<div>Fighting for Care After a Stroke and Rare Condition No One Believed
</div>
<div>Help Barbara Johnson Recover from a Stroke and Rare Diagnosis
</div>
<div>Hi, I’m Sammy Wentz, and I’m raising funds for my mom, Barbara Johnson (Pritchett).
</div>
<div> A System That Failed Her
</div>
<div>Barbara did everything patients are told to do—she reported her symptoms, followed up, and asked for help. But over and over, her symptoms were minimized or misdiagnosed. Even after clear signs of neurological trouble, she was told to take cold medicine.
</div>
<div>It took a trip to Mayo Clinic to finally confirm her stroke. Only now is she beginning to receive referrals for rehab, deficit assessments, and answers for risks moving forward—months after the neurological event and while still experiencing serious symptoms.
</div>
<div>For many patients—and especially those with rare conditions—this is a pattern. Barbara is one of too many patients forced to fight for basic care while navigating a life-changing medical event.
</div>
<div> What Happened
</div>
<div>In April 2025, my mom experienced a terrifying wave of symptoms:
</div>
<div>• A sudden, severe nosebleed while preparing Easter dinner
</div>
<div>• Intense radiating pain through her neck, cheek, jaw, and head. With a nodule
</div>
<div>• Then even scarier symptoms: facial drooping and tingling on the left side of her face
</div>
<div>• Confusion and disorientation, including getting lost while driving—even with GPS
</div>
<div>She told my aunt, “I think I’m having a stroke.” But because she was still walking and talking, her concerns were dismissed.
</div>
<div>That night, she had the worst headache of her life, despite a recent shot for pain. Her symptoms were dismissed again as a “sinus headache”, and she was told to take over-the-counter meds.
</div>
<div>A few days later, a CT scan confirmed she had suffered a stroke. But because she never went to the ER and her care was so delayed, some neurologist initially labeled the damage “old”—despite active neurological symptoms and the neurological event that took place just 3 days prior.
</div>
<div>No ER visit. No neurologist. No stroke rehab. Just silence, confusion, and overwhelming pain.
</div>
<div> A Rare Diagnosis
</div>
<div>A month after the neurological event, Barbara was finally diagnosed with Eagle Syndrome—a rare condition in which elongated bones in the neck press against nerves and blood vessels.
</div>
<div>She had suffered symptoms for years—seen multiple specialists—and only now has a clear answer. One of her styloid bones is pressing just 2mm from her carotid artery—a known stroke risk. This condition likely worsened the chain of events that led to her stroke.
</div>
<div>Treatment requires bilateral surgery it is VITAL to have a experienced surgeon with moms being the vascular form of Eagles Syndrome. This involves the major blood vessels. Her surgeon needs to be highly qualified operating around these critical vascular structures the most qualified to perform this —Dr. Ryan Osborne in California—does not accept insurance.
</div>
<div>The total cost is $68,000 for both surgeries, and that doesn’t include travel, lodging, or recovery.
</div>
<div> Why We’re Asking for Help
</div>
<div>We’re hoping to raise $40,000. My mom took out a  loan, but it won’t cover everything.
</div>
<div>Your donation will help with:
</div>
<div>• The remaining surgical and hospital costs
</div>
<div>• Travel and lodging in California for two procedures
</div>
<div>• Post-op recovery and therapy
</div>
<div>• Basic living expenses while she’s unable to work
</div>
<div> Why This Matters
</div>
<div>My mom is the strongest person I know. She’s worked hard her whole life, helped others in quiet, unseen ways, and large very noticeable ways never asked for anything—until now.
</div>
<div>If you’ve ever felt dismissed by a doctor...
</div>
<div>If you’ve ever watched someone suffer while waiting for care...
</div>
<div>If you believe your health comes first and you need to find a way...
</div>
<div>Please help us give her a way to get the surgery she desperately needs—to remove the stroke risk her elongated styloid process continues to pose. She needs to be safe.
</div>
<div>We’ve never done a GoFundMe before, but we’re putting this in your hands now. If you know Barbara personally, please share a memory or kind thought—your words help others feel safe donating, too.
</div>
<div>From our hearts, thank you.
</div>
<div>– Sammy Wentz &amp; Family.
</div>

Anonymous

Cheryl Licht

Dave walton

Leland Policky

Dave Walton

Garret Moser

Bri Sullivan

Melissa Timm

Debra Rich

Jeanine Porter

Tina Allen

Grant Dickhute

Jennifer Bell

Andrea Gold

Chris Rytych

Mark Hutchison

Vicky Adams

James Dush

Help Barbara Recover from Stroke & Rare Condition

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Barbara Recover from Stroke & Rare Condition

Still $27,975 to go. Help us build momentum.