Crismery's Battle: A Mother's Fight for Life

Hi, my name is Crismery Ramos. I'm 34 years old, from the Dominican Republic, and I'm raising funds to have surgery for my trigeminal neuralgia.

My bitter journey with trigeminal neuralgia began in 2018 when, one day, I was in the car with my husband and the children. This pain came on suddenly, sharp and fast. It disoriented me. I told my husband, "It's burning," while holding my head. At that moment, my voice began to slur, and due to the intense pain, I fainted.

From then on, months of constant pain, anguish, and despair followed, not only for me but also for my family, who didn't know what was happening to me. I had to quit my job because my constant pain prevented me from doing my job. Things got worse. My face swelled, and the pain was so severe that I couldn't move. I had to stay in a fixed position to avoid further pain. I couldn't take care of myself or my children.

We went to specialists, but they couldn't diagnose me, and because of this, I didn't have the proper medication. I could only take painkillers, which only relieved the pain for an hour and then stopped working. The pain was like a burning fire, needles sticking in, and something was peeling off my right side, like my teeth and arm. Although the pain was on the entire right side of my head, I felt it was going down my arm.

A family doctor asked me about my symptoms and how it all started. After talking to her, the first diagnosis came, which was Trigeminal Neuralgia. This doctor was the first to tell me, after so many months of pain and uncertainty, what I really had. The next thing that happened after learning I had it was that I was put on proper treatment. That treatment gradually reduced the intensity of my pain and everything that came with it. In 3 months, I was able to return to a bit of my old self, but I still felt pressure in the back of the right side of my head. I still couldn't make quick movements or eat cold or hard foods, and even sleeping or holding my head up was bad for me. But as expected, the pain and discomfort disappeared completely with the treatment. After all this, I had a six-year hiatus from the disease, and in October 2024, the pain gradually reappeared until November, when it became incapacitating again, no matter what treatment I took. During that time, my husband discovered carbamazepine (my current treatment); it was the only thing that gave me a little respite for a few hours.

I spent the first two weeks of November in bed, weak and in a lot of pain. At the end of the second week, my husband decided to take me to a very famous clinic in Santo Domingo. When my husband took me out of the house, I was already in critical condition. At the clinic, they thought that, because I was a delicate patient with acute chronic pain and at risk of death from a heart attack, I would receive the necessary care, but this was not the case. The care at the clinic was precarious and very poor, so my condition worsened even further, and my family decided to transfer me to the Caribbean Medical Center. At this medical center, I was treated by neurosurgeon Ambar Perez, who confirmed my diagnosis with a cranial MRI, which showed an artery above the nerve pulsating in two parts. With this diagnosis, the doctor started me on carbamazepine and pregabalin to reduce the inflammation and sent me home, but with constant check-ins via WhatsApp to determine the next step. The pain faded at times, but I constantly had to go to the emergency room for medication because the medication I had wasn't enough. The doctor increased the dosage until I reached the maximum I could take without wreaking havoc on my body.

Because I can't go a single day without taking medication because the pain returns and incapacitates me; also because the medications I have to take daily can't be used for life because they would damage other vital organs, the doctor decided to operate to separate the artery from the nerve and give me quality of life. Without this operation, I wouldn't be able to return to normal, and my life would be very short. I would leave my young children without their mother, and my husband without his pillar.

The insurance company refused to cover the operation, which is very expensive for me or my family. This operation is my last chance at life, and I'm running out of time. That's why I'm sharing my experience with a devastating illness, which many people call "Suicide Disease," because those who suffer from it prefer to take the path of death rather than continue enduring incalculable, exhausting, and debilitating pain that doesn't improve with painkillers and that steals your life because even breathing hurts.

Help me continue living with a small donation so I can have surgery. All donations are welcome, whether small or large; I will always be extremely grateful.

May the Lord God bless you, and thank you for reading my story with this illness!

Attn: Crismery E. Ramos P.