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 On 12/10/2024, I was injured by my chiropractor just a few days after I landed back in America. I knew something went wrong immediately after an end-of-range adjustment. Thirty minutes later, I had a neurological episode and couldn't hold my head up.
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 Every single day since then, I have been fighting to get my life back.
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 <strong>Cervical cranial instability and atlanto-axial instability generally take 3-10 years to be properly diagnosed. It is a progressive disability.</strong>
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 I was mocked, gaslit, and misdiagnosed for 10 months while I increasingly became disabled, with multiple systems in my body malfunctioning. After my 3rd ER visit in May 2025, I realized the medical system was not going to save me. I had to become my own doctor, working overtime. I barreled through over 80 doctors and practitioners and over 400 appointments in less than a year. Countless hours of research, imaging, procedures, and dozens of blood tests led me to self-diagnose first. Then I found the specialists to properly diagnose me with: CCI, AAI, POTS, MCAS, and hEDS.
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 <strong>There is no clear pathway to care, and I had to endure the expense and horrific trial-and-error process of finding the right hands to help put me back together.</strong> Most of them made me significantly worse.
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 No words I could ever sew together will ever truly convey the horror of having your brain stem, blood vessels, oxygen, and cranial nerves compressed.
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 I had to stop working in July 2025 and lost my PPO through SAG-AFTRA in April 2026. However, because the medical system doesn't believe having the head properly attached to the body is an issue, there is no “code” for CCI/AAI. Everything has been out of pocket. I have spent well over $100k, not including the $100k spent for my overhead without an income.
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 <strong>Regenerative procedures are my only ticket out of this.</strong> I started with 3 rounds of prolotherapy, and unfortunately, it's not working. I have to make the jump to PRP and stem cells. I have to target not just the posterior ligaments, but the anterior ligaments as well. The clinic that developed the PICL, a procedure that targets not just the posterior ligaments but the anterior as well, is the Centeno-Schultz Clinic in Colorado. I will be working with Dr. Schultz. I feel defeated with all I have done. I was too afraid to take this step because the recovery is a harrowing rollercoaster for 6 months, and it's possible I will need a 2nd PICL.
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 My overhead is approx. $4,700/month, but my medical bills are approx. between $2k and up.
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 -The PICL is between $12k and $15k (not including flight/hotel)
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 -I need to continue specialized PT at $100 per session, 2x a week
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 -I still have to get my head screwed back on (adjusted) about every 2 weeks. Approx. $700/month.
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 -I have EMDR therapy 2x a month for medical trauma at $180 per session.
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 -I have had 3 stellate ganglion blocks for CPTSD (unplugs then re-plugs the sympathetic nervous system). I anticipate 2-3 more rounds will be needed (I need one now). The effects last me about 2 months. They are $2,300.
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 -The cost for supplements and electrolytes to simmer my POTS and MCAS symptoms down.
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 <strong>Please, I ask on humble knees for your help. Every donation, no matter how small, helps me continue getting the right treatment and keep me afloat in this ridiculous economy.</strong> It turns out I really want this life of mine. I have so much to offer this world, and so much I want to do with the life I have fought so hard to keep.
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Phoebe Zimmermann

Trudie Arguelles

Anonymous

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Help Anahi Get Her Life Back after a Cervical Injury

Help Anahi Get Her Life Back after a Cervical Injury

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