I have known Sarah Barbeau for almost 10 years, and during that time I have seen her navigate quite a few health issues. Sarah has Sjogrens, an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain. She also suffers from fibromyalgia, PCOS, IBS and gastroparesis. A side effect of her conditions and medications is kidney stones, which then can necessitate an emergency room visit. More than once over the years I have sat beside Sarah in the emergency room in the middle of the night so her husband could take their young daughter home to bed.

The past couple of years have been particularly tough on Sarah and her family, however. Her daily pain level has been high for quite a while, but in recent years she developed extreme nerve pain on her left side and had to start walking with a cane. After undergoing PT and testing, it was determined that she needed spinal surgery to help with severe nerve compression.

The spine surgery Sarah underwent in March was actually her second surgery in just over a year, as she also had sinus surgery in early 2025. While her sinus surgery did fix what it was supposed to, unfortunately her spinal surgery has not been as successful. Since late April Sarah has been getting worse, not better. She is now facing additional testing, treatments… and of course costs.

Between Sarah’s two surgeries, the additional costs of medications and doctor visits for her Sjogrens and other conditions, and then in March two unexpected Emergency Room visits for her daughter (who fortunately is recovering from her medical emergency), the family currently has over $25,000 in medical bills from the past year that they are struggling to keep up with.

Due to her medical conditions, Sarah is unable to work. This means the family only has one income, plus an incredibly small amount of disability, to help keep things afloat. While Sarah’s husband Doug works incredibly long hours, his income is not enough to handle the pressure of so many medical bills. When the family’s medical insurance plan changed last July, the family’s share of prescription and medical visit costs skyrocketed. Monthly prescription costs for the family now total almost $500 per month.

The family needs assistance not only to try and catch up on the medical bills piling up, but in being able to afford basic necessities. Sarah and her husband have not always been able to consistently fill their prescriptions, due to their high costs. No one should have to choose between medications and paying for housing and utilities, but recently that is what it has come down to.