Donate to support Aya to let her walk again.

(English follows)

私の従妹、綾は10年ほど前にバイクにひき逃げされ、重度の股関節症を患っています。彼女が横断歩道を渡ろうとしたところ、信号を無視したバイクが猛スピードで突っ込んできました。その衝撃で綾は宙を舞い、救急車で運ばれました。警察の捜査でも運転手は見つからず、綾は松葉杖をつきながら数週間を過ごしました。

怪我は治ったように見えましたが、年齢とともに後遺症が悪化し、今では杖をついて生活しています。家の中を歩くのはおろか、じっとしていても常に痛みがあります。痛みのために就寝時の寝返りも打てず、ひどいときは鎮痛剤を飲んでも痛みが引かず、眠れないこともあります。

痛みを和らげるために整形外科や鍼灸院、理学療法に通いましたが、症状は悪化の一途をたどりました。そしてついに、数人の整形外科医から、痛みが我慢できないほどひどくなったら、次は「人工股関節置換術」を受けることになるだろうと告げられました。しかし、どの医師も異口同音に「40代で手術は早すぎる」「50代まで待ったほうがいい」と診断しました。彼女には先天性の関節弛緩症もあり、それが体の痛みを助長しています。彼女の年齢と関節の状態から、人工股関節置換術は最後の選択肢として勧められました。

しかし、綾の右股関節の痛みは悪化の一途をたどりました。そしてついに、右股関節の軟骨がほとんどなくなってしまいました。人間の軟骨は再生されることはなく、一度なくなってしまうと、痛みは悪化するばかりです。

現在の綾は普通の日常生活を送ることや、気軽な外出にも意欲はわかず、痛みが酷い時期は精神的にうつ状態になっています。生涯治ることはない障害のために、心身ともに苦しんでいる彼女を見るのは辛いです。

医療関係者や知人を訪ね、いろいろ調べた結果、手術をせずに変形性股関節症を治療する方法があることを知りました。再生療法と呼ばれるものです。保険適用外治療のため費用は高く、綾はその治療を受けるかどうか長いこと悩んでおりましが、理学療法士、医師、家族と話し合った結果、再生医療治療を受けることを決意しました。

GoFundMeキャンペーンは、綾が心身ともに痛みから解放され、人生を変えるような治療を受けられるよう、家族や友人が支援する方法を提供するために立ち上げられました。この資金は、保険が適用されない再生医療治療の費用と、理学療法とリハビリの費用に充てられます。

ご支援のほど、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。

大寺 晶

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My cousin Aya suffers from severe hip osteoarthritis from the aftereffects of a car accident.

The cause was a hit-and-run by a motorcycle about ten years ago. Even though the traffic light for vehicles was red, the bike came at a high rate of speed. It hit Aya's leg as she tried to cross the crosswalk, sending her flying through the air and forcing her to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance, where she spent several weeks on crutches. A police investigation was unavoidable, and they haven't found the driver.

Although her injuries seemed to have healed, with age, the aftereffects became superficial and worsened over the past five years. Aya is forced to live with a cane and has pain even when sitting still, let alone walking around the house, making it impossible to turn over at bedtime.

In the worst cases, the pain did not go away even after taking painkillers, and sometimes she could not sleep. She went to several orthopedics clinics, acupuncture, and physical therapy to relieve the pain, but the symptoms steadily worsened. Finally, due to the severity of her hip osteoarthritis, she was told by several orthopedic surgeons that her next step would be to have "artificial hip surgery" if the pain became too severe to bear. However, all the doctors were unanimous in their diagnosis that it was too early to have the surgery in her 40s and that she should wait until she was in her 50s. She also has congenital joint laxity, a situation where surgery should be saved as a trump card, given the artificial hip joint surgery and her physical characteristics.

Meanwhile, the pain in Aya's right hip has only gotten worse. Finally, she reached the point where the cartilage in her right hip was almost completely gone. Human cartilage never grows back; once it does, it is dead tissue, so the condition worsens.

After visiting medical professionals and acquaintances and doing much research, we learned there was a way to treat osteoarthritis without surgery. It is called regenerative therapy.

The treatment is expensive because it is not covered by insurance. Aya was very worried about whether or not to undergo the treatment. Aya's current condition is such that she is in no need to go to work or go out, let alone lead an everyday life, and she feels very depressed mentally. She has been undergoing rehabilitation every morning and evening for years to alleviate and avoid pain as much as possible, but it is a condition that will never go away.

It was hard to see her losing the will to live, both physically and mentally, day after day, and I knew she was suffering, so I also proceeded to get her the treatment she needed right now.

Finally, after discussions with her physical therapist, doctor, and her family, Aya decided to undergo regenerative medicine treatment.

The GoFundMe campaign was launched to provide a way for family and friends to help Aya receive the care she needs to be free from pain, both physically and mentally. The funds will be used to cover the anticipated high outside costs of regenerative therapy treatments not covered by insurance, as well as the continued need for physical therapy and rehabilitation. These funds will help Aya recover from her long-term condition and improve her quality of life.

We hope that you will share this campaign with your friends, family, and community, and we hope that your support and spreading the word will encourage as many people as possible to support Aya.

Thank you in advance for your warm support.

Aki Ohdera