Help Sarah Get a Lifesaving Spinal Surgery
Donation protected
Sarah is a good friend of mine who was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome a few years back. What is Ehlers-Danos you ask? It's a group of disorders that affect connective tissues supporting the skin, bones, blood vessels, and many other organs and tissues. Defects in connective tissues cause the signs and symptoms of these conditions, which range from mildly loose joints to life-threatening complications. Unfortunately for Sarah, she is on the life-threatening end of the scale and she keeps getting worse.
Her neck at C0-1 has been dislocating dozens of times throughout the day, leaving her feeling stunned for a few minutes and unable to speak or move until it settles. The scariest thing is that it’s only a matter of time before she sneezes wrong or something similar and internally decapitates herself.
All of her joints have been even more unstable lately and every time she does something as simple as swallow, she can feel her throat dislocate, so something as simple as eating and drinking has to be done very carefully so that she doesn't choke. Even worse, her tethered spinal cord has made is so that she cannot feel anything in her abdomen and her GI system is shutting down. She has no energy and even chewing food she has to use her hands to help her jaw chew because she is too exhausted. She has also lost most of the feeling in her legs, so is basically wheelchair bound.
Sarah desperately needs to get to Maryland where there is a surgeon who can help her stabilize her neck. There is no one in Canada who can do this life-saving surgery, but for no good reason whatsoever, her Canadian health plan will not pay to get her the help she needs in the US. She has done everything possible to get doctors and politicians to listen to her here and is truly at the end of her rope.
Any donations are greatly appreciated as Sarah is on disability and she and her parents have already used all of their funds on a previous life-saving surgery. You will never find a more humble, positive, kind person than Sarah and since she won't ask for help herself, I'm hoping that we can do this for her.
Thanks for reading and for your help!
Please visit the attached link if you'd like to read her whole story as she has been documenting her journey.https://sarahsspinalinstabilityjourney.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR2FROYmMkpgtpw68MLL6ZykLtU3_EixctJN9VrSJGk6Fu5ntLzJTzt4KjQ
Her neck at C0-1 has been dislocating dozens of times throughout the day, leaving her feeling stunned for a few minutes and unable to speak or move until it settles. The scariest thing is that it’s only a matter of time before she sneezes wrong or something similar and internally decapitates herself.
All of her joints have been even more unstable lately and every time she does something as simple as swallow, she can feel her throat dislocate, so something as simple as eating and drinking has to be done very carefully so that she doesn't choke. Even worse, her tethered spinal cord has made is so that she cannot feel anything in her abdomen and her GI system is shutting down. She has no energy and even chewing food she has to use her hands to help her jaw chew because she is too exhausted. She has also lost most of the feeling in her legs, so is basically wheelchair bound.
Sarah desperately needs to get to Maryland where there is a surgeon who can help her stabilize her neck. There is no one in Canada who can do this life-saving surgery, but for no good reason whatsoever, her Canadian health plan will not pay to get her the help she needs in the US. She has done everything possible to get doctors and politicians to listen to her here and is truly at the end of her rope.
Any donations are greatly appreciated as Sarah is on disability and she and her parents have already used all of their funds on a previous life-saving surgery. You will never find a more humble, positive, kind person than Sarah and since she won't ask for help herself, I'm hoping that we can do this for her.
Thanks for reading and for your help!
Please visit the attached link if you'd like to read her whole story as she has been documenting her journey.https://sarahsspinalinstabilityjourney.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR2FROYmMkpgtpw68MLL6ZykLtU3_EixctJN9VrSJGk6Fu5ntLzJTzt4KjQ
Organizer and beneficiary
Lisa Cunnian
Organizer
Nanaimo, BC
Sarah Reynolds
Beneficiary