Hello. My name is Dale Lindsay. I'm a lifelong musician and artist who is without insurance to pay for my recently diagnosed medical condition. On October 5, I was diagnosed with a severe form of nasal polyposis. Nasal polyps are fleshy growths that grow on the mucous membranes inside the sinuses and block air flow in and out of the nose, and sometimes the back of the throat. My ear, nose, and throat specialist, Dr. Leary at the Austin Regional Clinic-Far West in Austin, Texas, did a CT scan on October 6 to determine the severity of my situation. The CT scan showed that my sinus cavities are 100% blocked by the polyps. It is also possible that I have a fungal infection in the sinus cavities behind my cheeks from being exposed to black mold this summer from my window unit air conditioner. (We moved out of that housing.) I was immediately scheduled for surgery to occur on October 11, but found out on October 8 that there was no way I could afford the down payment for surgery. The problem of the polyps will not cure itself over time, and if I don't get the surgery, they will not only make me suffer, but the complications will eventually lead to my death.

While some cases can be mild, I have a rare and aggressive form, and I need surgery as soon as possible. Any help, even $1, will be much appreciated. That dollar might just the the one that allows me to make the down payment to get the surgery I need. It's my intention to get the surgery as soon as possible and recover as quickly as I can so I can get back to work -- not only at my job, but also on my upcoming album and the other artistic endeavors I've started over the last year. (For instance, I have an etsy store that I've been working on to sell my statuary art.)

I've spent most of my life following the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic. I love to create art, especially music, but also statuary and paintings. I make music that's a cross between Boards of Canada, Autechre, and orchestral soundtracks. I'm reaching out now to the public because this is something that I can't handle on my own. I need help to pay for this surgery and save my life. My friends will tell you that I'm independent, and I do my best to help those around me. I've been involved in animal rescue my entire life. I've donated time at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and battered women's shelters. I've taken part in fundraisers for many different causes, from children's medical services to equality marches for all races and genders.

Everyone who donates, no matter how little or how much, will receive a handwritten thank-you letter and a dedication in my upcoming album. $1 to $10 will get a high quality (FLAC) digital download of the album. $11 to $49 will receive a digital download and a cd in a hand-decorated case. $50 and over will get the digital download, the handmade cd, and a hand-painted Dia de Los Muertos skull. Even if you can't donate, a word of encouragement goes a long way.

The total amount of donations needed breaks down in the following way:

The bill for the surgery is $18,464.00. This is the complete cost for the hospital, the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist which will all bill me separately. I also need $1,500.00 in aftercare costs for six months after the surgery. This total will also help when paying my bills and rent for the one-three weeks that I will need to be in recovery and away from work. Unfortunately, I will need aftercare for the rest of my life. Polyps re-occur in 70% of all cases without the proper aftercare, so the weeks after surgery are crucial to my recovery. I will need to find an allergist to run tests and figure out what exactly I'm allergic to that caused this condition, or if it was the exposure to black mold, and prevent it from happening again. If the situation flares up, then I can treat it early before it gets to the point of having another surgery. I've also added $1,400.00 to cover the fees tied to this fund raising effort.

If I can reach at least $3,966.00, then I can make the required pre-payment to have the surgery done and incur the rest as a future debt. Any money over that amount will go towards aftercare, and the balance that I will owe the hospital.

EDIT on Oct.17: I've since found out that I have to pay the doctor and the anesthesiologist up front, which means the down payment has increased to 6,469.00.

The down payment now breaks down like this:

Hospital: 3,966.00

Doctor: 1,146.00

Anesthesiologist:1,357.00

I first knew something was wrong in September when I went to blow my nose and could feel something that shouldn't have been there. This is while I was being treated for a H.Pylori bacterial infection that had debilitated me. Over the next two weeks, the symptoms from the polyps became much worse. They've progressed to the point that I can't breath at all through my nasal cavity. My nose, lips, and other parts of my face swell up as the infections set in. My teeth are in a constant state of low agony which makes it hard for me to chew my food. I can feel pressure and pain behind my left eye, and my vision is blurry in that eye when I wake up.The polyps at the back of my throat make me feel like I'm choking when I wake up or swallow, and they've distorted my voice to the point that people don't recognize it's me when I'm talking to them on the phone. The pressure and pain behind my face keeps me awake at night, along with the anxiety of the situation.

I spent what little savings I had recovering for three weeks from the h.pylori, so I'm basically one paycheck away from losing my apartment. I live as cheaply as possible in government housing, and work a job in retail, which means that even with a steady paycheck, I'm incapable of paying for this surgery on my own.

The surgery for polyps is endoscopic, which means they stick a couple of long tubes up your nose and use a machine to chew up the polyps and surrounding broken bone structure. While the average surgery for polyps takes 45 minutes to an hour, mine are bad enough that the surgery will be closer to three hours. The debris taken from the sinuses is then sent off to a lab for examination since polyps can be the sign of a pre-cancerous condition. The surgery is a delicate process which can also have its own set of complications including Meningitis and a loss of spinal fluid from the brain. Thankfully, both of these complications are rare.

If not treated, the complications from nasal polyp growth include vision loss and eventual blindness from the pressure of the polyps on the ocular cavities and nerves. Since the fluid naturally created by the sinuses can't drain, sinus infections and migraine headaches are common. If the infection spreads to the eye, it can also lead to vision damage and blindness, or if it infects the surrounding bones it can lead to Meningitis, which is an infection of the brain and spinal cord. The nerves in the sinuses are connected to the nerves in the teeth, so toothaches are common. The polyps can also disrupt the natural flow of blood through the head and lead to blood clots and aneurysms. Once the polyps reach the back of the throat, they can result in sleep apnea and asthma attacks. The pressure created by the polyps destroys the honeycomb like structures in the sinuses, and eventually breaks down the bones in the face leading to disfigurement and eventually death.

I've looked into getting an insurance plan to pay for the operation, but so far, I've had no luck. All the insurance plans I've found except one will not immediately cover a pre-existing condition. They want me to wait a year or more to receive benefits for pre-existing conditions, or they will not cover me at all. The only one that would accept me is the U.S. government's PCIP insurance, but I have to be rejected by insurance companies in order to qualify and it is expensive. Just getting the responses back from the insurance companies will take six weeks, and then another month to qualify for the PCIP insurance. With my current job, I can't even afford to pay for the insurance. I need the surgery quickly to avoid further damage.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Dale Lindsay