My name is Mackenzie, and, as the older sister, I have always felt protective and supportive of my younger sister: Annie. It is from this place of love and support where I am writing to anyone who can to please help my sister Annie raise funds for her Anterior Scoliosis Correction (ASC) surgery, so she can further her career as an EMT, start a family, and continue doing all her favorite things!

Annie is the most fiery, passionate, and compassionate person I’ve known. She is such a go-getter and when she has her heart set on something, there’s nothing that will get in her way. Even through all the chronic pain from scoliosis, she still is active and does her favorite things like volleyball, snowboarding, and roller-skating. Even through the fear of how her condition will progress, she is still looking to the future: to have children and start a family. Even when she was first diagnosed with scoliosis, she still wanted to be in a line of work where she could put her body on the line to help others.

While the military would not allow Annie to join due to her condition, she pivoted into EMS studies instead, and I think the universe knew this was her right path. At 23 years old, Annie has been caring for others as an EMT for 3 years now and was recently promoted as a Field Training Officer. She is now sharing her knowledge and making the world a safer place by teaching CPR and first aid classes to the public. I’ve never met anyone quite like Annie: so passionate about their job and even more compassionate about the people they help.

But now, Annie needs our help.

For those who might not be familiar with the condition, scoliosis is a side-to-side curve of the spine that may appear in an S or C shape. It is believed to be genetically predisposed and a progressive disease. Annie’s scoliosis is a double curve: 46.6° in the upper spine and 38.5° in the lower spine with bending worsening in the curve. For Annie, twisting too hard, or standing for long periods causes intense pain. Wanting to be a mom, the weight of bearing a child would be excruciating for her. The pain and the severity of her condition will likely get even worse unless interventions are made.

It appeared her only option would be a full spinal fusion which would indefinitely and incredibly limit her range of motion. While a traditional spinal fusion would address her scoliosis, the procedure would likely end Annie’s career as a healthcare provider. After she met with multiple Eastern Washington spine specialists, many said this would be one of the most complicated scoliosis cases on which they would have performed this surgery. Some doctors even turned Annie away because of the complexity of performing a spinal fusion on a case this severe.

Annie researched alternatives and found Anterior Scoliosis Correction: a newer procedure, but one that would grant her the best quality of life. She would no longer have to live with the chronic pain of her condition or the fear of how much more it will progress, nor will she have to live with the limited mobility that would come with a spinal fusion. That’s because this procedure will instead correct her curvature with a flexible cord that will allow for full mobility in her back.

The founders and pioneers of ASC, Drs. ABC, are based out of New Jersey and have taught the procedure to only a handful of other surgeons worldwide. Like Annie, most of their patients (over 75%) are outside of their local region of NJ, NY and PA, with nearly 20% being international. While ASC has a very high success rate, insurance does not see this procedure as the traditional way of correcting scoliosis, thus Annie is having to pay out-of-pocket for the surgery. There is no option for a payment plan and money is asked to be paid upfront.

The cost of this surgery goes by tiers based on the severity of the scoliosis. Annie falls under the highest tier—double complex curve. Just the surgery alone costs a total of $75,000. Annie will also have to travel cross-country for the procedure, spend one week in post-op receiving meds and some physical therapy, and another week spent locally in a hotel to ensure no complications occur. She is anticipating taking out a loan to afford all the costs associated with the surgery.

She very graciously received donations through holiday fundraisers that have gone directly to her high-yield savings account. Any donations made from this GoFundMe will go directly to Annie Clifton for the remaining balance of her surgery, inpatient hospitalization costs, hotel, and flights.

I ask– no– I beg that you please support my sister Annie by donating what you can. If you cannot donate, please share her story to help spread the word. With all the good that she does, let’s show her all the goodness and support that she can receive in turn.

Thank you for reading and for your consideration!