Emily's Medical Fund
Donation protected
In 2006 I injured my back by awkwardly carrying a very heavy load. I have been coping with this injury since then. At times I have gone through periods that require complete rest and other times I've been able to function at decent capacity. Unfortunately, there has been a continuing worsening of the severity of the pain when it comes and the length of recovery time. Working with my massage therapist, chiropractor and exercise managed to help me increase level of activity and I was feeling very good the past couple of years.
Sadly, in January 2017, what should have been an uneventful, normal activity was not for my body. It resulted in me being on the couch in debilitating pain for 3 months. I have been working with a pain management doctor since February. Nothing seriously wrong shows up on my MRIs, making it difficult to know what course of treatment to pursue. We have done 3 rounds of trigger point injections and one round of epidural injections. While each treatment has had moderate success, after a year of working with him, I find myself almost back to square one. This means that I am currently not able to do very basic physical activities like sitting in an upright position in a chair or my own grocery shopping. Working is currently impossible.
While I do not have a diagnosis, in doing research I have finally come up with specific conditions that seem to fit what is going on. Both are very rare...I'm one in a million!!! If you want more info one is Thoracic Discogenic Pain Syndrome https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/96284-overview#showall
which can cause the other: Thoracic Radiculopathy https://g.co/kgs/rTd9by
Since the conservative approaches we have been trying all year have proven unsuccessful, I am now in the process of trying a more in-depth procedure. It is an electrical stim implant. I have a trial procedure scheduled for January 8th. If this is successful, the permanent procedure will be scheduled after this. It has a 6-8 week recovery window, with movement and lifting restrictions.
If this wasn't complicated enough, I also find myself in need another surgery. Two years ago I had a procedure called Uterine Fibroid Embolization because I have a very large growth in my uterus. Evidently, this procedure was unsuccessful. I now find myself in need of a hysterectomy. This procedure also has a 6-8 week recovery window. I am trying to overlap the procedures so that I can combine recovery time.
I have spent most of this year either incapacitated or at a very low level of function work wise. This means that I have maxed out a couple of credit cards paying for treatments and daily living expenses as well as burned through my savings. And now I find myself needing two medical procedures that will make my current line of work impossible for 3-4 more months.
I am exploring ways to earn money online. If you have any leads feel free to send them my way. I have limited experience with Word, Excel and Quickbooks.
I am minimizing my monthly expenses as much as possible, but insurance payments, doctors visits and procedure costs keep coming, along with regular daily living expenses. Having assistance with these would greatly reduce my stress level and help me focus on healing.
Sadly, in January 2017, what should have been an uneventful, normal activity was not for my body. It resulted in me being on the couch in debilitating pain for 3 months. I have been working with a pain management doctor since February. Nothing seriously wrong shows up on my MRIs, making it difficult to know what course of treatment to pursue. We have done 3 rounds of trigger point injections and one round of epidural injections. While each treatment has had moderate success, after a year of working with him, I find myself almost back to square one. This means that I am currently not able to do very basic physical activities like sitting in an upright position in a chair or my own grocery shopping. Working is currently impossible.
While I do not have a diagnosis, in doing research I have finally come up with specific conditions that seem to fit what is going on. Both are very rare...I'm one in a million!!! If you want more info one is Thoracic Discogenic Pain Syndrome https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/96284-overview#showall
which can cause the other: Thoracic Radiculopathy https://g.co/kgs/rTd9by
Since the conservative approaches we have been trying all year have proven unsuccessful, I am now in the process of trying a more in-depth procedure. It is an electrical stim implant. I have a trial procedure scheduled for January 8th. If this is successful, the permanent procedure will be scheduled after this. It has a 6-8 week recovery window, with movement and lifting restrictions.
If this wasn't complicated enough, I also find myself in need another surgery. Two years ago I had a procedure called Uterine Fibroid Embolization because I have a very large growth in my uterus. Evidently, this procedure was unsuccessful. I now find myself in need of a hysterectomy. This procedure also has a 6-8 week recovery window. I am trying to overlap the procedures so that I can combine recovery time.
I have spent most of this year either incapacitated or at a very low level of function work wise. This means that I have maxed out a couple of credit cards paying for treatments and daily living expenses as well as burned through my savings. And now I find myself needing two medical procedures that will make my current line of work impossible for 3-4 more months.
I am exploring ways to earn money online. If you have any leads feel free to send them my way. I have limited experience with Word, Excel and Quickbooks.
I am minimizing my monthly expenses as much as possible, but insurance payments, doctors visits and procedure costs keep coming, along with regular daily living expenses. Having assistance with these would greatly reduce my stress level and help me focus on healing.
Organizer
Emily Arey
Organizer
Oceanside, CA
