This is Nisaa's story in her own worlds. My name is Nisaa. I have heart disease and a brain aneurysm on my optic nerve. In the state of Texas I do not qualify for state medical assistance because my income of $219 a month is too high. I now have to find the money myself to have two operations, get the medicine I need to regulate my heart beat, thin my blood, get a sleep apnea mask, and have follow up care.
I have been having trouble with my heart for many years. I would go to the doctors and they would tell me it was my stomach, it was my nerves, or it was in my head. I really felt like a prisoner in my own body. I could not do the things I wanted. I never knew when I would have an episode or what was going on. Imagine you are going on with your daily life and your heart starts beating fast and off beat. You get pain in your chest, you pass out, you see stars you, your hands and lips turn blue, you think you are about to die, but you have a doctor tells you there is nothing wrong with you or they have no idea whats wrong with you. That was my life for ten years!!! When I passed out behind the wheel of a car they finally took me seriously.
After several meds, many trips to the hospital, and many guesses I finally had an episode long enough for the doctors to record it. I finally knew what was wrong. I have A FIB . I was able to control it with medicine for a few years. Now the medicine helps but now my quality of life has been diminished. I have blacked out at work. I am scared to drive because I do not want to kill someone or myself. I have developed many other health issues because of my A Fib. I have severe bouts of vertigo. My episodes come every 4-6 weeks and last up to eight days. I cant move, talk, eat, or drink. I have also developed sleep apnea. The sleep apnea has caused me to develop memory problems. I can be in a normal conversation and will forget what I am talking about. I forgot much of my vocabulary, I have had to learn to substitute words because I just cant recall the words I want. My doctors told me I need to have an operation to fix my problems. Each one of my health issues are not serious alone but when they are together they are. I am at risk for stroke, heart attack, death in my sleep, I have little to no energy, I cant work. I have also discovered I have an aneurysm on my optic nerve that needs to be removed. In 30 days it has doubled in size. The doctor said if it bursts I have a 50% chance of living. If I live I have a 3% chance of having ANY body function and even if I does not burst, it is pressing on my optic nerve, I can lose my sight.
Most of this is fixable if I can have two operations. I can fix my heart problem and my life and finally become normal. That would be great but I live in Texas. Because I had to stop working I do not have insurance. I went to apply for Medicaid and was told I do not qualify because my income is too high. My total monthly income is $219 a month. I get this because my husband died. They did find a loop hole that allowed me to have insurance for 5 months( Social Security had not paid me my payments) BUT during this time, I was put in a child’s plan had to wait 30 days for them to fix that. After they put me in an adults plan the insurance company refused to pay for my meds, my operations, and sleep mask. WHY HAVE INSURANCE IF THEY WILL NOT PAY FOR ANYTHING!!! My meds are REQUIRED because they regulate my heart beat. The insurance wants me to be on a cheaper medicine. The problem is they do not work on me. I have had them and have ended up in the hospital. They said my operations are elective, WHO ELECTS TO HAVE HEART AND/OR BRAIN SURGERY IF THERE IS NO PROBLEM??!! They are also saying my sleep apnea is not severe enough to get a mask. It has caused me to lose my memory but that’s not good enough for them.
I would love to go back to work. I would love to go back to living on my own, right now I am staying in one room with my three children at my mother’s house. I would like to have my life back… I would like to have a future. If I do not have my meds I will die. If I don’t have these operations I will die or have no quality of life.
I am not a woman that does not take care of herself or family. I have gone to school for my Masters, I have up and move overseas, with my children, to work at a university teaching English. I had a full life. I would like to get my life back. I do not want to apply for disability that can take years and by then I could have had the operation and be back on my feet working. Can you please find it in your heart to help me? I do not want to leave my children parentless, they loss their dad to heart disease. I am the only parent they have. I want to see them marry, have children, but right NOW I just want to be their mother. I am having a hard time doing that.

Thank you in advance for your help