Melanie's braid chop for BPD Society of BC

EVERY $1800 CAN CHANGE, POTENTIALLY EVEN SAVE, A LIFE BY PROVIDING TREATMENT!!

Will you support me in chopping off these braids, which will be donated to make wigs for children undergoing cancer treatments?

I am also fundraising not for cancer, but for a lesser known, much more stigmatized, and serious, often life-threatening illness which is severely neglected in our medical system. It has historically been so lagging in research and so misunderstood that there is still debate in the scientific community about what best to name this illness, but it is perhaps best understood as Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is also known as Emotional Dysregulation Disorder, and commonly known by the misnomer, Borderline Personality Disorder. It is described as one of the most excruciating conditions to live with.

It has:

 

To me, the most tragic and ironic part about these stats is that we actually do have a very effective treatment for it, but there are years-long waitlists and often thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expenses for the people who are ill and suffering and often unable to function, let alone to work.

 

For me, as my braid ends were just growing roots, I suffered a serious bike accident in 2010 that resulted in expensive medical treatments, the loss of many career opportunities, passions, basic functioning, and my whole way of life, and left me with serious chronic pain for years, leading to severe symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress and emotional dysregulation. For years, I tried to access the treatment course but was placed on years-long waitlists only to be eventually told I didn’t qualify to receive treatment for one reason or another, even when I tried to pay privately. For my friend who was a member of the wilderness therapy program I created and guided years ago before my accident forced me to quit, the system failed to treat him in time and he lost his battle to the illness in 2010, 8 months after my accident. When my braid ends were near my roots, that easily could have been me too, but in the end I was luckier, because after a decade of suffering through severe struggles I finally was able to access a course on zoom based in Toronto, thanks to covid, and to root myself in the coping skills that they teach!

 

I am now saying goodbye to the last of my hair from that difficult decade, and meanwhile growing roots for others to be able to access this lifesaving treatment by raising funds for the BPD Society of BC. If you are able, you may donate here. The funds will go directly to the society and you will receive a tax receipt. You can also help by passing this along and spreading the word to help raise awareness and reduce the stigma that has been the barrier for public medical treatment to be more proportionate to the prevalence and severity of the illness, as compared to other illnesses. Thank you for your support!

 

BPD Society of BC: https://www.bpdbc.ca/