Help Dana Get Life-Changing Pain Relief

Help Dana Get Life-Changing Pain Relief

My sister Dana has been through more than most could imagine. She’s been battling severe hip pain due to a torn hip labrum and a vascular lesion in her hip, conditions that make even the simplest daily activities—sitting, walking up the stairs, or squatting—excruciating. She has labral tears in both the posterior (back) and antersuperior (upper front) parts of her hip joint. Dana is under the care of Dr. Tiffany Lin at Weill Cornell Medicine and Dr. Ariana Lott at NYU Langone and has exhausted all other treatment options.

Unfortunately, Dana’s insurance, Cigna, refuses to cover the only treatment left that could help her: Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. Dr. Lott has said she is not a good candidate for surgery, and repeated steroid injections have only weakened and damaged her cartilage. After trying nerve blocks with no success, her doctors have told her that these injections are her best chance at relief.

Why We Need Your Help

Dana has been unable to work for months after undergoing surgeries on both wrists. On top of that, she’s had to spend her savings on migraine treatments that her insurance wouldn’t cover. The cost of these hip injections is steep: $1,000 per injection…and it’s estimated that 3-5 are needed.

Any contribution, big or small, will help Dana afford the care she desperately needs.

Dana’s Story

Many of you know that Dana has faced decades of misdiagnoses and dismissive doctors. It wasn’t until 2023—well into her 30s—that a geneticist begrudgingly ordered testing and she was correctly diagnosed with a rare genetic form of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disease affecting the joints, blood vessels, skin, and internal organs that affects approximately 1 in 50,000 people. This gene results in a condition that causes weakened connective tissue, rapid joint degeneration, severe pain, and organ ruptures. Because of the delayed diagnosis, irreversible damage has already begun in all of her joints and circulatory system.

Over a decade ago, Dana had to give up her dream of running her own business just so she could get employer-sponsored health insurance. She has fought tirelessly for answers, traveling to the Mayo Clinic in 2014 and 2019 and advocating for herself despite being told she was ‘too young’ to be in this much pain.

Let’s Help Dana Get Her Life Back

There is no cure for Dana’s condition, but these treatments could finally give her the relief she deserves. She’s spent years battling pain and medical gatekeeping—let’s help her take this next step toward healing.

If you can’t donate, please consider sharing this page. Every bit of support helps Dana get closer to a life where she isn’t defined by pain.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. ❤