Help Kat get treatment to stop a CSF leak

Hello, my name is Mariana Depetris and I want to help my friend Kat with her condition and treatment. Kat has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Ehlers-Danlos is a group of heritable connective tissue disorders that affect bones, ligaments, skin, blood vessels and other connective tissues throughout the body. When the ligaments become too lax, it is like an old rubber band, unable to hold a tight shape.

This allows the bones to move & shift around.

Very often the vertebrae in the neck and spine are affected. As these shift and move they can press on important vasculature, nerves and "pipes" that run through the spine and brain .

This causes cranial pressure to build up and, from that, a slew of symptoms including but not limited to, blurry/double vision, pulsating Tinnitus, chronic migraines and being 60% to 70% bed bound to manage the condition.

If the cranial pressure gets too high, the dura can rupture. This is a cerebral spinal fluid leak (CSF).

Sometimes the leaks can require extensive invasive treatment and hospital stays to correct or they can heal on their own. The trouble is that the leaks will continue to happen if the pressure isn't addressed and be detrimental to brain blood and function presenting a pathway for life threatening CNS infection, including meningitis.

For Kat to heal this the structure of the neck has to be corrected. This solves the cascade of other problems by proxy.

Highly invasive surgery as cervical (neck) spinal fusions are usually the go to that insurance will pay for.

However, for EDS patients, this has a very low success rate. Those who do find relief are moderate at best, and are usually back to square one within 3 years.

The treatment that Kat needs involves prolotherapy injections.

They are minimally invasive, don't fuse the spine forever and target the ligaments themselves. The success rate is much higher with an almost 100% improvement even up to 10 years later.

This is not something covered by insurance and is completely out of pocket.

Having this treatment would ensure that Kat can heal and live a full and purposeful life.

So, you see, Kat is one of the most giving and compassionate people that I know. She is a dedicated animal lover and activist. She's helped countless animals as a foster mom, while having her own animals too. She's always made room to help one more furry baby find a home. Kat is also a very talented artist, and as you know many artists do not have sometimes the financial solvency to get the treatment that they need if it's not covered by insurance.

I hope that you consider this cause and join me in helping Kat get the treatment that she needs to recover!

Here is the breakdown of expenses, as the treatment involves a neurologist here in Atlanta (this is covered by insurance), a chiropractor (not covered) and the Hauser Neck Center in Fort Myers, Florida with Dr. Ross Hauser, MD, expert on cervical spine instability, where the majority of the will take place:

Consider helping Kat and any help is welcome! no matter how small or large.

In exchange you will receive an original hand pulled print by me! Make sure to include an email address or a way for me to contact you and allow 3 weeks to receive it.