Hi my name is Colleen Kent. I am hoping to raise money to finally get treatment to alleviate the debilitating, excruciating and constant pain I have been in for 2 years. I honestly never thought I would have to reach out like this for help, but unfortunately here I am. It’s really a humiliating, scary and sad experience.
I live in Los Angeles, California. I am a hairdresser and was a small salon studio owner. I opened it just 2 years prior to my surgery and was building my clientele successfully. I was also working at Fleming’s Steakhouse at the Staples Center 3 nights a week to network and make extra money while building my business.
After a few years of dealing with terrible back pain I started to see an Orthopedic/Neurosurgeon. We tried and exhausted every conservative method to treat my pain, but I finally had to have Spinal Fusion in May of 2018.
I told my clients that worst case I would be back to the salon in 3 months tops. Well I couldn’t have been more wrong. The day I left the hospital, after a 5 day stay, I was in agonizing pain.
I couldn’t sit , I couldn’t stand and laying down only remotely helped. I was crying and moaning in excruciating pain. I couldn’t physically hold myself up and the hardware in my back used for the fusion felt like it weighed a million pounds.
I called my surgeon about 5 weeks out , and told him that my pain was worse now then the first week post-op. He said “that’s impossible.”
Well , this is when my complications began. My body was rejecting the hardware and my fusion was taking longer than expected to fully fuse. They couldn’t figure out the pain generator and we all thought that perhaps there was just more time needed to heal and fuse. I didn’t fuse until the 10th month. After several other opinions, which was welcomed and suggested by my surgeon who performed my procedure, it was decided that perhaps the hardware was causing all of my pain.
June 2019 , my surgeon went forward with taking the hardware out. Although the removal of the hardware did relieve the feeling of my spine being in a vice and some minor pain, it did not fix the problem. I am still bed ridden , 22 hours a day w/ heating pad , standing is brutal, I can’t sit for longer than 15 mins, I have nerve pain and pressure in my legs and low back. On top of that I lost my stability, it feels as though my pelvis is on backwards. I never thought I would feel this amount of pain in my lifetime. So overall I have been bed 
ridden 19 months now. 

 My Surgeon and Pain Management Doctor suggested that I have a Spinal Cord Stimulator placed in my back. I was not accepting this as my fate, primarily because it was just a high risk bandaid and it wasn’t fixing whatever the pain generator was. I was determined to discover what was causing me all of this pain, even if I had to figure it out myself.
After many months of reading and researching I discovered what my pain generator is, SI Joint Dysfunction. It is called the Chameleon of Back Pain and is the most overlooked source of back pain. The SI Joints are responsible for holding up our entire upper body. Any slight misalignment can cause massive pain. It turns out that 43% of fusions lead to SI Joint Dysfunction and 75% of those within the first 5 years post-op. After reading countless articles, publications, etc on this subject, I found that I had almost every single symptom and indicator of SI Joint Dysfunction. I then inquired with a few SI joint specialists. They want to treat it either by injections or fusing the joints. This would require two more surgeries, 6 weeks apart. I have decided against this surgery in part because it doesn’t have a high success rate, and also because I found a Doctor who treats SI joint Disfunction, among many other things without surgery.
I discovered this Doctor through a SI Joint dysfunction group on Facebook. His name is Dr Jerry Heach and practices in Aurora Colorado. He’s evidence based , teaches around the world , and has published many books and studies on SI joints. He has helped people stay out of surgery and restore their stability and function. I also met 4 ladies on my group that have been through almost the same script as me, a couple dealing with it much longer than I have, and they went from bed ridden to 70% pain free with the help of Dr Heach. And a few more months of healing and building their strength back. After vetting him thoroughly, watching many of his videos, reading reviews, talking to some people who have been treated by him, I feel very strongly that he will “fix” me and get me out of the agonizing pain I have been in for almost 2 years as a result of my Spinal Fusion Surgery.
My fiancé took over all of our finances. He has been working virtually 7 days a week since a few months after my original surgery. We tried to keep my Salon Studio open but after several months of being hopeful and keeping it open we had to close it down.
He cooks , cleans , does the laundry. walks our dog, helps me wash my hair , etc. Without him, I don’t know where I would be. Through all of this, my family has stopped communicating with me, which I have come to learn is a very common occurrence with people suffering from debilitating pain with no answers or an end in sight. That has added a whole other level of pain to this, but I am learning to move past that, I’m not the only one and I have hope that I will be fixed soon. I have been denied disability because I filed for it too late. I just believed I was going to get better, it didn’t cross my mind that I would need assistance. I applied a year too late basically. I also recently applied for temporary social security back in October but I have been denied for that as well. I didn’t believe in my wildest dreams this would happen the way it has.
With all that being said, I am hoping to raise money to help pay for my treatments with Dr Jerry Heash and getting to Colorado. I will need to be there 3 days and up to 3 hours each day. His rate for these days is approximately $1000. I found some affordable Air B&B’s that allow pets, as we will be bringing our little doodle with us. The rates are around $75-$100 a night. We will need to rent a SUV or a van to make the drive , so I can lay down with legs elevated, as flying for me is a daunting task. Also, being that we will be gone for what will amount to about a week, that will be a big hit for us to loose from my Fiancé not working, so some of the money will be used to make up for the week of work my fiancé will miss. I am heartbroken for him. It’s a terrible feeling not being able to contribute and depending on someone to do even the basic things for you.
I thank you for taking the time to read my story and I would greatly appreciate any kind of help that I can get.

Humbly,
Colleen Kent