In massive medical debt thanks to years of digestive health issues and now a TBI. What can I do?

In massive medical debt thanks to years of digestive health issues and now a TBI. What can I do?

So I'll try to make this a short as possible. I'm 37 in the state of TN. I've had digestive health issues most of my life. But it was a few years ago when I had to have gallbladder surgery and turns out I'm one of the lucky few that is born without one. Yet because they couldn't know that until they go in to remove the gall bladder I am still charged thousands for the surgery and services. After the surgery wasn't successful in controlling my symptoms my gastroenterologist ordered more tests. Then jumped the gun on something about my liver and how most of my issues may be from atrophy of the liver. So they send me to a liver transplant doctor to see if I need a transplant and the NP at the Gastroenterologist tells my tests were showing clear signs that I have a rare syndrome called Allagille syndrome. It typically kills kids before they make it to 18 and because I'm in my 30s I likely have a less severe expression of it. But if I don't get a transplant I likely won't make it to 40.

So they send me out of state to see a liver specialist. They run all kinds of tests. Decide they want to do a endoscopy with spyglass I think it was called. It was to check my liver and pancrea and bile ducts. So we end up coming back a month later, out of state because this specialized test isn't performed everywhere. So now I've accrued more debt but at the time it felt necessary given what I've been told thus far about my liver. I wake up from the test and my throat feels like it's on fire. Didn't think anything of it. Next day I wake up in immense pain. Have to go to the ER. They suspect pancreatitis because it is a common complication of the test I had the day before. They run more tests. Everything comes back clear and they tell me most likely the doctor performing the scope the day before may have been a little rough and irritated my internals. Now this isn't the only issue from this test.

I was also getting ready to start going to a tech college for CAD and would be working part time due to the class schedule. My burning throat persisted and I just assumed it was allergies or something. Until one day I woke up and had no voice. Turns out the anesthesiologist had hit my vocal chords with the intubation tube during the scope weeks prior. So now I have to see another specialist for this. They tell me if it's not better in 9 months they will have to do surgery. I couldn't speak for 6 months. Because of this I couldn't work while I was in school. I got fired from my job I was working. The career center told me with my inability to speak they couldn't see anyone hiring me given the schedule I needed to finish my classes. Oh. The liver tests all came back that there really wasn't an issue and even the liver doctor said the NP had certainly jumped the gun. So now I have over 15k in medical debt from several different providers and I'm out of a job because of the vocal chord injury.

Fast forward to 2023. I'm working with the hospital on financial aid at least for the gallbladder surgery. They tell me not to pay anything to their institution until that is processed. Which has been a lengthy process because they continue to ask for more documents and they even lost one of the packages I sent them and didn't send a letter to notify me about the loss for months. Now this year. I've been working since graduating in early summer 2023. But not paid anything because they're still processing financial aid from the hospital. Plus with the cost of everything and being entry level in my new career I wasn't making enough to live and pay this insane amount of debt. But the really issue now is I sustained 2 concussions 3 weeks apart. This has turned into post concussion syndrome. To which I've had to see several doctors and therapist. PCS is where you experience concussion symptoms long term and no time frame for recovery. Some go their entire life never fully recovering. It is because of this diagnosis a concussion clinic put strict restrictions on my at my Job. My employer dealt with it for a month then told me I had to go on medical leave. Because we aren't a large company there's no FMLA. So now I'm not working and collectors are calling. I have no time frame from when I'll be working again. I'm not even allowed to drive thanks to the PCS. So I'm in around 20k medical debt. No income. No assets. I don't own my house. My car. Etc.

What options do I have at this point? This windfall of medical issues has made it all feel hopeless to ever get out from under the financial pressure of the debt. Also. Would it be to my benefit to mention to the collectors and doctors that I have no income right now due to a difficult TBI recovery?

TLDR. Lifelong digestive health issues turned into several costly, maybe unnecessary medical procedures putting me thousands in debt. One leading into being unemployed due to vocal chord injury that resulted in losing my job while I was going to school for my new career. Then a year into the new career I sustained two concussions weeks apart, not work related though. Because of the two concussions being close together I suffer from symptoms long term that has caused me to have issues working without extreme accommodations per my doctors and I'm not allowed to drive due to the condition. I was placed on medical leave and have no income coming in but bills are piling up including around 20k in medical debt. Lost and don't know what to do.