Help Hannah Gruber Fight CRPS

Hello. My name is Stephany Martinez. I have created this page to ask you to read Hannah's story and consider helping our dear friends, the Gruber family, Jeff, Betsy, Hannah, and Ella. Hannah was diagnosed with CRPS in the sixth grade. However, since June of 2021, Hannah’s CRPS has been agitated which has seriously impacted her health and her day to day living. She has endured many hospital stays (with the most recent one being out of state) lasting up to two months at a time, sometimes longer. Currently, Hannah is already on her third extended hospital stay since the beginning of 2023. As you can imagine, medical bills are quickly piling up. Jeff and Betsy are having to divide and conquer to ensure Hannah receives the medical care she needs, while keeping things as normal as they can for Hannah’s sister, Ella.

Please take a few minutes to read Hannah’s story…written by Hannah herself. Please prayerfully consider donating to this beautiful girl and her family.

Hannah's Story:

Starting in June of 2021, I experienced an adverse reaction with my rare nerve disorder called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, causing severe neurological and gastrointestinal problems. As a teenager, this has been life changing. Below is my story:

Since the summer of 2021, my health has spiraled downhill with continuous stomach pain, neuropathy, malnutrition; eventually landing in the intensive care unit of the hospital for now the third time. Recently, I also found out I have had an undiagnosed anemia disorder for months adding to my already complicated health problems.

Until the beginning of this new year, finding the necessary medical care seemed like only a dream. After 18 long months of searching for skilled, understanding and appropriate treatment, we finally are receiving the help desperately needed from Children's Mercy Hospital in Missouri.

However, recovery means slow progress that requires months of therapies both in and out of the hospital in an entirely different state. Having two full time working parents with limited hours of time to take off has put additional stress on our current situation.

While being hospitalized far away from home, our family has been separated by state lines in order to have one parent in the hospital while the other stays in Nebraska to work and try to keep medical coverage. Currently, with only one source of income, it is becoming difficult to financially sustain our family. Since my health issues have been going on for some time, Mom has run out of paid leave and Dad is getting close. I feel the burden of our stacking bills and the pressure it is putting on my sister and our parents.

I will be in the hospital for a few more weeks or potentially months depending on how I progress with my pain management, nutrient absorption, improvement of blood levels, and physical rehabilitation. The plan is I will return home to recover further, then in the spring, come back to Children's Mercy to be evaluated to participate in an outpatient 4-10 week program for Rehabilitation Amplified Pain Syndromes (RAPS).

Until then, however, we need a way to fund the medical expenses of the hospital stay as well as the outpatient services going to be used once home. To further complicate things, some of the treatments that are helping me significantly are not covered under our insurance plan. With the out of pocket costs, and a healing process that is expected to take many months and/or years before reaching optimal health, this means expenses will build up during this undetermined period of time.

Thank you for reading my story and bringing more awareness to my lesser known medical condition Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Any help, encouragement, and support is deeply appreciated because we have realized what a significant difference even the smallest contribution or act of compassion has made for us along this journey. Thank you for your generosity and understanding for anyone willing to donate to our cause! We never would have made it this far without the grace of the people around us!