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.

Every single day since then, I have been fighting to get my life back.

Cervical cranial instability and atlanto-axial instability generally take 3-10 years to be properly diagnosed. It is a progressive disability.

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.

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. Most of them made me significantly worse.

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.

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.

Regenerative procedures are my only ticket out of this. 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.

My overhead is approx. $4,700/month, but my medical bills are approx. between $2k and up.

-The PICL is between $12k and $15k (not including flight/hotel)

-I need to continue specialized PT at $100 per session, 2x a week

-I still have to get my head screwed back on (adjusted) about every 2 weeks. Approx. $700/month.

-I have EMDR therapy 2x a month for medical trauma at $180 per session.

-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.

-The cost for supplements and electrolytes to simmer my POTS and MCAS symptoms down.

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. 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.