Hi everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read my fundraiser. I am trying to raise money so that I can have my pancreatic transplant surgery on July 17th. The surgery is called a Total Pancreatectomy with Auto Islet Transplant (TPAIT). Due to the intensity/complexity of this procedure there are only currently 5 facilities nation wide that have the knowledge, equipment and very well trained medical professionals that can perform this procedure. Unfortunately where I live in beautiful Colorado they do not have the ability to perform this surgery so I will have to travel to San Francisco, California in order to get this surgery done. After undergoing massive amounts of tests, doctors appointments, and evaluations from every different medical specialist in CO to make sure that my body can handle the intensity of the TPAIT surgery for the last couple of months  I finally was approved to have my surgery done at UCSF in San Francisco, CA on 7/17/20 if all goes well between now and then!  

For those of you who know me really well you know that I have been suffering with EXCRUCIATING PAIN on a daily basis caused by how badly diseased my pancreas is. I was born with a rare medical condition called a pancreatic divisum which has caused the last 16 years of my life for me to live in unbearable amounts of pain, with the last 5 years only getting worse daily. My GI doctors have performed over 52 procedures and or surgeries on my pancreas over the last 15 years with no success on helping to repair and or make my pancreas work better. The doctors have found cancerous tumors on my pancreas and after the last procedure that I had done my doctor said that my pancreas is so badly diseased that if I don't go through with the TPAIT surgery I will end up loosing a battle against pancreatic cancer. When I have a flare up (pancreatitis) I have to be admitted into the hospital to help control the pain because the pain is so bad it hurts to even breathe.

My quality of life and being able to function in everyday activities has been significantly impacted by my pancreas so much so that I cannot even work anymore, and constantly have to miss out on activities and getting together with friends and family because I'm always in so much excruciating pain that I am not able to function anymore. I have been a Special Education Teacher for 12 years now and LOVE teaching students with Significant Support Needs, so not being able to be a teacher anymore literally feels like my heart is being ripped apart. Teaching students with special needs is my passion and it kills me to feel like I am a prisoner stuck in a body that doesn't work, but mentally I want to be able to continue living my life. I also constantly feel like I struggle to even be able to take care of my own children who mean the world to me! 

My doctors here both in CO and in CA agree that the only way that I will even have a chance at being able to live a "normal" life without suffering, and the only available treatment for me is to have the TPAIT surgery done! When I have my  TPAIT surgery done they will be removing my pancreas, spleen, a portion of my intestines and a portion of my stomach in order to "reconnect" my digestive track. After the surgery is performed, which takes between 10-12 hours, I will be in the ICU and hospital for 2 weeks. Because of how extensive the surgery is I will have to stay in San Francisco, CA for at least 6 weeks after my surgery, and I am required to have a caregiver with me 24/7 to help take care of me. My husband Ryan will be my caregiver and will have to take 7-8 weeks off of work to help fill this roll for me. We will have to stay in a hotel for the entire time (7 weeks min). 

We are asking for donations to help pay for the financial impact that this surgery is going to impose upon my family. We will be using the donations to help provide support with airfare, staying in a hotel for the required time (7-8 weeks), renting a car for transportation, food, medical costs and hopefully we can afford for a plane ticket for each one of my kids to be able to come and visit me. I have been an emotional wreck thinking about having to be away from my kids and dogs for that long because they mean the world to me! 

I would also like to ask for prayers from those of you who are believers for not only myself and my recovery, but for my family too!!  

I am so extremely scared, nervous and excited for this surgery all at once. Before the doctors discovered this surgery I truly thought that I was going to have to live the rest of my life suffering on a daily basis in constant excruciating pain and I feel so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to live my life pain free once I recover from the surgery. Out of all of the incredible blessings that God has given me, words cannot explain how thankful I am to truly be given a "new life"!! 

Thank you so much for reading my post, I hope that you all have a wonderful 4th of July and enjoy spending time with your loved ones. I will have my family post updates on my Facebook page on how my recovery is going. Once you are done reading this, can you PLEASE help do me a really BIG favor and pass my Go Fund Me link to your contacts? I really appreciate all of your help and support during this time

Kristi Thornton