Sam Shillinglaws Pain Treatment
Donation protected
Fourteen years ago I was young and healthy with a pregnant wife and attending beauty school to provide a more substantial income for our growing family. I had a cyst in my armpit that was infected and my doctor recommended removing it. Unfortunately, she cut too deep and also cut the nerve that was just below the cyst. I felt a strong electric shock down my arm, but did not realize that at that moment my life had changed forever. Intense pain ensued that would not go away, and after many doctor’s visits, I was diagnosed with CRPS, a chronic nerve condition whose symptoms are an intensely painful, continuously burning sensation.
I have suffered for the last fourteen years trying to maintain any "quality" of life outside of this pain that fills my body every minute of every day. It has turned my life into incurable agony! Some days it is so bad that I lay in bed all day in tears. My wonderful 14 year old son, Zack has never known me—the true me—for I have had this chronic painful condition his entire life. It broke my heart many years ago when the number one item on his letter to Santa read “For Dad’s arm to be better"… I would love nothing more than to be able to throw him a baseball, take him fishing, wrestle with him, volunteer as a team Dad, classroom parent, or even just go for a hike. Unfortunately with this acute pain, these simple activities are just not possible.
Immediately following the accident we tried to settle in mediation with the doctor, but she denied any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, with this disease there is not a test to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have this condition. The doctor had deeper pockets in order to fight a protracted legal battle. We got scared, so she ultimately wore us down and my lawyer suggested we give up, so we did. I continued working for seven years after the accident, but I got to the point where I couldn’t even hold a hair dryer, so I had to quit. Since then I have been unable to work at all, with the exception of some paintings that I create for the company my wife Katie works for.
I have spent more than a decade trying every treatment that is out there. I have tried pain killers, mirror therapy, heat therapy, electric stimulation, infrared, nerve blocks, trigger point injections and even been to Stanford in search of any new treatments they are currently researching. None of these treatments have worked, and in fact, my CRPS just keeps getting worse each year. It has spread from my arm down to my legs, and I now walk with a limp, and have to use a cane every day. All we have to show for these treatments is a huge pile of medical bills, which have decimated our life savings.
Recently I have heard of a treatment that has been around for a few years and has had extremely good outcomes for patients with CRPS. It involves using Ketamine (an anesthetic and pain killer) in a drip to induce a trance like state that can reset the nervous system (like rebooting a computer) and end the pain of CRPS. I have talked to numerous friends who have had the treatment and it has worked extremely well for them. My wife, Katie, and I have also done a huge amount of research, and we are very hopeful that this will work for me. We have found a clinic that has administered this treatment to many CRPS patients, and they have accepted me for treatments starting December 7. The treatment would be done just before Christmas, which would mean that I might have my first Christmas without excruciating pain in 14 years! Needless to say, that would be the absolute best gift in the world for the Shillinglaw family.
We are extremely proud people and have never asked for help all of these years, but we need your help now! This treatment is not covered by health insurance, and will cost $20,000. We would be most thankful for any amount you can give – big or small! It all adds up, and every gift means so much to us.
Please click the GIVE button and give as much as you can. Also, please share this with your friends, via email, Facebook or other social media – there is power in numbers!
My dream is to be pain free so that I can get back to work and support my beautiful family, who have been so amazingly supportive of me during this very, very difficult time.
Thank you in advance for supporting our family in our time of need, and for listening to my story.
I have suffered for the last fourteen years trying to maintain any "quality" of life outside of this pain that fills my body every minute of every day. It has turned my life into incurable agony! Some days it is so bad that I lay in bed all day in tears. My wonderful 14 year old son, Zack has never known me—the true me—for I have had this chronic painful condition his entire life. It broke my heart many years ago when the number one item on his letter to Santa read “For Dad’s arm to be better"… I would love nothing more than to be able to throw him a baseball, take him fishing, wrestle with him, volunteer as a team Dad, classroom parent, or even just go for a hike. Unfortunately with this acute pain, these simple activities are just not possible.
Immediately following the accident we tried to settle in mediation with the doctor, but she denied any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, with this disease there is not a test to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have this condition. The doctor had deeper pockets in order to fight a protracted legal battle. We got scared, so she ultimately wore us down and my lawyer suggested we give up, so we did. I continued working for seven years after the accident, but I got to the point where I couldn’t even hold a hair dryer, so I had to quit. Since then I have been unable to work at all, with the exception of some paintings that I create for the company my wife Katie works for.
I have spent more than a decade trying every treatment that is out there. I have tried pain killers, mirror therapy, heat therapy, electric stimulation, infrared, nerve blocks, trigger point injections and even been to Stanford in search of any new treatments they are currently researching. None of these treatments have worked, and in fact, my CRPS just keeps getting worse each year. It has spread from my arm down to my legs, and I now walk with a limp, and have to use a cane every day. All we have to show for these treatments is a huge pile of medical bills, which have decimated our life savings.
Recently I have heard of a treatment that has been around for a few years and has had extremely good outcomes for patients with CRPS. It involves using Ketamine (an anesthetic and pain killer) in a drip to induce a trance like state that can reset the nervous system (like rebooting a computer) and end the pain of CRPS. I have talked to numerous friends who have had the treatment and it has worked extremely well for them. My wife, Katie, and I have also done a huge amount of research, and we are very hopeful that this will work for me. We have found a clinic that has administered this treatment to many CRPS patients, and they have accepted me for treatments starting December 7. The treatment would be done just before Christmas, which would mean that I might have my first Christmas without excruciating pain in 14 years! Needless to say, that would be the absolute best gift in the world for the Shillinglaw family.
We are extremely proud people and have never asked for help all of these years, but we need your help now! This treatment is not covered by health insurance, and will cost $20,000. We would be most thankful for any amount you can give – big or small! It all adds up, and every gift means so much to us.
Please click the GIVE button and give as much as you can. Also, please share this with your friends, via email, Facebook or other social media – there is power in numbers!
My dream is to be pain free so that I can get back to work and support my beautiful family, who have been so amazingly supportive of me during this very, very difficult time.
Thank you in advance for supporting our family in our time of need, and for listening to my story.
Organizer
Katie Steinwart Shillinglaw
Organizer
Novato, CA