- C
- J
Hey everyone, I am here to plea for help to raise funds for my ATOS surgery.
In August of 2015 I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my subclavian artery, in my right arm.
At that time, many tests were performed to discover the root cause for this clot.
The results for blood coagulation were normal, meaning, my body isn’t prone to develop clots, my body’s coagulation function is perfectly normal. Other tests for triglycerides, cholesterol, BP, etc. were done with everything coming back normal. My health was in perfect condition, so what was left??? Possibly, the birth control I was taking? The M.D assumed that the birth control was the cause for the blood clot. Yes, birth control can cause blood clots as a side effect, so be careful ladies. But in my case, the birth control was not really the cause for the clot, and we discovered what was later.
Alright, I started right taking the blood thinner medication called Xarelto. It was pretty scary to be on this medication, especially when you are aware of the side effects and the risks involved in the use of this medication.
However, the pain in my right arm, never went away, it was becoming worse, limiting my performance with respect to tasks like writing, typing, exercising, holding or lifting things. Oh man, the pain was now starting to radiate everywhere, neck, arm, chest, and above my shoulder blade. It has been a combination of numbness, tingling, sharp pains, intense soreness, and tightness.
My follow up appointments were with a cardiovascular surgeon, hematologists and thoracic Surgeon. None of those M.Ds, gave me a solid explanation for all that pain and the blood clot. The only thing they kept saying was for me to keep taking the blood thinner and to return every week for follow up visits (so they could get very high co pays).
I was hopeless, lost and in a lot of pain.
In the search for answers and better medical care, I traveled to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro (my home town) and focused and prayed a lot on finding the best cardiovascular M.D.
I was lucky enough to find a great doctor without much work, it felt like I was being guided to meet him and my intuition didn’t let me down.
In our first consultation, he was able to pin point my diagnosis, to a rare syndrome called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome), medical term that includes a group of separate conditions which lie in the chest (thoracic).
The Outlet of the chest is the area in the neck, behind the collarbone, where the blood vessels from the heart leave the chest, going to the neck and arms. This area is called the Thoracic Outlet.
Thoracic Outlet syndrome: the syndrome part is pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in the upper extremity due to the pressure behind the collarbone, pushing against the nerves and blood vessels (artery and vein) going to the arm. Because there are 3 separates types structures involved, nerves, artery and veins, there are 3 different types of TOS.
Because I had a blood clot in my subclavian artery, we could identify my type of TOS, the ATOS.
The least common is arterial injury causing arterial TOS (ATOS) occurring in less than 1% of all TOS patients. ATOS is a surgical problem. Acute arterial symptoms are an indication for immediate surgical intervention.
TREATMENT
Treatment includes:
1. Remove the cause. (Remove abnormal cervical or anomalous first rib)
2. Repair or replace the injured artery.
3. Restore distal circulation to the arm by removing clots down the arm.
SURGERY
My surgery consists of the removal of an abnormal cervical or anomalous first rib, to decompress the pressure on my artery so the flow of blood gets back to it’s normal.
POS SURGERY CARE
Consists of physical therapy sessions to get the blood flowing back to the affected muscles that have lacked in proper blood flow, and to prevent scar tissue in the area where the rib will be removed. Acupuncture sessions are also recommended to work the severely damaged areas.
SURGERY LOCATION
I decided to get this surgery done in Brazil with the M.D, who diagnosed me correctly.
When I returned to L.A after this first visit from Rio. I tried very hard to get the treatment moving forward here in L.A, but the insurance company made it all so complicated, virtually impossible. Even just to try and change my primary physician seemed like an impossible mission, in itself.
Because we have an HMO, all of the authorizations take forever, and the specialist that I need isn’t in our network, so no deal.
Even to move from HMO to PPO, we still have to wait a full year to complete this process. It is just so frustrating, it seems that M.Ds or insurance companies simply don’t care.
So, no more hesitation, the surgery will be done in Brazil with the right doctor and without the sky rocketing prices. It’s really horrible how the medical care industry here in U.S shamefully charges the ill out of control prices for care.
I will be under the care and supervision of a great surgeon, my parents, family and friends.
Another incredible thing, and why I am so grateful for this doctor in my life. He is being so generous to give me a huge discount, considering the risks and particularities involved in this procedure.
The amount for this campaign is the sum of the surgical procedure, hospital, 6 -8 weeks stay in Rio de Janeiro (it will depend of the doctor evaluation), airfare round trip, and 6 months of rehab treatment. As I am self-employed, I don’t have workers comp or any other source of help, during my period of rehab.
So, this is it guys, I plea for your help to fund my surgery, I need this procedure to be done as soon as possible. I thank you for any donation of amount.
LIFE THREATENING RISK
Formation of tiny clots and blood clots.
"This leads to collateral blood flow (flow in blood vessels going around a blocked vessel) and milder symptoms in the arm; it can also lead to retrograde (backward) clots with the possibility of cerebral emboli (blood clots to the brain) causing a stroke.
Source: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome for Patients and Non - Physicians
In August of 2015 I was diagnosed with a blood clot in my subclavian artery, in my right arm.
At that time, many tests were performed to discover the root cause for this clot.
The results for blood coagulation were normal, meaning, my body isn’t prone to develop clots, my body’s coagulation function is perfectly normal. Other tests for triglycerides, cholesterol, BP, etc. were done with everything coming back normal. My health was in perfect condition, so what was left??? Possibly, the birth control I was taking? The M.D assumed that the birth control was the cause for the blood clot. Yes, birth control can cause blood clots as a side effect, so be careful ladies. But in my case, the birth control was not really the cause for the clot, and we discovered what was later.
Alright, I started right taking the blood thinner medication called Xarelto. It was pretty scary to be on this medication, especially when you are aware of the side effects and the risks involved in the use of this medication.
However, the pain in my right arm, never went away, it was becoming worse, limiting my performance with respect to tasks like writing, typing, exercising, holding or lifting things. Oh man, the pain was now starting to radiate everywhere, neck, arm, chest, and above my shoulder blade. It has been a combination of numbness, tingling, sharp pains, intense soreness, and tightness.
My follow up appointments were with a cardiovascular surgeon, hematologists and thoracic Surgeon. None of those M.Ds, gave me a solid explanation for all that pain and the blood clot. The only thing they kept saying was for me to keep taking the blood thinner and to return every week for follow up visits (so they could get very high co pays).
I was hopeless, lost and in a lot of pain.
In the search for answers and better medical care, I traveled to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro (my home town) and focused and prayed a lot on finding the best cardiovascular M.D.
I was lucky enough to find a great doctor without much work, it felt like I was being guided to meet him and my intuition didn’t let me down.
In our first consultation, he was able to pin point my diagnosis, to a rare syndrome called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome), medical term that includes a group of separate conditions which lie in the chest (thoracic).
The Outlet of the chest is the area in the neck, behind the collarbone, where the blood vessels from the heart leave the chest, going to the neck and arms. This area is called the Thoracic Outlet.
Thoracic Outlet syndrome: the syndrome part is pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in the upper extremity due to the pressure behind the collarbone, pushing against the nerves and blood vessels (artery and vein) going to the arm. Because there are 3 separates types structures involved, nerves, artery and veins, there are 3 different types of TOS.
Because I had a blood clot in my subclavian artery, we could identify my type of TOS, the ATOS.
The least common is arterial injury causing arterial TOS (ATOS) occurring in less than 1% of all TOS patients. ATOS is a surgical problem. Acute arterial symptoms are an indication for immediate surgical intervention.
TREATMENT
Treatment includes:
1. Remove the cause. (Remove abnormal cervical or anomalous first rib)
2. Repair or replace the injured artery.
3. Restore distal circulation to the arm by removing clots down the arm.
SURGERY
My surgery consists of the removal of an abnormal cervical or anomalous first rib, to decompress the pressure on my artery so the flow of blood gets back to it’s normal.
POS SURGERY CARE
Consists of physical therapy sessions to get the blood flowing back to the affected muscles that have lacked in proper blood flow, and to prevent scar tissue in the area where the rib will be removed. Acupuncture sessions are also recommended to work the severely damaged areas.
SURGERY LOCATION
I decided to get this surgery done in Brazil with the M.D, who diagnosed me correctly.
When I returned to L.A after this first visit from Rio. I tried very hard to get the treatment moving forward here in L.A, but the insurance company made it all so complicated, virtually impossible. Even just to try and change my primary physician seemed like an impossible mission, in itself.
Because we have an HMO, all of the authorizations take forever, and the specialist that I need isn’t in our network, so no deal.
Even to move from HMO to PPO, we still have to wait a full year to complete this process. It is just so frustrating, it seems that M.Ds or insurance companies simply don’t care.
So, no more hesitation, the surgery will be done in Brazil with the right doctor and without the sky rocketing prices. It’s really horrible how the medical care industry here in U.S shamefully charges the ill out of control prices for care.
I will be under the care and supervision of a great surgeon, my parents, family and friends.
Another incredible thing, and why I am so grateful for this doctor in my life. He is being so generous to give me a huge discount, considering the risks and particularities involved in this procedure.
The amount for this campaign is the sum of the surgical procedure, hospital, 6 -8 weeks stay in Rio de Janeiro (it will depend of the doctor evaluation), airfare round trip, and 6 months of rehab treatment. As I am self-employed, I don’t have workers comp or any other source of help, during my period of rehab.
So, this is it guys, I plea for your help to fund my surgery, I need this procedure to be done as soon as possible. I thank you for any donation of amount.
LIFE THREATENING RISK
Formation of tiny clots and blood clots.
"This leads to collateral blood flow (flow in blood vessels going around a blocked vessel) and milder symptoms in the arm; it can also lead to retrograde (backward) clots with the possibility of cerebral emboli (blood clots to the brain) causing a stroke.
Source: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome for Patients and Non - Physicians