Amy's Fund for brain surgery

My name is Amy Browne and I am a 44 year old wife and mother who was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia (aka The Suicide Disease) 12 years ago. While working at a state Adult psychiatric hospital, I was attacked by a patient and one blow to my face changed our lives forever. Over the last 12 years I have had numerous brain surgeries/procedures to help manage my pain but it has come to the point now that my only options are a microvascular decompression surgery or an internal morphine pump. I have been told for 12 years that I wasn’t a candidate for the decompression surgery by my doctors in Texas but Dr. Mark Linskey, a well renown neurosurgeon in California, met with me and evaluated my condition and says I am a candidate for surgery and that he is optimistic about its success.

  Dr. Linskey sees a compression on my 5th Cranial nerve and this MVD(microvascular decompression) surgery will help decrease and/or stop my daily pain that I have suffered from for 12 years. I have complete faith in his abilities because I am part of a worldwide support group and there are dozens who have been in my situation and he operated on them and helped them when other doctors said there were no other options.  Trigeminal Neuralgia is a rare pain condition that is the most painful condition known to the medical profession. The doctors named it the Suicide Disease because many sufferers will take their life before they can find an effective pain relief plan. I have had a great pain specialist for 12 years but now I have found the doctor to stop the pain without drugs. I am almost maxed out on my daily dosage of Morphine and nerve medications. This surgery can give me a greater quality of life so that I can return to being part of my family.

I now have to come up with the funds to travel to California and spend 3 weeks there. My husband has worked 2 jobs for the last 12 years to help pay bills and raise our 2 sons. He works hard at a full time job and then works his metal art business on his days off. (https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalArtandGifts/)
I have not been able to work a full time job since my injury in 2005.

I say all this to ask if those out there can help us in our time of need. We have total faith in the Lord to make this happen. Thru faith and prayers over the past 12 years, the Lord has answered those prayers for relief and helped put Dr. Linskey in our lives. As I have suffered in pain, I have turned more often to the bible and I always come back to Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. It came to my mind that others can’t help me bear these burdens unless I share these burdens with you, so here is my burden.

It is extremely humbling to ask for financial help but I want my husband to be with me in California while I go thru this brain surgery. Since he is the sole income of our family, being gone from home will decrease the income and we won’t have the extra funds needed to make this trip together and for that extended length of time. With help from family, friends, and others, we have made it this far over the last 12 years and we just need that extra help on this last mile of our struggle.

We covet prayers and we know there are prayers being said for us in parts of the world that we aren’t even aware of. Our family and friends have shared our story with others and word of mouth has spread it all over the world. It is so hopeful to think that before the end of 2017, I could know what it is like to go a day without pain! I have forgotten what that feels like. People commend me for fighting this beast but I honestly don’t remember life without pain. This has become my way of life. It is sad but true.

I humbly ask for your help. Whether it be money, prayers, or both, I welcome all of it. I wish the Lord’s blessings on everyone out there, every day. I urge all who read this to stop for a minute every day and count your blessings. No matter how great or small, take inventory of your blessings and make sure you let all the blessings in your life know how much you love and appreciate them.

 If you have time you can read up on trigeminal neuralgia at www.fpa-support.org.

Thank you for taking time to read my story.