#OperationLayla

I’ve learned several things from having my own blog, but something that stands out above all else is how unbelievably supportive this blogging community is. We are spread out around the world; we have different views on politics and religion, and we’re all from completely different backgrounds. But despite all of that, we take care and look after our own.

I’m hear to ask for your support for one of my friends. I met her through blogging and chatting on Twitter, and I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting her in real life. My friend Layla is going through something so unfortunate right now, and could really use all the support she can get.

This is her 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 had a simple surgery to remove the cancerous cells.

Three years later, Layla was 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 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’t be diagnosed until an additional surgery (laparoscopy) is performed. The doctor also found out Layla has cervical stenosis, which basically means her cervix has completely shut down 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 wanted 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 got on her husband’s insurance, which went into effect February 1st. As soon as she could, Layla scheduled surgery for March 22nd. Then her insurance company dropped a bomb: because she went 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 388 days.

When you are in near constant pain and can’t work, 388 days is a long time to wait. 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 if she can pay as a cash patient: he decreased the amount of her surgery to $4,000, and the cost of the anesthesia to $500, with additional fees for biopsies of removed tissue to be determined.

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 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.

My friends and I started #OperationLayla to help raise money for her surgery. We have less than two weeks to raise $4,500, and we are beyond determined to make this happen.

So what can you do to help? In just a few days I’m going to post a link to an online bake sale. It’s going to be an auction-style bake sale, and it’s going to be off the hook and full of delicious treats from dozens of fabulous bloggers around the ‘net. I’ll post more info on that very, very soon (save your money and start getting your taste buds ready). If you’d like to donate something to the bake sale, shoot me an email and I’ll give you more info. 

There’s also a “donate” button if you’d like to skip the bake sale and just help us reach the goal (through Paypal)! We’re working on getting a website up with more info; I’ll update when we get that up and running.

This, my friends, is why I love blogging. I love that so many people are spreading the love and trying to help. This is a real story, of a real girl, who needs a real procedure. Let’s make it happen!