OR Nurse Needs Help

For more than 20 years, Bernadette Bailey helped others. I'm the one that's been giving the help. I'm the one that's supposed to give the help!"

But as fate would have it, this operating room nurse is sick herself. She shares her diagnosis with Tiffany Craig. "I have the Pheochromocytoma tumor. The reason I have the tumor is a rare genetic disorder called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia that causes tumors to rise from the brain, the spinal cord and all the organs."

From the outside she looks okay but she desperately needs the tumor removed. "So what happens if you don't get this surgery? I'm going to die."

The condition has so many side effects; Bailey feared putting others in danger. I'm unsuccessful at staying at work for a respectable length of time. The things that normally cause a nurse to kick into fast gear and function beautifully under stress causes fluctuation in my blood pressure. I have to stop because I can black out."

Now without a job and insurance, the cost to keep going is just too much. "I was on worker's compensation for an injury and they stopped it. I can't meet my financial responsibilities so."

So, Bailey is moving out of a Satsuma rental home and into her car. She can't afford to live any other way.

Bailey has a surgery scheduled for March at UAB and needs help getting through until then.

You can make a donation in Bernadette Bailey's name at the University of South Alabama Credit Union on Hillcrest Road.