Hi, my name is Kayti and I was diagnosed with a rare brain disease called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) 15 years ago. Essentially, I have all the symptoms of a brain tumor without an actual tumor. The only real way to treat it is to have a shunt implanted into the brain to drain pressure, keep the brain from swelling, and reduce the risk of strokes, blindness, and aneurysms. Unfortunately, shunts have a high rate of failure, and they need to be fixed quite often. I've already had mine fixed once before, and now I need to have mine fixed again.

Without a working shunt, my life is in danger, so I need to get it fixed as soon as possible. The last time I had to have a shunt revision, my copay was $6,000, which is as much as I get in six months of disability. I also need to replace my wheelchair, and I had to put my service dog down a few months ago as he was in severe pain. With the complications that can come with brain surgery, I would feel much safer getting a new service dog as soon as possible. Dogs from good breeders cost between $2,000 and $3,000, and I'd like to have a dog that's been through genetic testing and won't develop the cancer or severe arthritis my last two service dogs did.

Thank you so much for your help.