Joel’s medical misadventures - big costs all round

This past month, I’ve had six hospital visits—not because I’m reckless with my health, but because I’m trying to survive a system that makes it nearly impossible for people like me to get the care they need. Our finances have taken quite a hit as both Jess and I are juggling limited leave and work commitments with all the added expenses that comes with hospital stays.

For context, over the past three years, I’ve been battling with a rare inflammatory arthritis (peripheral undifferentiated spondyloarthritis), a condition that causes intense joint pain, swelling, fatigue, and damage throughout my body (including newly diagnosed severe sleep apnoea). On top of that, I live with other autoimmune diseases (Addisons disease) that make everything more complicated—and more painful.

The frustrating part? There is treatment. But in order to qualify for funding for these medications, I had to do something that no one should ever have to do: let my body crash. I had to go off the limited support I was on, endure flare-ups, hospitalisation, just to prove how sick I really am. As you can imagine this has been at signifiant expense for our family.

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Ongoing therapy and recovery support (including for Jess and the kids)

Basic living costs during this difficult stretch

Additional expenses arising from hospital stays