Hi everyone!! I am raising funds for a procedure to treat my upper cervical instability.

Recently via imaging it has finally been confirmed that the ligaments holding my cervical spine together are deteriorated and unable to hold my vertebrae in a stable position, causing craniocervical instability that has led to years of severe headaches, neck and back pain, POTS, nerve pain, fatigue, migraines, brain fog, gastroparesis, blurred vision, and a feeling of intense pressure in my head caused by my atlas bone putting pressure on my brain stem. These symptoms have made my life a lot harder than it needs to be, and I have struggled to balance it all with working full time, caring for my home and family, being a community organizer, and pursuing my hobbies of art and music. Years of trying to keep up with everything amidst the challenges of this illness has caught up to me physically and I am no longer able to do many of the things I have always loved doing.

The PICL procedure is my chance to get my life back. It will help my body repair the ligaments in my cervical spine, improving stability and hopefully resolving many of the symptoms that have held me back for so long. I have already tried prolotherapy, which helped for a few years, but only the PICL procedure can access the alar and transverse ligaments needed to restore upper cervical stability. There is only one clinic in the world (the Centeno-Schultz Clinic in Broomfield, Colorado) that offers this procedure, making it my only real option for lasting relief and saving myself from descending into more severe disability as time goes on with this being untreated. The downside is that the total cost of the procedure is going to be between $12,000-15,000, so I’m trying to raise as much money as I can towards that total amount. But the good news is that this procedure will help me avoid something much more expensive and high-risk like spinal fusion surgery.

It would mean the world to me to have a second chance at a life without constant pain and neurological symptoms. I know times are tough for everyone, so any donation no matter how small means so much to me. Thank you for reading my story and for considering supporting my journey to healing❤️‍