Nicholas's Medical Fund
Donation protected
I was diagnozed with Chron's disease and Neuropathy
when I was 20. I had just been drafted to play professional soccer.
I played for nine years through terrible days but at the time, no one knew because I didnt want people feeling sorry for me and I didn't want the coach to know and have reasons to bench me.
I wanted it to be an even playing field but at the end I couldn't take the pain and retired early after 9 years of playing. but it got to a point were the meds where also not working anymore, so I had to make a tough decision because it was risky and they couldnt guarantee me that I wouldn't have a pouch for life. Fortunately
everything worked out for the moment.
I was taking a lot of medications and I would have daily side effects,one being tooth decay which I didnt know because the teeth would look normal but be rotting from the inside out.
It got so bad that in 2005 I had my colon removed and had to wear a bag for three months (which I did, and I it was the the most tramatic period of my life watching feces come out of the side of my waist into a bag.
It smelled and felt gross and too many other gross things to even mention. Three months later they stiched me up and I was as good as new,(so we all thought).
Thirty days later my stomach was hurting while I was driving and it got so bad I cancelled my trip and drove all the way home and moved in with my parents. I didnt sleep all night because it felt like some one was stabbing me with a knife. In the morning I drove myself to the hospital and 2 hours later they were preparing me for emergency surgery because this tube in my stomache started leaking and I was dying from sepsis. Long story longer, when I woke up I was so depressed because I knew then that I would be getting a new colostomy bag that I would keep for at least 6 months to which I would get re evaluated and would find out later if it was permanent or not.
The previous 3 months on a colostomy bag was so bad,that I had deceided that if this one was going to be permanent I would kill myself by taking a large dose of pain killers. I was terrified. When 6 months was up my surgeon didnt want to have the surgery yet so he said lets wait another 3 months.
My heart literally dropped. I vomitted from shock and every day felt like a month. When 9 months were up the surgeon still didnt want to have the second surgeury so I went to a general surgeon and asked him to please help me because I didnt want to live the rest of my life with a colostomy bag.
Tears were gushing out of my eyes. I had gone through so many complications and had spent about 6 months in the hospital about a month in I.C.U. So we finally had the second surgery and this meant that
I would be on a ton of medications for the rest of my life and these medecines gave one,what they call "Dry Mouth".
Dry mouth depletes your teeth from suliva and slowly slowly decays your teeth from the inside .
About two years ago I found out that I had to get every single tooth pulled out and the prodedure would cost around 45 thousand dollars.
It's very hard for me to ask for help because I have always been strong minded and a proffessional soccer player and now I needed help. Please donate anything you can and if you want to email me, feel free because the cat is obviously out of the bag. God bless you and Im sorry I've resorted to begging.
Update:
I want to thank everyone for their support. I really appreciate it. Please post the campaign as many places as you can because short of donating, thats probably the most important thing.
I just found out that I have to get another surgery to fix my fistula. In medicine, a fistula is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow organs.
Fistulas are usually caused by injury or a complication from the removal of the colon which I had in 2005. Fistula's can also result from an infection or inflammation.
Im going to be operated on by the same doctors that operated on my hernia. Its a dangerous surgery because sometimes it can cause one to have a permanent ileostomy bag because of all the previous scar tissue I have from getting many operations.
I really don't have too much of a choice because I normally weighed about 150 lbs but now due to the fistula I weigh 105 lbs. Im getting dangerously close to having my organs shut down but I like this surgeon because he's is arrogant in a good way. Sorry for the novel, Thought I would bring yall up to speed.
Nicholas Efthimiou
when I was 20. I had just been drafted to play professional soccer.
I played for nine years through terrible days but at the time, no one knew because I didnt want people feeling sorry for me and I didn't want the coach to know and have reasons to bench me.
I wanted it to be an even playing field but at the end I couldn't take the pain and retired early after 9 years of playing. but it got to a point were the meds where also not working anymore, so I had to make a tough decision because it was risky and they couldnt guarantee me that I wouldn't have a pouch for life. Fortunately
everything worked out for the moment.
I was taking a lot of medications and I would have daily side effects,one being tooth decay which I didnt know because the teeth would look normal but be rotting from the inside out.
It got so bad that in 2005 I had my colon removed and had to wear a bag for three months (which I did, and I it was the the most tramatic period of my life watching feces come out of the side of my waist into a bag.
It smelled and felt gross and too many other gross things to even mention. Three months later they stiched me up and I was as good as new,(so we all thought).
Thirty days later my stomach was hurting while I was driving and it got so bad I cancelled my trip and drove all the way home and moved in with my parents. I didnt sleep all night because it felt like some one was stabbing me with a knife. In the morning I drove myself to the hospital and 2 hours later they were preparing me for emergency surgery because this tube in my stomache started leaking and I was dying from sepsis. Long story longer, when I woke up I was so depressed because I knew then that I would be getting a new colostomy bag that I would keep for at least 6 months to which I would get re evaluated and would find out later if it was permanent or not.
The previous 3 months on a colostomy bag was so bad,that I had deceided that if this one was going to be permanent I would kill myself by taking a large dose of pain killers. I was terrified. When 6 months was up my surgeon didnt want to have the surgery yet so he said lets wait another 3 months.
My heart literally dropped. I vomitted from shock and every day felt like a month. When 9 months were up the surgeon still didnt want to have the second surgeury so I went to a general surgeon and asked him to please help me because I didnt want to live the rest of my life with a colostomy bag.
Tears were gushing out of my eyes. I had gone through so many complications and had spent about 6 months in the hospital about a month in I.C.U. So we finally had the second surgery and this meant that
I would be on a ton of medications for the rest of my life and these medecines gave one,what they call "Dry Mouth".
Dry mouth depletes your teeth from suliva and slowly slowly decays your teeth from the inside .
About two years ago I found out that I had to get every single tooth pulled out and the prodedure would cost around 45 thousand dollars.
It's very hard for me to ask for help because I have always been strong minded and a proffessional soccer player and now I needed help. Please donate anything you can and if you want to email me, feel free because the cat is obviously out of the bag. God bless you and Im sorry I've resorted to begging.
Update:
I want to thank everyone for their support. I really appreciate it. Please post the campaign as many places as you can because short of donating, thats probably the most important thing.
I just found out that I have to get another surgery to fix my fistula. In medicine, a fistula is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow organs.
Fistulas are usually caused by injury or a complication from the removal of the colon which I had in 2005. Fistula's can also result from an infection or inflammation.
Im going to be operated on by the same doctors that operated on my hernia. Its a dangerous surgery because sometimes it can cause one to have a permanent ileostomy bag because of all the previous scar tissue I have from getting many operations.
I really don't have too much of a choice because I normally weighed about 150 lbs but now due to the fistula I weigh 105 lbs. Im getting dangerously close to having my organs shut down but I like this surgeon because he's is arrogant in a good way. Sorry for the novel, Thought I would bring yall up to speed.
Nicholas Efthimiou
Organizer
Nicholas Nixo Efthimiou
Organizer
Scottsdale, AZ
