Help Cristal Continue Her Life-Saving Treatment

My name is Cristal. When I was 17, I was declared legally blind. According to the doctors, they could find no reason for the blindness, and optic nerve damage had no cure. When I asked if I would go completely blind later on, the doctors responded that they did not know. A year after my diagnosis, I lost most of my vision.

A little over a decade later, I started experiencing a ringing in my right ear. As time went on, it got worse and worse, and then one day I noticed I couldn’t hear as well out of that ear. I went to the ENT, and the hearing loss in one ear was so dramatic. She sent me in for an MRI. After receiving the results, she called me and told me that what caused my blindness in my teenage years was now spreading to the rest of my brain and was now also putting pressure on my auditory nerves. I told her that I had no idea what she was talking about; the doctors told me that there was no cause for my blindness. She told me, 'I’m comparing the notes. The biopsy they did came back inconclusive, so I think that’s why they didn’t tell you.' She said, 'I’m referring you out… I think you’re going to need another biopsy.'

The first neurosurgeon I saw said that he had never seen a case like mine in his 25 years of experience. The prognosis was that it would keep spreading, I would lose more senses, and I was going to go back home. Slowly but surely, I was not going to make it. If I was lucky, I would have a massive stroke, and then I would go that way. No neurosurgeon, no neurologist, no ENT could help me. I was sent home with nothing more than a 'good luck.'

I have gone through so much in life that my life being over maybe would not have been such a big deal. I was tired of fighting anyway, except for one thing. I was now a mother of a beautiful, brilliant five-year-old little girl. I couldn’t let go of her; I didn’t want to let go. I did not want history to repeat itself. I was only one when my mother passed away due to illness. As a result of that, I have lived a very tough childhood, like many of us in this world, too. I endured all types of abuse, neglect, and trauma.

It was terrifying to think what her life would be like without her mother, her mother who could love and protect her. I couldn’t bear the thought, so that was the moment I decided to fight. I clung onto my faith, and I started the hunt. Thank goodness, my background is in alternative medicine. I started doing my research, and then I found a doctor who would help me change my prognosis and literally save my life.

I started treatment in late June, and just in the first week, my health started improving. My symptoms started improving. I feel like the death sentence has been lifted. My hearing has improved, my neurological symptoms have improved, my energy, my ability to care for my daughter, and much more have improved. I feel hope again. I feel healthier, and I feel like I want to live and I want to continue to fight to live.

Treatment costs thousands of dollars. I am so grateful to my closest family members and friends who helped me to be able to make this treatment a reality. I am in need of a second round of treatment, but I stopped working in the fall of 2023 due to the illness. Medical bills and household bills started piling up.

I am sharing my story today because I want to inspire someone out there, someone who is also feeling lost, hopeless, and scared. I want them to know that there are alternatives. I want them to find hope again. I’m also sharing my story because I need your help to be able to receive a second round of treatment. Any amount is helpful; any amount gets me a little closer to my goal of healing and recovery. If you cannot help me in that way, please share my story. Sharing my story with others would be immensely helpful as well.

I want to thank you from the very, very bottom of my heart. Thank you for listening to my story, and thank you for helping me today. I am forever grateful, and I know my family is just as grateful for all of your help. There are not enough words for me to be able to explain and express my gratitude to all of you who are watching me right now and all of you who are helping me in any shape or form. Thank you, thank you, thank you.