Fund Mishel's Revision Scoliosis Surgery

Hello, my name is Mishel Tyurkova, and I'm fundraising for my ASC Scoliosis Revision Surgery. (More info here)

I have suffered from adolescent idiopathic roto-scoliosis since the age of 12. I have sought out and undergone various treatments for my condition before ultimately getting the ASC Scoliosis Surgery in October, 2019. I had several complications following the surgery, including a hemothorax (a collection of blood in the space between the chest wall and the lung) in my right lung, which had to be operated on twice. I thought that this surgery would resolve my spine issues and that I would finally be able to live life normally, however, I was mistaken.

At the beginning of 2021, I started experiencing a new pain in the thoracic (middle part) of my spine. This pain lasts for days at a time and greatly limits my physical ability, as well as being a significant emotional burden. Upon getting an x-ray, it was found out that the severity of my scoliosis had increased and that a tether from my surgery had broken. Prior to my initial surgery, the degrees of my scoliosis were 55 in the thoracic and 55 in the lumbar. Straight after surgery, the degrees of my scoliosis were T19 and L14. Now, the degrees of my scoliosis are T30 and L33 - meaning it has gotten twice as bad as it was straight after surgery (note that a healthy person’s spine does not exceed 10 degrees of curvature).

My scoliosis has negatively impacted all aspects of my life. I am no longer able to participate in dance, a long-term passion of mine, as well as other day-to-day physical activities. It has also resulted in significant body-image issues, bullying, and caused me to become depressed. I have also missed extensive periods of my secondary schooling in search of treatment and have had to defer my tertiary education due to pain and fatigue, and to receive treatment. If my scoliosis is left untreated, my spine will continue to worsen my state of living.

The cost of treatment is also extremely high: A revision ASC surgery allows me to have another chance at life - without the social, emotional, physical, and psychological burden of such a significant medical condition.

The cost of the revision ASC surgery is 230,000USD