Hello, my name is Kari Stack, I'm 37 years old. I'm a wife and a mother, with fistulating Crohn's disease. My story starts back when I was 22-23 years old, dating my now husband, Brett, going to college for my BA, surfing and pretty much just loving life.
Then I started going to the bathroom all the time and my life started to change. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease with IBS, had to drop out of school and got really sick for quite some time. I got down to 80 pounds, was very frail and needed full time care. Brett stuck by my side the whole time quit his job and personally gave me the care I required.
The doctors wanted to cut out parts of my colon and give me a colonoscopy bag when I was 24 years old. Brett fought them all the way because of all the research he had done independently.
What the doctors wanted to do didn't make sense and it didn't seem like it was going to help my situation. I'm truly grateful for him doing that because instead Brett kept researching and figured out a diet that got my crohns under control. He asked me to marry him even though I was sick and we were uncertain of my future. We fought through it and found the right foods and natural remedies that worked for me and we were able to get my Crohn's disease under control and keep it under control for years without any flareups.
We had it so well controlled back then we were able to have a child, Kai. Unfortunately we lost funding for my medicine while I was pregnant, and I started having issues with my Crohn's disease again.
I had to have my first pareanal abscess drained eight months after Kai was born. We had to cancel Kai's first birthday party because I was not well enough. Since then it's been an uphill battle. I've had really bad spells where I go down for months at a time. Where I am bedridden in terrible terrible pain and have to be waited on hand and foot. On top of all the pain depression sets in because I can't take care of my self or my family.
Its in these times we really struggle to stay a float and in our home. My wonderful husband has to somehow be my full time nurse (which is a very hard job by itself) but then he has to try to work to keep the household a float (which he can't do if there is no one to care for me for the day) and then take care of our 4 year old daughter. So when I go down its like he takes on 2 more full time jobs. Wait make that 3 extra jobs because he also has all the house work I would normally do.
I had surgery a year and a half ago to supposedly help heal the fistulas that I was dealing with, instead it really only made things worse and I believe caused more fistulas. My condition got so bad recently that I almost lost all hope. There were no answers to the exstream pain I was in from all the drainage out of my many fistulas. All the Western medical doctors had to offer was complete removal of my colon and a colonoscopy bag permanently. Although that would NOT take care of the actual Crohn's disease problems that are causing the fistulas in the first place! I believe, and have been told by surgeons, if I had gotten the colonoscopy bag the fistulas and problems would just continue to come back in other places. So really I felt like there was no answers for me. I didn't know what I was going to do or how I was going to keep living.
We were praying and praying for any kind of answer, and we found that they were doing stem cell treatments in trial forms on fistulating Crohn's disease with pretty good success rates! It was a ray of hope in a very dark and painful time.
The trails are patient funded so they are quite pricey, one treatment of Stem Cells is $8900. Luckily, again thank God, my Aunt was in the position to loan me the money to get a treatment of Stem Cells.
The treatment went really well I've had a remarkable turn around. Alot of healing has gone on and it's only been 5 months since my Stem Cell treatment. They harvested my own stem cells injected 80% back into me intravenously and then the other 20% were given as local injections around my fistula sites. It gave me my life back! I am able to function again I can move I can take care of myself I can take care of my daughter I can take care my husband, the change has been amazing! I'm still dealing with a good amount of pain but at least now as long as I don't over do it or stress myself out too much I can manage my pain and function with it instead of it paralyzingly me.
I know I still have at least one fistula that's open & draining but before the treatment they said I had anywhere from 4 to 6 fistulas. I feel like if the first treatment did that much good that a second treatment could heal me up completely. The good news is that the second treatment is only half the cost of the first one. The bad news is that I am unable to work to earn the money I need to get the treatment and pay back my Aunt for the first one.
Please help me by contributing to my next treatment of stem cells, and repayment to my auntie for my first treatment. I can get another treatment as soon as the beginning of the new year if I can afford it by then. It would really mean the world to me if I could keep healing especially before things have a chance to start reversing. All I want to do is be able to live a normal life and watch my daughter grow up. Please help me accomplish this goal.
If any extra funds accumulate they will be used for my care during this treatment time as well as beginning a cook book series. I have created and recreated many favorite recipes that can help other people dealing with sickness and dietary restrictions. We have struggled immensely in the past 14 years but it has also taught us a great deal. I want to be able to help others that are searching for health answers, and maybe save them some of the struggle by giving them recipes and helpful tips. Save them the time and cost of trail and error. The cookbooks would help others and help me support our family without over stressing so I don't cause a flair up to start.
I will be forever grateful for any and all donations no matter how great or how small, each one will hold a very special place in my heart. I truly thank you for your help from the bottom of my heart. God bless you.
Then I started going to the bathroom all the time and my life started to change. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease with IBS, had to drop out of school and got really sick for quite some time. I got down to 80 pounds, was very frail and needed full time care. Brett stuck by my side the whole time quit his job and personally gave me the care I required.
The doctors wanted to cut out parts of my colon and give me a colonoscopy bag when I was 24 years old. Brett fought them all the way because of all the research he had done independently.
What the doctors wanted to do didn't make sense and it didn't seem like it was going to help my situation. I'm truly grateful for him doing that because instead Brett kept researching and figured out a diet that got my crohns under control. He asked me to marry him even though I was sick and we were uncertain of my future. We fought through it and found the right foods and natural remedies that worked for me and we were able to get my Crohn's disease under control and keep it under control for years without any flareups.
We had it so well controlled back then we were able to have a child, Kai. Unfortunately we lost funding for my medicine while I was pregnant, and I started having issues with my Crohn's disease again.
I had to have my first pareanal abscess drained eight months after Kai was born. We had to cancel Kai's first birthday party because I was not well enough. Since then it's been an uphill battle. I've had really bad spells where I go down for months at a time. Where I am bedridden in terrible terrible pain and have to be waited on hand and foot. On top of all the pain depression sets in because I can't take care of my self or my family.
Its in these times we really struggle to stay a float and in our home. My wonderful husband has to somehow be my full time nurse (which is a very hard job by itself) but then he has to try to work to keep the household a float (which he can't do if there is no one to care for me for the day) and then take care of our 4 year old daughter. So when I go down its like he takes on 2 more full time jobs. Wait make that 3 extra jobs because he also has all the house work I would normally do.
I had surgery a year and a half ago to supposedly help heal the fistulas that I was dealing with, instead it really only made things worse and I believe caused more fistulas. My condition got so bad recently that I almost lost all hope. There were no answers to the exstream pain I was in from all the drainage out of my many fistulas. All the Western medical doctors had to offer was complete removal of my colon and a colonoscopy bag permanently. Although that would NOT take care of the actual Crohn's disease problems that are causing the fistulas in the first place! I believe, and have been told by surgeons, if I had gotten the colonoscopy bag the fistulas and problems would just continue to come back in other places. So really I felt like there was no answers for me. I didn't know what I was going to do or how I was going to keep living.
We were praying and praying for any kind of answer, and we found that they were doing stem cell treatments in trial forms on fistulating Crohn's disease with pretty good success rates! It was a ray of hope in a very dark and painful time.
The trails are patient funded so they are quite pricey, one treatment of Stem Cells is $8900. Luckily, again thank God, my Aunt was in the position to loan me the money to get a treatment of Stem Cells.
The treatment went really well I've had a remarkable turn around. Alot of healing has gone on and it's only been 5 months since my Stem Cell treatment. They harvested my own stem cells injected 80% back into me intravenously and then the other 20% were given as local injections around my fistula sites. It gave me my life back! I am able to function again I can move I can take care of myself I can take care of my daughter I can take care my husband, the change has been amazing! I'm still dealing with a good amount of pain but at least now as long as I don't over do it or stress myself out too much I can manage my pain and function with it instead of it paralyzingly me.
I know I still have at least one fistula that's open & draining but before the treatment they said I had anywhere from 4 to 6 fistulas. I feel like if the first treatment did that much good that a second treatment could heal me up completely. The good news is that the second treatment is only half the cost of the first one. The bad news is that I am unable to work to earn the money I need to get the treatment and pay back my Aunt for the first one.
Please help me by contributing to my next treatment of stem cells, and repayment to my auntie for my first treatment. I can get another treatment as soon as the beginning of the new year if I can afford it by then. It would really mean the world to me if I could keep healing especially before things have a chance to start reversing. All I want to do is be able to live a normal life and watch my daughter grow up. Please help me accomplish this goal.
If any extra funds accumulate they will be used for my care during this treatment time as well as beginning a cook book series. I have created and recreated many favorite recipes that can help other people dealing with sickness and dietary restrictions. We have struggled immensely in the past 14 years but it has also taught us a great deal. I want to be able to help others that are searching for health answers, and maybe save them some of the struggle by giving them recipes and helpful tips. Save them the time and cost of trail and error. The cookbooks would help others and help me support our family without over stressing so I don't cause a flair up to start.
I will be forever grateful for any and all donations no matter how great or how small, each one will hold a very special place in my heart. I truly thank you for your help from the bottom of my heart. God bless you.