Donate to help my husband find back pain relief.

Hi, my name is Kari Rivera.

I'm submitting this GoFundMe request to support my husband, Jeremias, in getting surgery or a procedure that will save his back (and life).

We were married as teens. Early in our marriage, we experienced a significant loss with the failed birth of our son while I was six months pregnant. So early in our marriage, this devastating loss pushed my husband into a drug addiction that would last seven years. We both "ate" our feelings and developed morbid obesity during that time.

When my husband finally overcame his addiction and found sobriety, he replaced his drug addiction with an "addiction" to the gym. Spending four hours at the gym a day quickly helped him melt away the pounds, but health issues started to creep into his life. He developed diverticulitis which went misdiagnosed for many months. An ER doctor finally found the cause of his pain and referred him for surgery. After surgery to resection his sigmoid colon, Jeremias developed an abdominal hernia, which also went misdiagnosed for many months. Finally, after returning to his surgeon for a follow-up appointment, Jeremias was scheduled again for surgery, but this time, because he had lost over 100 pounds, he qualified to receive a panniculectomy that removed 22 pounds of skin and fat.

During all of this, in 2010, Jeremias had fallen and started experiencing back pain. Doctor after doctor offered explanations for the pain: obesity, weight loss, age, the gym, overuse, strain, etc and offered an assortment of pills to treat the pain. As a former addict, Jeremias did not want drugs; he wanted a permanent solution. Finally, in 2016, while examining Jeremias's gall bladder (which was removed eventually), his primary doctor found the reason for the pain; he had broken his back, and it had healed improperly.

After requesting a referral to a back specialist, we were referred to Physical Medicine. The first doctor suggested physical therapy. Jeremias did it. Then, at my prompting, the doctor offered acupuncture. He did that. When asked about a permanent solution at one visit, the doctor explained that our insurance carrier would offer surgey when Jeremias was paralyzed. Jeremias then sought other non-invasive solutions (chiropractic care and decompression therapy) that cost thousands of dollars, and while it decreased the pain a bit, it did not curb it permanently. We asked for a second opinion. The second doctor echoed what the first said. Of course, both doctors offered varying strengths of painkillers, which my former addict husband did not want to take. We had a phone appointment with this doctor on July 26, 2022 during which we requested a permanent solution to the pain. He explained that surgery is only an option for people who are immobile and that 30-40% of the population live with chronic pain. In fact, he said, "You're screwed." We're currently waiting on a referral to pain block.

Tired of our insurance carrier's unwillingness to find a solution to a problem that was missed at its onset in 2010, I filed a grievance with the HMO, hoping to recover the cost of the procedures and care that we've paid for out-of-pocket. They denied our claim. I filed a grievance with the Independent Medical Review Board, who also denied our claim based on the documents provided by our carrier.

So why GoFundMe? Why am I essentially begging strangers to help us when the people who should have been willing would not?

After fifteen years of sobriety, losing 270 pounds, and transistioning to vegan-eating habits leading up to open-heart surgery (yep, he had that too to correct a birth defect that was...wait for it...misdiagnosed for months), my husband can hardly move without fear of his back giving out. We have five sons and one grandson and Jeremias has to contain his frustration with debilitating pain and fear of more pain every time he tries to play with any of them. Our boys are used to asking, "Do you want to play basketball or does your back hurt too much today?" "Do you think your back will be ok enough to take us to the park?" It's one thing for chronic pain to affect the life of an adult, one who admittedly did terrible things to his body while using drugs and alcohol to mask his emotional pain, but it's almost too much to bare to see it affecting our boys who are at the age when they want to do physical activities with their dad.

There are permanent solutions. Our medical provider is not interested in offering them. We cannot afford them ourselves. That's where you come in, dear family, friends, and strangers. Your assistance in this matter could essentially give us a deposit to get something started that would bring my husband some relief. A consultation with some of the top facilities that specialize in back pain start at $10,000. The funds raised through this GoFundMe wouldn't just address his back pain, it would help ease the burden of feeling worthless. A man who used to work odd jobs to supplement my teacher's income cannot now. A man who used to wrestle and chase our little boys can no longer keep up with our 8, 10, 11, and 17 year-olds. A man yearning to play with his one-year-old grandson has to watch from the couch as others play ball and chase him. My husband's mental health is at stake. My boys' mental health is as stake. I can take the strain of my husband's pain--I've done it for 23 years through his addiction, obesity, medical issues, and scares with death. My boys shouldn's have to.

Why GoFundMe? We need help. You may possibly be the only way to get it.