- M
I’d like to introduce you to my amazing 15 year old daughter, Courtney. Courtney is not only a smart, beautiful young woman with an equally beautiful heart, but also a beloved sister, daughter, niece and granddaughter. Courtney is an incredibly talented singer. She currently attends Douglas Anderson School of the Arts for high school majoring in voice. For five years she was also a member of the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus , earning her spot in the top rank as a Touring Member for 2015 and 2016.
But what Courtney wants more than anything is have her life back and be a normal teenager again, because starting in September 2014 her life has been one of near constant pain. Courtney suffers persistent and debilitating migraines, jaw, neck, and shoulder pain as a result of a disease called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome , or EDS. EDS is a group of disorders that affect the connective tissues that support the skin, bones, blood vessels, and many other organs and tissues. In Courtney’s case (type 3 EDS), discs in both sides of her jaw hinges have slipped and torn, which is the primary cause of the migraines and headaches. In addition, the C1 vertebra in her neck has slipped, also significantly impacting her health and wellbeing.
The past 3 years have been an endless cycle of doctor’s appointments, testing, and attempts at finding medication that would help. Over the past 3 years, we have watched our awesomely talented girl go from active, happy teenager to a young woman struggling every day with debilitating pain that has become her life. She has had to stop performing, and missed over 100 days of school in the past 3 years, including being home-schooled for part of the year last year to recuperate. She is not able to spend time with friends or family, or have any quality of life that a normal fifteen year old should have.
While we are unable to completely fix C1 due to her age, we can impact the quality of her life now by replacing the torn discs and fixing the broken jaw hinge that caused such pain since the fall of 2014On May 24th, she will undergo a surgery with Dr. Marc Piper of the Piper Clinic . Dr. Piper has developed a specialized Natural Disc Replacement surgery that will go a long way towards Courtney getting her life back.
The costs to our family, after insurance, will be in excess of $20,000. These costs include specialized surgical braces, hospital and doctor’s fees. As a working single mother, I can tell you it has been a long, expensive, and painful journey for her and for our family. We have exhausted all funding options, including using her college fund, assistance from our church and our family. We appreciate any assistance, every dollar will go a long way to helping alleviate the financial burden and more importantly, help our girl get her life back!
But what Courtney wants more than anything is have her life back and be a normal teenager again, because starting in September 2014 her life has been one of near constant pain. Courtney suffers persistent and debilitating migraines, jaw, neck, and shoulder pain as a result of a disease called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome , or EDS. EDS is a group of disorders that affect the connective tissues that support the skin, bones, blood vessels, and many other organs and tissues. In Courtney’s case (type 3 EDS), discs in both sides of her jaw hinges have slipped and torn, which is the primary cause of the migraines and headaches. In addition, the C1 vertebra in her neck has slipped, also significantly impacting her health and wellbeing.
The past 3 years have been an endless cycle of doctor’s appointments, testing, and attempts at finding medication that would help. Over the past 3 years, we have watched our awesomely talented girl go from active, happy teenager to a young woman struggling every day with debilitating pain that has become her life. She has had to stop performing, and missed over 100 days of school in the past 3 years, including being home-schooled for part of the year last year to recuperate. She is not able to spend time with friends or family, or have any quality of life that a normal fifteen year old should have.
While we are unable to completely fix C1 due to her age, we can impact the quality of her life now by replacing the torn discs and fixing the broken jaw hinge that caused such pain since the fall of 2014On May 24th, she will undergo a surgery with Dr. Marc Piper of the Piper Clinic . Dr. Piper has developed a specialized Natural Disc Replacement surgery that will go a long way towards Courtney getting her life back.
The costs to our family, after insurance, will be in excess of $20,000. These costs include specialized surgical braces, hospital and doctor’s fees. As a working single mother, I can tell you it has been a long, expensive, and painful journey for her and for our family. We have exhausted all funding options, including using her college fund, assistance from our church and our family. We appreciate any assistance, every dollar will go a long way to helping alleviate the financial burden and more importantly, help our girl get her life back!