The cover photo was of the hopeful day in December 2022 where Clay’s life was hopefully headed towards a turn for the better. 15 years after a car accident that took place when he was 19 years old he started having generalized seizures. In 2022 it was deemed that a surgical resection was his best option at becoming seizure free. It’s a two stage surgery with a craniotomy first to place EEG electrode grids to map out the seizure locations and then a resection and potential implant placement a week later. Clay would never get his implant as the grid became infected. Following the resection and washout surgery Clay’s life took a turn for the worse (emotionally, financially, mentally, and physically). He was sent home on IV antibiotics for a month, had to come back 3 months later for a craniotomy to wash out an epidural fluid collection on his brain that developed, and since has been debilitated by chronic headaches (constantly at a 7/10 and spiking from there) that has him spending many days in bed and left him unable to function at work and on disability, on high dose opioid pain medication, anxiety and depression medication, and still on seizure medication, as well as having over 30 ER visits for headache attacks. He has gone through the gamut of attempts to control the headaches; ketamine treatments, nerve blocks, a peripheral nerve stimulator, Botox treatments, every headache pain medication available. The nerve blocks help but their benefit is only short-lived.

We sought out Dr Ducic, the surgeon who wrote the research paper on chronic post surgical headache following craniotomy, and he strongly feels Clay would benefit from nerve resection and decompression. We have traveled to Virginia for treatment and have received diagnostic blocks indicating removal of those nerves will improve the headaches. The only problem is the insurance has now denied coverage of the surgeries calling them experimental. This surgeon is infuriated at the insurance as to him there is clear benefit and a record of proven treatment from the surgeries he has planned. This has left us as a cash pay patient if we want to proceed and unfortunately they are not cheap (each nerve he cuts needs to have a cap placed in order to prevent a painful neuroma from developing. The caps cost about $2500 each!)

We are hoping to have the surgeries, one this week if possible (for the front and side of the head, $20000) and then one next year (on the back part of the head, $30000), but need assistance in order to do so.

i will do everything I can to help bring hope and the ability to experience joy back into Clay’s life and I truly believe these surgeries and becoming pain free will go a long way towards doing that.

If you can partner with me in getting him these surgeries and decreasing the financial challenge these past two years have been that would be very helpful and fully appreciated.