Help Heather Get Specialized Care in Nebraska!

If you are in the fitness community in greater Newburyport, you may know Heather Thompson: She is an expert in Applied Functional Science committed to the growth and wellness of her clients and participants of Choice Fitness Classes.

Heather is a gifted and dedicated practitioner of exercise science who has helped hundreds of people of all ages to gain strength, stability, mobility and confidence in their bodies. For those who have worked with Heather, they know that she is a stand-out for her knowledge and continual learning.

Now, Heather needs our help. We are asking friends, family and students of Heather to contribute so that she can receive the specialized care she needs in Lincoln, Nebraska through the Postural Restoration Integrative Multidisciplinary Engagement (PRIME) Program. This program helped Heather to recover from serious accidents and mitigate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

In phase one of our campaign, Heather is looking to raise $10,000 by the fall of 2024 to make the first of a series of visits to Nebraska.

The program involves a holistic assessment of functions of visual/vestibular orientation, anterior neck function, lateral rotary rib and respiratory function in order to find a way to balance function in the most holistic manner.

Background: As an avid cyclist, Heather has experienced not one, but two terrible bicycle accidents where she suffered spinal and brain injuries that have led to cascading neurological, vision and nervous system challenges. These accidents were in 2010 and 2019. On top of that, in 2017 she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a progressive auto-immune condition that causes pain and her job as a fitness instructor even more challenging.

Heather’s first bike accident happened in August 2010, and left her with brain injury and trauma to her upper cervical spine. This was when she was first referred to the specialists at the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI ), part of the team that offers the PRIME Program. Dr. Ron Hruska and his team are out-of-the-box thinkers taking a whole-systems approach to body functioning.

As for her second accident, Heather writes: “On September 17, 2019 I was pushed into the breakdown lane by a passing car while riding my bicycle, and hit the back of a 18-wheeler that was parked in the breakdown lane, headfirst. Because the injury was missed in the emergency room, I spent seven weeks with my clavicle pressed back into my neck, and in this time had a TIA (mini-stroke) and the first of many deep vein thrombosis episodes in my right hand. The injury and the unceasing complications have left me with a right upper limb that has very minimal function.”

“I have tried everything within the model of standard allopathic medicine to treat this, including experimental Botox treatments performed by one of the world's leading thoracic surgeons. I was able to have a surgery on my right hand in October of 2022 and while that did not restore any function to my hand, it did give me some relief from pain.”

Heather’s goal is to be treated at this unique and integrative center to regain motion in her clavicle, reduce pain, be fitted for new specialized glasses, and generally improve her quality of life.

The clavicle is an “axle” for upper extremity “swing”; it has a dramatic impact on whole body lateralization, rotation, and upright orientation, along with the ability to tune anterior neck muscles for breath, swallowing and vocalization. It is tied strongly to respiratory function, visual and vestibular function alongside the obvious dramatic effects on upper extremity (and lower extremity) function.

Having experienced such improvements after her last series of visits to Nebraska, Heather is determined to go back for neuromuscular and vision treatments. This will take several visits over several days, and none of this has been covered by her health insurance.

“At this point, I believe that the only hope of restoring function to my arm is to get to Lincoln, Nebraska to work with the therapists at the Hruska Clinic and the PRIME Program,” said Heather. “One of my greatest needs that I know they will be able to help me with is my neuro ophthalmological needs. I wear a three diatrope prism over my right eye because of the first bike accident, and with my clavicle injury I am having a lot of visual disturbances. This includes double vision and a general malaise/nausea When I'm using my eyes during movement. I am unable to turn my head and move my eyeballs at the same time without provoking severe symptoms that can disable me the rest of the day. This means that even backing out of my driveway is beyond my capabilities most days. I still do it, but I don't have much quality of life with these limitations.”

Heather is seeking additional treatment at the Craniofacial Pain Center, also in Lincoln, Nebraska. “Through using orthotropic devices in the mouth, function can be further stabilized as the body needs a solid foundation from the top down if it is to have optimal function," Heather explains. “In 2011 and 2012, I took a dozen trips out to Nebraska to receive all of the treatment. Some of my trips were three days long when we were just making small adjustments, the longest day that I did was 10 days when we were struggling to find solutions and I needed constant assessment.”

To know Heather is to admire and love her. She is strong, persistent, and has borne tremendous pain and suffering in her young life, all while pushing herself to continue learning and helping others on their fitness journeys.

Please join us in giving generously! You can make a one-time or recurring contribution through this GoFundMe site, or you can mail a check to support Heather’s health journey to: Heather Thompson, 153 Merrimac St., Apt. 1 , Newburyport, MA 01950.

Thank you!

Natalie and friends of Heather