GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — You may remember Liz Benecke, one of the leaders of the Wisconsin Face Masks Warriors.
She's a nurse, an army veteran and a mother of four children.
Often times she's the first to step up to the plate.
Last year, she touched the lives of many as she helped create and distribute thousands of masks for our community.
"I like to volunteer, I'm usually one of the first people to be like oh, how can I help," Benecke said.
Now she’s on the other side and needs your help in getting through a difficult time.
Benecke is currently battling Dysautonomia, and says it has recently taken a turn for the worse.
It's an automatic nervous system that she says can affect almost all body systems.
For her, she says she was at complete heart failure at one point but received a clinical trial that helped her.
"I was on a hunting trip. I felt fine and I came home, three hours later life changed," Benecke said.
Not only does she have heart problems but she says her stomach has also stopped working.
"It's been destroying the tissue within the stomach and the esophagus so they will actually be doing a surgery to modify that," Benecke said.
She explains it’s hard these days to even keep anything in.
“I haven’t been to work since January because between throwing up and passing out it hasn’t been super easy but I’ve have one heck of a tribe that is in my corner. I’ve had people stay with me, I’ve had people drive me places, I’ve had people help with meals and just be supportive in general. Having this tribe in my corner is really what’s helping us get through this,” Benecke said.
In addition she says she has also been diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia (POTS) syndrome, gitleman syndrome, and gastroparesis.
The only thing harder than what she is battling right now is being "Mom".
"Its hard they watch their mom pass out, they watch their mom struggle or throw up or do all those things," Benecke said.
She has to get infusions three times a week in order to help maintain fluids in her body and says it's only been recently she has started to allow others to help.
Something she says has been a learning curve as she's never been on the receiving end of things.
"I feel bad, you feel like a burden and you can't make that feeling of being a burden go away," Benecke said.
A friend has set up a Go Fund Me page which will go towards her medical costs along with other related expenses as she will not be working for a while due to health.
If you’d like to help out you canclick here to be redirected to the page.
A Facebook benefit group has also been created to help raise funds through an auction and other raffle prizes.
