Hands Not Knives

And now, a message from my mommy...

My sweet Sarah Boo is raising money for a specialized form of physical therapy to release abdominal adhesions and intestinal obstruction. She has been suffering horribly for many years, with intense pain, anxiety, intestinal infections, and generally messed up bodily function. She has seen every doctor and tried every treatment. She is unable to work, and the only option that remains (aside from a very risky surgery) is a special form of manual therapy that is only offered in a handful of cities around the country. She is hoping to do the intensive therapy week at the end of March in Pasadena, CA, but insurance will not cover it, there are travel expenses, and the therapy itself is expensive. I am reaching out on her behalf to anyone who is willing and able to help.

Here is a little more about her story…

Adhesions are bands of tissue that form as a response to trauma or inflammation, and can fuse parts of organs to themselves, to muscles, the abdominal wall, and other surrounding structures. They can pinch nerves and blood vessels, obstruct intestines, inhibit organ function, and restrict range of motion. If a partial bowel obstruction becomes a complete obstruction as adhesions worsen, the intestines can rupture and it can result in severe complications, or even death.

It took several years, the better part of a decade really, for Sarah to even be diagnosed with adhesions. Because they cannot be seen on imaging tests, she was passed from doctor to doctor for a long time, and no one really heard or believed her. The few doctors who validated her symptoms still didn’t know how to get to the root of the problem. About four or five years ago she finally got access to naturopathy, and over time, some incredibly skilled and compassionate doctors found her adhesions with their hands, and helped her put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Since the beginning of this process, she has spent thousands of dollars on medical care, thousands of hours on treatments, bodywork, physical therapy exercises, research, anything she could learn or do to make it better. All the while she was working 50-60 hour weeks as a teacher in a school that she loved so much, she kept doing it even after she was too sick to manage because she didn’t want to leave the students or the community. She has educated herself in the workings of the digestive system, the nervous system, nutrition, physiology, psychology, trauma, you name it. She has made huge lifestyle changes over and over and has been a ferocious advocate for herself in a medical system full of obstacles, exploring everything she could find, leaving no stone unturned, no treatment untried. Even with all her efforts, although there have been improvements in some ways, the tissue that is blocking her intestines and pinching nerves and wrecking her life is holding strong. It has not let her go. My baby girl has lost her beloved teaching job, most of her social life, her sense of normalcy and wellbeing. She has been working on a disability claim for almost 10 months, and they still have not made a decision. She is almost out of savings and cannot get her state health insurance to cover the therapy (because it is out of network/in another state).

The only treatment conventional medicine really has to offer for what she is suffering from is surgery. She has almost had that surgery twice, but pulled back and tried to use other methods (restrictive diets, FSM treatment, PT/yoga, etc.) because of the risks. The surgery to remove the adhesions… causes adhesions. *facepalm here* There is also a risk of puncturing organs and even a risk of death. Most people who get the laparoscopy to remove adhesions end up having to repeat the surgery over and over because the adhesions just keep growing back. This is why she has avoided the surgery for so long. She has truly been between a rock and a hard place.

So… where to go from here? After recent flare ups that almost sent her to the ER for emergency surgery, Sarah has found a physical therapy clinic that offers manual therapy for release of abdominal adhesions and bowel obstruction. It is the only treatment method that truly offers an alternative to surgery for people suffering from this awful problem, and there are only a handful of locations around the U.S. She has found clinical studies showing high levels of success, looked into the education and training of the therapists, patient testimonials, and compared every aspect with typical outcomes of surgery, and for the first time in years… she is hopeful. WE are hopeful. She actually discovered this method almost two years ago when she was on medical leave from her teaching job, frantically trying to find a solution to her symptoms so she could return to work before running out of sick hours… but she didn’t think it would be possible. Insurance wouldn’t cover it, and she would have had to cover travel expenses too, while going without a paycheck. Maybe, just maybe, there was something more affordable and closer to home that could help her get better. She tried more therapies and returned to work (and not too long after, she had to leave the job). Almost two years later, after even more trying and so much pain and loss, all of the options have been exhausted, and she is still too sick to work. Most of the time she’s too sick to do everyday things like grocery shopping, cooking everything for herself because of the restrictive diets she has to be on, cleaning the house, organizing medical stuff, running errands, etc. She does it anyway. I don’t even know how. She rarely asks for help even when she needs it, which upsets me, as you can imagine. She has always pushed beyond limits in her drive to survive. And our society doesn’t provide the kind of medical care or social safety net that she has needed.

I have watched her suffer for too long, helpless to alleviate her pain. With this therapy, there might finally be light at the end of the tunnel. After everything she has done to get here, and so much of herself that she has given the world, she needs our help now. She would rather do just about anything than ask for money, and she was having a hard time writing this, so I wrote it for her. Because I love her, and she deserves it! We all deserve to be well, and to receive the treatment we need when we aren't. Once she gets better, Sarah wants to go into healthcare to help people who have struggled like her. There is no doubt in my mind about what my amazing daughter will pay forward when she is finally allowed to heal.

Every dollar counts, so whatever you give, no matter how small (even if it’s just words of encouragement, prayers, or positive thoughts)… we appreciate you!

Here is her expense breakdown:

$7500 - intensive therapy week at Clear Passage

$1500 - travel expenses for 8-day trip

$1000 - living expenses during recovery time/awaiting disability decision

For more information on bowel obstruction, adhesions, methods of treatment, patient testimonials, and treatment outcomes, check out this part of clinic’s website (it's a great breakdown of everything): https://clearpassage.com/services/recurring-bowel-obstructions/