Medical Support For Lyndsey

Hello friends,

Curtis and I wanted to reach out on behalf of our dear friend Linzy. As you all know, Linzy is such a bright, positive, supportive person with such a zest for life, for her friends, for her pups and for that crazy guy of hers – James. She has always worked hard, been fiercely independent, taken care of her family and been generous towards her friends. She and James befriend everyone they meet, because they are just those kinds of people.

As some of you likely know, Linzy has been ravaged with illness over the last few years. I’ve seen it start out slowly and then very quickly take away pieces of her bit by bit. Linzy has a very rare neurological condition, called Hemicrania Continua. She gets chronic headaches that cause her severe pain and create extreme sensitivity to light and sounds. She can be a little ok one moment and something very small can send her into a flare up where she will be bed ridden for days. She takes daily medication just to function, that of which is very hard on one’s body. For those who’ve seen her, they might have noticed her quietly escaping to a dark room, wearing her sunglasses inside, constantly wearing earplugs and missing out on conversations, sporting her ice helmet, apologetically asking to turn the music down or in most cases, you don’t see her at all because she isn’t well enough to be around people, leave her house or even get out of bed. As someone who suffers from a chronic illness, I can tell you that we hide it because who wants to talk about for the millionth time, how you’re feeling. And if we’re doing daily things like going out to shop or visiting a friend, then surely, we must be fine. Trust me in this, we learn to cope, we learn to say oh I’m fine, we learn to bring meds everywhere and really, just suffer in silence. And Linzy has been doing this. She’s been suffering. Trying with everything she has to be well and find a way out of this storm. She has seen specialist after specialist, tried countless natural treatments, taken various medications, been to hospitals, wore her uncomfortable neck brace, taken all the tests and most of all, fought for her right to be treated fairly and taken seriously by medical professionals.

Because of limitations in our healthcare in Canada, and her illness being so rare, she sought out treatment in Mexico where she was able to find some great doctors and innovative ways of treatment. But as we all know that comes at a cost. And James and Linzy found a way because they wanted to do anything they could so she could just feel normal again. The treatments would work a little, for minimal amounts of time, but she still suffers daily. One thing they did learn, is that her HC is likely aggravated by long time issues she’s had with her neck, from a car accident her and James got into when we were in high school.

Recently they found out about a medical clinic in Florida that was able to offer innovative, specialized testing and treatment for her neck. Even with the sudden, shocking loss of their dog Hank, they buried their grief and went to Florida on a prayer this would be the treatment that worked for her. The acknowledgment and proof that something is wrong with your body, that you’re not making it up, let me tell you, it’s the biggest relief someone can experience and biggest wave of emotion because you can finally take that burden off yourself – no you are not making this up. Yes, you have this. And then a light, a path forward out of the darkness of illness, with some semblance of hope. That’s what they got there. A hopeful way forward for treatment. Being a private clinic in the States, it does come at a cost. Linzy needs to go 7-10 more times for injections in her neck and shoulder, and each visit will cost them around $2,600 USD, plus they need to fly there, rent a car and incur living expenses. These injections are extremely painful so she needs her caregiver, James, with her too. In total, they expect it will cost them about $40,000.

Linzy and James have already stretched themselves so much, going through treatment after treatment and only on one income as she is no longer able to work. James has been a silent warrior taking care of Linzy, going with her to every appointment, being her advocate, working constant doubles to pay their bills and shouldering an enormous amount of burden so Linzy doesn’t have one more thing to bear.

I would like to ask friends and family to help ease their financial burden and consider making a contribution towards these treatments for Linzy. Any amount you’re able to give would be helpful and I know so appreciated. They’ve never asked for help with this health battle but I think it’s time we rally together and help our friends so they don’t have to feel like they’re facing this alone.

Linzy and I always talk about what we’ll do when she’s well, but I know there’s a small part of her that doesn’t know if that will happen. Yet she continues to fight for her health, continues to be a strong woman we all love and continues to have hope. Let’s be the ones that give her that hope.

Thank you for your love and support!

Lacey and Curtis