<div><strong>Bring Melissa to Her Life-Saving Surgery in the U.S.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On September 30, Melissa will undergo surgery in the United States. This operation could save her life, and she is finally within reach of getting the treatment she urgently needs. Now she still has to get there from Belgium, because this surgery is not available there. That is why we need your help.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Melissa is 43 and lives in Ghent, Belgium. She spends 23 hours a day lying flat. After an accident, her neck can no longer hold up her head, a result of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) combined with craniocervical instability (CCI/AAI). Without surgery, she risks becoming fully paralyzed, and her vital functions could fail.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In Belgium, the expertise for this rare procedure does not exist. Dr. Paolo Bolognese at the Chiari EDS Center in New York, one of the few specialists in the world who can help, is able to treat her. Thanks to thousands of generous people in Belgium, the surgery fund is growing every week toward the €200,000 needed, and the date of the operation is now confirmed.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This GoFundMe has one clear purpose: to cover the travel and accommodation costs for the trip to the U.S. The surgery itself is a major medical journey, not just an operation. Melissa must fly lying down, because she cannot sit upright. She will likely need to stay near the hospital for about five weeks, with a caregiver supporting her every day and helping with her needs.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The travel plan:
</div>
<div>September 19: Departure from Brussels. Melissa flies lying down in business class with a flat-bed seat, while her caregiver travels in economy. If we do not act quickly, an ambulance flight may be needed, which would be much more expensive.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>September 20 to 22: Pre-operative tests at the Chiari EDS Center.
</li>
<li>September 23: Preparatory surgery under anesthesia, with pre-operative traction.
</li>
<li>September 23 to 29: Recovery from the preparatory surgery, plus consultations, imaging, and additional pre-operative testing at the Chiari EDS Center.
</li>
<li>September 30: Stabilization surgery under traction of the skull base and neck, to the level determined by the medical team. Vital structures will also be addressed during this procedure in a multi-disciplinary operation.
</li>
<li>October: Recovery and medical follow-up on site. The medical team may decide that a small additional procedure is needed, which is why the return trip is planned with extra time.
</li>
<li>October 23: Return flight to Belgium.
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>How your gift will be used:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Flights Brussels/New York round trip: flat-bed seat for Melissa, economy for her caregiver. If we do not act quickly, an ambulance flight may be needed, which would cost much more. €5,000 (already covered by an anonymous donor who gifted his arimiles)
</li>
<li>Accommodation: two-bedroom apartment near the hospital, 35 nights. €4,000
</li>
<li>Daily expenses, including transport for Melissa and her caregiver, 35 days. €5,000
</li>
<li>Local transport and airport transfers, adapted for lying-down transport. €1,000
</li>
<li>Travel insurance, travel documents, and unforeseen expenses. €3,000
</li>
<li><strong>Total: €13,000 (was €18,000 but tickets have been donated via airmiles)</strong>
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Transparency promise:
</div>
<div>If Melissa can return home earlier because the additional procedure is not needed, the trip will cost €4,000 to €5,000 less. Any money left over will go directly to the surgery fund, rehabilitation, and medical costs related to this journey. No money will disappear. The final accounting of travel and medical costs will be shared on the website.
</div>
<div>Join us:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Every donation, no matter how small, brings Melissa closer to the plane that can take her toward a second life.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>€115 = one night in accommodation near the hospital.
</li>
<li>€160 = one day on site for Melissa and her caregiver.
</li>
<li>€700 = her caregiver’s plane ticket.
</li>
<li>€5,000 = Melissa’s plane ticket.
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>U.S. based Dimy Faris was once in Melissa’s place. The surgeon Melissa is scheduled to see in September gave her back her life. Her words, ‘I was Melissa 11 years ago,’ carry the weight of someone who has lived this pain, survived it, and now wants to give Melissa the same chance at life. Melissa is raising the amount for the operation on a Belgian platform, but she still needs help to reach the operating room and take the final step toward healing.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/BxGR5R1CTYA?feature=share" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/BxGR5R1CTYA?feature=share" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://youtube.com/shorts/BxGR5R1CTYA?feature=share</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you cannot donate, sharing helps just as much. You may reach the one person who decides to help today.
</div>
<div>On behalf of Melissa, her family, and everyone helping her: thank you.
</div>

Anonymous

Yves Hersche Hersche

Rodolfo Urbano

Alessio Barbanti

Michelle Engle

Eddy De Raedt

robert WIMMER

Daniel Cabrera

Eckard Wolfram

Marc Trauwkens

Ab Lancker

Franz Pluskovich

PHILIPPE CORDIER

Werner Piribauer

Marc Van Eeckhoudt

Vasco Späh

veronique roegiers

peter Seghers

Bring Melissa to Her Life-Saving Surgery in the U.S.

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

be_supporter_comments_enabled_supported_funds

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Bring Melissa to Her Life-Saving Surgery in the U.S.

Still €11,075 to go. Help us build momentum.