be-mortgage. Please join us in donating, every little bit helps!