I am Nejra Lilic. I am Bosnian by roots, with Croatia as my second home, and I currently live in the United States, in Washington, D.C.

For the past year and a half, my life has been slowly taken over by a condition that, until recently, did not even have a name. I have been diagnosed with craniocervical instability (CCI); a condition in which the ligaments in the upper cervical spine are too loose to support the weight of the skull.

In my case, the ligaments from C0 (the base of the skull) down to C5 are unstable. This means that my neck can no longer properly support my head. Movements that most people never think about , looking up or down, turning my head, or bending forward , can trigger severe symptoms. I often have to wear a neck brace just to get through the day.

I live with daily, debilitating pain, including occipital neuralgia, a severe form of nerve pain often described as relentless migraine attacks. Because unstable ligaments compress nerves and surrounding structures, I also experience neurological symptoms: blurred vision, temporary loss of vision for seconds at a time, dizziness, and an inability to safely move my head in any direction other than straight ahead.

Normal life activities have become either impossible or extremely restricted. Cooking, cleaning, exercising, cycling, running, even getting dressed, can be painful, exhausting, or unsafe. Every movement must be calculated.

Over the past year, I have exhausted all conservative treatments: physical therapy, chiropractic care, specialized MRIs, dynamic motion X-rays, nerve blocks, steroid injections, and prolotherapy. While I do have health insurance, most of these treatments, and the ones now recommended, are not covered, as CCI is a rare and newly recognized condition. Along with my health, our financial resources have been exhausted.

I am now seeking help to pursue an investigational treatment called PICL (Percutaneous Injection of the Cervical Ligaments). This procedure is currently performed in one clinic in the world, in Denver, Colorado. First procedure is scheduled for February 16 2026. Each treatment costs approximately $15,000, and a minimum of two procedures is required. In addition, proper recovery requires specialized post-care, including treatment with an AO-certified chiropractor, follow-up imaging, and rehabilitation, adding over $7,000 in additional necessary costs.

In simple terms, the procedure involves harvesting bone marrow from my lower back, isolating stem cells, and reinjecting them, through the throat using advanced 3D guidance and robotic fluoroscopy, into the damaged cervical ligaments to help them strengthen and stabilize.

I am pursuing this option in hopes of avoiding a far more invasive surgery: cervical fusion, which involves permanently stabilizing the neck with screws and hardware and eliminating movement. This treatment represents the last step before that point.

For these reasons, our fundraising goal is $45,000, which would cover the minimum required procedures and essential post-treatment care.

This condition affects every second of my life. I am asking for help not because this is easy to share, but because I want a chance to regain stability, dignity, and a future with less pain.

Any support, whether through donating or sharing, truly means more than I can express.

I am happy to provide medical documentation or additional information to anyone who wishes to learn more.

Thank you for reading and for being here.