Donate to Adam's Spinal Surgery Fund

My name is Adam, and most of you that may come across this have no clue who I am. I’d still like to share a little about me.

I am a legally blind photographer based out of Phoenix, AZ. I’ve always had a passion for photography, starting back in high school developing our own B&W film never knowing the shot you’d get. After HS, I seemed drift away from it from a bit. I think it was just life, and being younger and all over the place at the time. Fast-forward to around 2013, and I started to get back into it. I was mostly into landscape/wildlife photography until I started getting into studio work which became most of my time after. I enjoyed learning more, working with new people, and trying new styles. Over time, though, I sadly got bored with the studio work. I think it was just my lack of being able to give direction as I was never good at that. I still wanted to continue with photography, but didn’t know of what. So, I tried the next best thing which was concert photography. Let me tell you, that was probably the best thing I ever did but also the hardest for me to do. With the other types of photography, it was a lot easier as I had time to focus, mess with settings, adjust lighting, and so on. With concerts I controlled nothing other than the setting on my camera. Not having time to see if my subject is in focus or adjust lighting or placement of the person, it was very clear this wasn’t going to be easy. But I was determined and was not going to give up.

Starting out with concert/music photography wasn’t easy. I had to start at the bottom just like anyone else. I photographed every local band/artist that I could for the first couple of years before starting to get bigger gigs. My first big concert to photograph was Korn back in 2013 and let me tell you I was like a kid in a candy store. The end result was not that great, with blurry or out of focus images, but I did capture a few good ones and was hooked ever since. Since that time, I have been able to photograph some amazing artists such as Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, In This Moment, Lindsey Stirling, Linkin Park, Tool, Metallica, Janet Jackson, Jelly Roll, Shinedown, and so much more to list. I am truly grateful for every moment I am given to capture and share these moments for the world to see through my eyes.

Back to why I am here. Last year in October I headed out to another show like usual covering another one of my favorite bands: Parkway Drive. It was a great evening with amazing people, capturing the moments for everyone to see. The night was going great and Parkway Drive was about to take the stage. I was stage right partially on the stage getting ready and then BAM. One wrong step and I went off the side about a 3.5 feet drop. I landed on my right foot at a slight angle. I didn’t think anything of it and shook it off like anything else. Let’s face it, I’ve been in pits, kicked in the head, slammed against walls, and more at shows like this. I finished out the show and headed home for bed. When I woke up the next morning I knew something was wrong. I had numbness in both of my hands and later would start to have some partial in my right leg and foot.

Come December, nothing has changed. I then scheduled an appointment with my primary doctor to get looked at. We did a basic x-ray which didn’t show too much and of course my insurance denied the MRI which was requested. I push through it for a few more weeks/months and nothing changes. At times the numbness gets worse and my legs will shake and become weak. It felt like trying to walk for the first time in many cases and also hoping I don’t fall. About a month later I paid for an MRI out of my pocket for my neck to get a better idea of what is going on. Come to find out my C5-7 are pinching my spinal cord, which is causing the numbness. I am still out trying to live life, work, and do what I love doing. I have slowed down quite a bit with the concert photography as in many cases it just gets to me and I have to head home early. But, I still push myself through the daily work life as I still have to pay bills.

After having the MRI done I was finally referred to a neurosurgeon who gave me the breakdown of what is going on.

Cervical myelopathy, Cervical spinal stenosis which led to

C5-C6: 3.1 mm bulge, joint hypertrophy, moderate central stenosis with mild compression, severe bilateral NFN with C6 impingement

C6-C7: 2.5 mm protrusion, moderate central stenosis with mild compression, moderate right and mod-severe left NFN with C7 impingement

After seeing two different neurosurgeons, I have been told that I need ACDF surgery in which will fuse C5-6 and 6-7 to fix and also release from pinching the spinal cord.

That being said, this is where I ask for your help. Anyone that knows me would know I am usually not the one asking for help. I’m stubborn and I’m usually always the one giving the help. Unfortunately, this time I need it. Even with insurance this is going to cost me close to $10,000 as I have yet to meet my deductible. Of course, I am truly grateful for what they do cover, but this is still quite a bit for me to handle on my own.

That being said, I am grateful for anyone that is willing to help along the way. I know it’s always tough times for many, so if you can’t, I totally get it. If you can at least share my story that would be amazing.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for everyone who has supported me along the way.

I do have Zelle, Paypal and Cashapp to help avoid those fees if need be.