Next Step - A Big Pain In The Neck

For the past 3 years I have suffered from an incredibly rare, immensly painful nerve disorder called Geniculate Neuralgia. It is also known as "The Suicide Disease" because there is no cure, and the constant, red hot steel stabbing ear pain too often becomes more than people with this disorder can stand. I understand the desire to escape this pain by almost any means, but not by taking your life. Despite the pain I have too much to live for. The primary option to relieve this unbearable pain is to undergo a specialized brain surgery that can be done to ease or even erase the pain for several years. I had one done exactly one year ago, but due to the surgeon's inexperience, it was not done correctly.  I live in constant, excrutiating pain every minute of every day. I also am disabled from mild cerebral palsy. It took months after the brain surgery until I could walk again on my own.

All of my specialists are telling me they are out of ideas for how to help me. There are no other neurosurgeons in my state familiar or experienced with caring for anyone with Geniculate Neuralgia. As such, I have turned to two of the top neurosurgeons in the United States, that have devoted their work to studying my disorder and performing surgeries that have a very high success rates. I desperately need help in order to pay for a roundtrip flight for my husband and myself, along with enough for my husband to sleep at the nearby hotels, while I undergo and recover from the second brain surgery. This is the first goal we have for setting up my fundraiser.

With wretched timing, bone spurs in my husband's spine began to give him relentless, blinding daily migraines at the same time. None of the painful procedures the doctors tried eased his pain. Luckily, as a Veteran, he has VA and, despite what you hear on the news, their level of care is better, mostly because they know that they will be stuck treating him for life, so they don't mess around. Unfortunately, his best option is surgery, and spinal surgery is the last option any doctor wants to consider.

Both of us live in a world of agonizing pain while still caring for our two young children, attempting to keep our small farm running and trying to work when the pain allows. As our pain increases, we are no longer able to keep up with our costs, medical or otherwise, without help.

Your donation will help us fund the trip to Pittsburgh, PA where I'll undergo my second brain surgery for this disorder. Hopefully this will be the surgrey that stops my unyielding, neverending pain. I know that the neurosurgeons reviewing my medical information have done thousands of these surgeries- called a MVD (microvascular decompression) as well as a surgery to cut my rogue nerve- the nervus intermedius that causes all deep ear pain.

We can use all the help we can get, because our income is severely limited, due to my husband losing a decent job three years ago so he could care for me and our children. I never imagined he would be suffering in such horrible pain each day as well. Once I am better we have to decide whether he must undergo spinal surgery as his doctors' are suggesting.

Thank you so much for reading our story. If you are able to donate any amount, we would be incredibly grateful.