Give Tyler Hope: Support his Life Changing Surgery

My nephew Tyler has lived with agonizing pain since birth. Finally, he has found hope. Tyler needs your help to access the treatment he desperately needs to relieve this pain and to live a full life.

Tyler is 26 years old and is unable to function because of the pain. The pain has made simple daily tasks excruciating, and it has hindered his ability to pursue his dreams and passions. He cannot perform basic everyday tasks, like cooking and cleaning. He cannot work or go to school. He desperately wants to go to school to become a recreation therapist.

During birth, Tyler suffered a severe traumatic injury to the nerves in his brachial plexus. This injury left him with significant paralysis, progressive muscle imbalances and tissue wasting. This caused his shoulder and elbow muscles, tendons, and joints to shorten over time, causing painful deformities and arthritis. The most debilitating effect is the searing unrelenting nerve pain that begins in his neck, runs through his shoulder, down his arm and hand, and finally shoots out his fingers.

Since birth, Tyler has been provided with medical care in Edmonton. At four years old, he was referred to the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver where he underwent an experimental surgery to improve the range of motion in his shoulder and arm. With this surgery, he gained the ability to do things like catch a ball, lift, and carry items. Unfortunately, he did not regain his ability to rotate his arm inward. This meant he could not perform tasks like doing up shirt buttons or zip up a coat. Worst of all, his tiny disfigured, mostly paralyzed arm, now hung fixed in an awkward and very painful position.

As Tyler grew, this unremitting pain intensified steadily. It has now reached the point of devastation, where he is unable to have any meaningful quality of life.

Tyler and his parents asked repeatedly for help from doctors in Edmonton, but at every turn their concerns were dismissed. The results from the few diagnostic tests that were provided at the insistence of his parents were not adequately followed up on, and requests for referrals to medical specialists with more expertise than was available in Edmonton were dismissed.

In 2022, Tyler was told by a group of surgeons that there were no further diagnostic tests, surgical interventions, or physical treatments available to relieve the unrelenting pain he experiences.

Devastated by this news and desperate to reduce his suffering, Tyler’s family began an exhaustive search to learn whether there were treatment options outside of Alberta’s publicly funded medical system. To accomplish this, they have spent nearly $80,000. This cost includes advanced diagnostic testing, consultations with medical specialists in both Alberta’s private clinics and elsewhere in Canada and in the United States.

Tyler has found hope with a highly specialized brachial plexus surgical team, located at New York’s Langone’s Health Center who have researched and performed thousands of surgeries for people who suffer with rare and complex brachial plexus injuries, from birth right into adulthood. In Canada, this level of expertise and surgical experience does not exist. Their experience is vital to providing Tyler with the treatment he so desperately needs.

Tyler's family paid $5,000 to a specialized consulting firm to assist in applying to the Alberta Government for financial support for this surgery. With the firm's expertise, the medical of the investigations and consultations paid for by his family, Alberta Health Services agreed to pay for the medical costs associated with this surgery, in New York City.

However, accommodations, airfare for his parents, daily expenses (transportation, laundry, food, etc.), in addition to medications and supplies after he is discharged from the hospital are not paid for. Tyler and his parents will have to stay in New York City for up to 30 days for pre- and post-surgical care. The expected cost for this is $90,000.

This procedure offers Tyler a chance to live a life without constant suffering, where he can regain his independence and engage in a more meaningful life. However, the financial and emotional burden to get to this point has been heavy. Tyler's parents have been relentless in searching out this treatment for their son and have drained their savings to help him access this surgery. They will also have to take a minimum of four weeks off work to support Tyler through this procedure.

I am asking for your generous support to help cover the costs associated with this procedure. Tyler has amazing parents (my sister and her husband), and Tyler is an incredible young man who has endured a lot. Your contribution, no matter the amount, will make a significant difference in Tyler's life and help to alleviate his family’s financial burden. They will be grateful for any support that you can provide.

This campaign has been created and is managed by me, Tyler’s aunt Tanya. All donations are going directly to support the expenses associated with Tyler’s treatment at New York Langone Health Center. Any remaining funds will be donated to the United Brachial Plexus Network.

To learn more about brachial plexus injury and its effect on those who suffer with this condition visit https://ubpn.org.