Help Marla Bentley While She Heals!

This fall, Marla started experiencing severe pain and numbness from her neck down her left arm and hand as well as left hip through her foot; it had gotten to the point that she was dropping things, stumbling, and generally unable to function normally. After having an MRI, it turned out that she had several discs pressing on and bruising her spinal cord, for which surgery was the only option – no other treatment or therapies would help. So, on December 20th, 2019 she had surgery that initially appeared to be successful … until the next day, when Marla couldn't move her arms. They discovered she was suffering from a rare post-operative complication known as C5 Deltoid Palsy , which occurs in approximately 10% of cervical spine surgeries like hers. She is afflicted in both arms, which is even more rare. The palsy is seldom permanent, but the time needed for the nerves to recover varies widely; unfortunately, doctors say it could take more than a year. Currently, her arms have very limited mobility, so she can’t dress or bathe herself, nor drive.

She’s doing so much in therapy and at home to get better, but naturally she can’t work until her nerves repair themselves. Since she has been unemployed since June and exhausted most of her unemployment benefits, she has applied for disability support and food stamps, but the review processes for these programs take FOREVER. She’s worried that in the meantime she’s going to lose her house and car, as well as ruin her credit for the future. I’d like to raise enough money to cover her bills for 6 months (when we hope social service programs will kick in), roughly $10,000. Would you be willing to help her? Let’s ease her mind of financial troubles so she can focus on getting well!