INTRODUCTION:

Hey everyone, first of all thank you for taking time to read this. My name is Casey Radermacher and my wife is Kinslee. The purpose of this GoFundMe account is to fund an emergency surgery for my wife.

BACKGROUND:

In October of 2021, after years of restless sleep, my wife Kinslee decided to get evaluated for possible sleep apnea, something simple that a great deal of the population suffers from. She decided to go in and have it checked out and it was determined immediately that she had a deviated septum. A deviated Septum repair is a very common procedure and is usually very simple in nature. For Kinslee however, this is where her life would take a dramatic turn.

The original Septum Repair surgery was scheduled and seemed to go as planned. She was stuffed with gauze for her recovery time and could not wait to have a clear nasal and sinus passage. Although the recovery was a lot more painful, time consuming and restrictive as we expected we were excited for the outcome. After several weeks, the swelling and healing had finally subsided, however things did not seem better....in fact, they seemed to be worse than before the surgery. She was unable to breathe through one side of her nasal passage and was unable to clean and flush the passageway as instructed. We immediately scheduled a followup for answers. During the follow up, it was found that the original surgery did not go as planned. The septum was not where it was supposed to be and because of that, had attached itself to one of the sides of her nasal passage where it scarred and healed. As it healed out of place, it created a complete blockage far worse than before the surgery and in turn also left a complete hole/perforation in her septum. Both nasal passages had basically merged into one as they were adjoined by the new large hole in the septum (you could literally shine a light up one nostril and see it coming straight through the septum and into the other nostril).

A second procedure was scheduled to reopen the passageway and get things back to normal, however, again, this did not go well. Kinslee was in extreme pain and had constant drainage including blood coming from her nasal passages. Again we immediately scheduled an appointment and was told that the stints that were placed in her nasal passages needed to be removed immediately. After taking the stints out, Kinslee's nose collapsed. For someone who was self-conscious about her nose to start with, this was not a symptom she was prepared for.

A 3rd procedure was done attempting to use a skin graph from behind Kinslee's ear in order to try and build a strong foundation within her septum in order to both correct the hole/perforation and to actually support her nose. 2 weeks later we were told that the doctor's skin graph had failed.

Getting very frustrated and desperate, we looked at an alternative approach using stem cells to create another skin graph. Although it was an option, it also came with risks and there was no guarantee that the stem cell graph would take. We got several second opinions, and spoke with numerous other doctors and specialists. Every doctor we tried to have help us would not take on the case since it was complications caused by another doctor. We were referred to a nationally renowned doctor in California who specializes specifically in Septal Repair. Upon further research, this doctor has patients that have even flown internationally to him for help.

While contemplating this, Kinslee went through a 4th procedure which would temporarily place a "septal button" in the hole of the septum acting as a prosthetic to temporarily fill the perforation and bring support to the nose. After this was done and the swelling subsided, the stitching which holds the button in place was causing excruciating pain. Another trip was made where stitching was cut and released. After doing so, a few days later, the septal button fell out of place. The button falling out caused the nose to collapse again.

A 5th procedure was done to put the septal button back into place using less stitching this time in an attempt to eliminate the aftermath that came with the first button placement. After a few weeks, this button also fell out of place. Again, Kinslee's nose collapsed and we were back to square one but even worse because there was a perforation/hole in her septum that never even existed prior to the 5 failed surgeries/procedures.

CURRENT SITUATION:

After being at a loss, we decided to schedule a consultation with the nationally renowned doctor in California (Dr. Jason Hamilton @ Osborne Head and Neck Specialty Group) that we had been referred to. Although the consultation alone was expensive and would require a trip to California, we opted to do so just to get some sort of direction. The office closed at 5pm and the consultation was scheduled for 4:30 p.m on a Friday. Since it was scheduled for just a half an hour before closing we figured and expected that our consultation would be about 10 minutes long. Although it would cost us approximately $1,000 between the consultation and the travel to and from, we decided it was still worth it to us in order to get some answers and a direction of where to go. We were very impressed as Dr. Hamilton took his time with us putting cameras up into the nasal passages and taking numerous scans and pictures, before informing us of the worst.

After assessing everything, Dr. Hamilton stated that Kinslee was in immediate need of septal repair. He informed us that the buttons that had been in place over the last few months had done nothing but damage the septal area even further. He added that a septal button should never be placed in any hole or perforation over 2 cm and during his initial scans and measurements found there were numerous areas of Kinslee's perforated septum that measured as big as 4 cm. He informed us that no matter how we decided to proceed, that the first thing that needed to happen was for the septal button to be removed immediately. An hour later, after what we thought would be a 10-minute consultation, Kinslee was being prepped for a procedure right there in the office in order to remove the septal button. Once the doctor removed the septal button, he did another scan and assessed the situation under camera even more extensively and told us that what we needed was just shy of a miracle. It appears that Kinslee has no cartilage left in her nose and that some would need to be taken from her ribs in order to build a new septum. At this point, Dr. Hamilton is the only doctor that has agreed to take on our case, stating that it is going to be a lot of work and may require more than 1 surgery. There was 2 hurdles standing in our way. The first being that Hamilton's surgery calendar was currently booked out through September. Working in our favor was the fact that we needed immediate action on something that should have been addressed months ago. We left that afternoon with some good answers and a lot of info, but unsure of the next steps.

The following Monday, we received a phone call from Dr. Hamilton's team stating that he had moved some of his surgeries around in order to get Kinslee in ASAP (June 8th, first hurdle overcome). That however, was followed by a 2nd phone call, this one not so good, stating that our insurance (the best and most expensive one through my employer) would not cover the surgery(s) since it was in California and out of network. Let me introduce our 2nd hurdle....financing. We were denied in house financing with the doctor's office since our credit score was 648, 2 points below the mandatory 650 score needed. We have applied for several other financing options but nothing has panned out yet and we are on a time crunch. After expressing our concerns to close family and friends, several people recommended we do a "GoFundMe" page. Asking for help, (especially for me being retired law enforcement) is something that is uncomfortable and not in the norm for Kinslee or me.

CONCLUSION:

After meeting with Dr. Hamilton for a 10-minute consultation of which turned into a two-hour visit with an emergency in-office procedure included, and after much prayer, we feel this is where we need to be in order to get final resolution. We feel this doctor truly shows empathy and compassion for his patients and his work. He also spoke in depth about the side effects, not just physically but mentally that can come from dealing with this kind of trauma. As we are swallowing our pride by even starting this "GoFundMe" account in the first place, I think I can openly say that the last 8 months have been very challenging for Kinslee and me. Aside from the obvious physical challenges that have stemmed from this circumstance, the fact that her nose does not look anything like it used to and the fact that she doesn't have a properly functioning nasal passage, it has created numerous underlying issues including but not limited to anxiety, anger, and depression. It has really cut into our finances as I've had to alter my work schedule and take time off in order to accommodate our current circumstances these past eight months. If we were to collect enough money for this surgery(s), it would be life changing in the fact that this would give us the opportunity to get back on track both physically and mentally. More than that, it would just get Kinslee healthy and functioning normal again and we could get back to a normal way of life with our family. Things have been so restrictive due to Kinslee's health these past 8 months that it has been a long and excruciating road that we are ready to come to an end.

Thank you everyone again for hearing our story, for seeing our need, and for understanding everything we are going through. Even if you are not able to help financially, if you could please share this with your circle, family and friends as every little bit helps. For those that can help, thank you in advance for anything you decide to give. We are truly blessed.

With love and gratitude,

Casey (and Kinslee) Radermacher

(Some pictures below show a bit of the last 8 months and what "the norm" has become for Kinslee and our family. She continues to have constant bleeding and drainage. Her daily routine involves stuffing her nasal passages with gauze and changing dressings throughout the day. Thank goodness for COVID introducing masks as the norm for some people as it allows her to hide the embarrassment of all this without many second looks from people when out in public)

I love you so much Kinslee and we are so excited to have you back to yourself!!!