(Scroll to the bottom for updated gofundme needs; 10/15)

hi, im camilla! im 19 years old and i have had medical issues since i was a baby, but 5 years ago is when the investigating to see what was wrong, began. over the past couple years, i have been through a ton. I’ve had a total of 4 abdominal surgeries, seen many doctors, tried so many medications, but nothing ever worked. I have been fed TPN (Total Parental Nutrition/ IV nutrition) through a central line for 3 years now and I had my first feeding tube placed in 2021.

over the years, my symptoms have progressed terribly. we knew I had SMAS (superior mesenteric artery syndrome) since 2021, but I wasn’t in the care of doctors that were very knowledgeable about that. I had an unsuccessful surgery for it that led to emergency surgery and severe abdominal abscess infections and intestine twisted. I asked doctors for years to look into other vascular compression syndromes, but they just wouldn’t listen. last year, a scan did show evidence of median articulate ligament syndrome (mals), and I had a successful celiac plexus block, but nobody did anything.

my symptoms progressed to not only the abdominal symptoms, but also hematuria (blood in urine), recurrent bladder infections, worsening left flank pain, worsening pelvic pain, and so much more. and around August 2024 my daily pain became unbearable to the point of needing strong pain medications and nausea medications to get me through everyday.

thankfully someone reached out to me about Dr. Jacob Stephenson at Texas Children’s in Austin, Tx. he does the highly successful smas surgery called the Alvear-Fowlkes approach and Dr. Alvear himself travelled to Austin, Tx to teach Dr. Stephenson this surgery and it’s been highly successful.

i saw the surgeon within like a week, after getting my scans and all dropped off to the clinic. he sat with me for an hour hearing my whole story and he pulled up my scans and showed me that I was right all along, as I have SMAS still, some MALS, bad nutcracker syndrome (left renal vein compression), may thurner syndrome (left iliac vein compression), and pelvic congestion syndrome due to the nutcracker and gonadal vein compression. a few weeks later June 26th, 2025, I got my venogram done and had my picc removed and a Hickman line in my chest placed because it’s a better long term line and to prepare for the major abdominal surgery im needing.

then a week later, I had my appointment with him to schedule surgery and hear the whole plan. I had SMAS+MALS surgery + cystoscopy with my urologist scheduled for July 22nd, 2025. (my left renal vein compression wasn’t going to be corrected because it was really complex so I would’ve gotten an auto transplant or nephrectomy after recovering from this surgery)

so after knowing the surgery date- we all basically made a game plan. my boyfriend asked for two-three weeks out of work to stay with me in the hospital and at home until im able to move around more by myself.

now here’s where everything went downhill-

July 21st my surgery for the next day was cancelled once i began having fevers.

I ended up having a fungal bloodstream infection (sepsis). I had two types of candida in my blood and contaminated my line as well so it had to be removed. since the local ER I went to didn’t take my case seriously, I ended up going into septic shock. so when I was transferred to Texas children’s PICU my vitals were not good and my blood work was showing signs of organ failure. my liver and kidneys took the biggest hit for sure.

I was in the PICU July 22-July 26th. then was moved to the acute floor July 26th. had my procedure to replace my central line, get the cystoscopy, and feeding tube replacement July 30th. then August 1st I went home on iv antifungals. not gonna lie, it’s been tough physically and mentally since getting home. i can’t do the same things i use to be able to do. i need more help with things i use to do alone. but i push myself more and more everyday. and im so thankful to have a partner who has went through all of these scary moments with me and has helped me everyday the way that jesús does. it overall was a traumatic experience, I never felt more close to death than I did. and definitely traumatic for my loved ones. 

my surgeon came to check on me a couple times while I was there and we have a new date for surgery set. August 14th, just one week away. and it’s going to be more extensive. not only the intestinal part of the surgery and mals release- but now also he’s going to try out something he hasn’t done before which is using a graft to relieve the left renal vein compression and he will be having a vascular surgeon from a different hospital come to help out with that.

Jesús and I made this gofundme because people we have spoken to thought it would be a good idea and it could be so helpful. jesús won’t be working for quite awhile and he doesn’t get paid time off or anything. and those two weeks starting July 22nd he asked off for- ended up being needed anyway because he stayed with me in the hospital the entire admission as always. and he’s helping me recover at home from all of that currently. I of course can’t work and I have been on SSI, but a few months ago they lowered my monthly income by a couple hundred to the point it’s not possible to have anything left over after all the monthly bills. jesús also has health issues being a T1D so we also have his insurance, insulin, etc. to pay for. and the hospital is an hour away from our apartment so it’s not possible to go back and forth with Ubers being so expensive.

we are the type of people who don’t like asking for help, we like helping other people even when we’re not in a position to be able to. but with this situation we’re in, we are kinda left with no choice. the goal says $1500, but we don’t have a specific goal or anything! and any donations will strictly be used for bills, necessities while we’re stuck in the hospital, etc.! we’re thankful if you even just share this around to your social medias, friends, family, etc. because our hopes are also for my story to be shared around to spread awareness on vascular compressions and help others get answers quicker than most do.

thank you so much in advance for your help, support, prayers, and everything else!! it means the world to us<3

update: 10/15/25

after I went through the 3 abdominal surgeries and septic shock recovery since July, we needed to be discharged from the hospital 10/7 due to jesús having to go see a specialist 10/8 for a health scare that arose. and we unfortunately got news that a mass that he has is likely cancerous (could still be benign so trying to have faith for that to be the case). tomorrow 10/16, we will head to San Antonio for him to get surgery to have this removed. so far tumor markers and cbc have came back normal, thank God. 10/20 he will have a chest, abdomen, pelvic cat scan to check for metastasis. and then of course his surgery and biopsy will give more answers. 

due to all of this, he will be unable to go back to work still. he hasn’t been able to go back since mid July before I went into septic shock because he stayed in the hospital with me the whole 3 months. and the money donated went specifically to our bills and rent those 3 months. and his insurance won’t cover 25% of his surgery so we need to make at least a payment of $280 before his surgery & then 12 months monthly payments to pay the rest of the $1,500. now we will continue needing this help, even more during this time of uncertainty so that we don’t lose our apartment and everything. please share this around and keep us in your prayers.

thank you for your help 

~camilla & jesús