Dear friends, family, community, and kind strangers alike,

Within the next 3 months, my mother needs to have a procedure done on her knees in order to avoid double knee replacements. The cartilage in both her knees is nearly gone, which means the bones in that area are touching each other where the cartilage should be. This means the pain and ability to walk is excruciating for her, and will sure enough, render my mom without any ability to walk.

 

What can help? 

There is a procedure is called Lipogems.

Lipogems is a minimum invasive alternative to major surgery. It will allow her doctor to takes fat tissue from another part of her body to repair the missing cartilage in her knees. 

The procedure is estimated to be $10,000.

 

Here's where we need YOUR HELP:

This procedure is not covered by her medical insurance and no financing for this procedure. Dr. Ravi Panjabi has been my mothers pain doctor for a number of years, and we have yet to find anyone better nor more knowledgeable in treating my mother's condition. We are in dire need of her having this procedure done as soon as possible, as her doctor feels that time is limited and the bones in her knees can splinter. If this happens, there will be no going back, and she will have no choice but to have double knee replacement surgery. 

I cannot explain how hard it is to ask for help, but looking over at my mom every day, I know the need of anyone that can help is crucial. Right now, I can see her knee caps are reddening, swollen, and the bulge of where the bone is touching where it shouldn't be. 

Every day I witness how her mobility is increasingly becoming limited. Every night she struggles to sleep all the way through and dreads having to get up out of bed. My mother is not weak or lazy, she fights and pushes through more times than I could ever imagine anyone else being able to do. What I am asking is for people out there to please help in any way you can. 

Who you are doing this for?

 Camille Epperson is my mother. She is without a doubt the strongest person, I know. There are others that know her that would quickly agree. For me, she is an example of a woman that not only took the lead of raising her children, but did so every day in sacrifice of her well-being- mentally, emotionally, and physically. I am 30 now. My mother had me 2 weeks before her 20th birthday, and for a majority of my life, she has been disabled.  I have seen her work hard to the point of breaking, and step down from a career she truly thrived in to focus solely on her children. Many are quick to say their children are their world, but my mother demonstrates this daily. Even when we fight against her to not do so. My mother's wealth is through and through her heart, her will, and her impeccable strength I know she fights to keep hold of each day.

My mom was always an athlete, and still holds the mindset of one in whatever she does to fight against the effects of her disabilities. She is the sole reason I know that disabilities do not mean incapability. She's faced so much pain and hardships in her life, and does still. To go from a decorated runner that deteriorated into an inescapable illness is something she's struggling to cope with every second. From the time she gets up each morning, even into her sleep, the pain she suffers physically is evident and I know that unless you experience that magnitude of pain, you could not possibly understand the war she fights within. In my eyes, my mother is nothing short of a warrior. With every moment she gets out of bed, to every laugh, to each time she steps out the door, when she exercises to fight against her MS, or even falls into tears- - She is a warrior.

One in need of a community to pull around her.

 How did she lose her cartilage?

My mother has Osteoarthritis in her neck, knees, shoulder, lower back and hips. Osteoarthritis causes a break down in cartilage in joints. Both her shoulders are missing cartilage as well.

 
Why double knee replacement surgery needs to be the LAST result possible:

My mother has a long withstanding condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). This is a chronic pain disorder that causes wounds to heal very slowly with increased chances of infection, pain, and swelling that is more amplified than normal. This would also result to an extremely long and painful road for an unlikely recovery from such a massive surgery such as a single knee replacement surgery.

Along with such a painful condition (RSD), my mother also suffers other conditions that has rendered her disabled:

*Neck, thoracic, and lumber spine disorder

*Degenerative Disk Disease in the neck, back, and lower back

*Chronic Sciatica Bi-Lateral (Nerve damage in the lower extremities due to spinal stenosis in low back

*Bi-lateral Shoulder Cuffs Torn;

*Severe Ulnar Damage Bi-lateral

*Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

*Lung Disorder

*Burstis in both shoulders

*Calcified Tendons (Rotator cuffs)

*History of Bacterial Meningitis

*Short Term Memory Loss due to renal failure, allergic reaction, and medications

 How did this happen to her?

It’s hard to think about all this beginning with a work injury sustained years ago, when she was a manager at a stationary store. When a box fell from a top shelf, my mom caught it awkwardly in an attempt to stop it from landing on a coworker. That box landed on the side of her head and caused her neck to crack from the impact. From there, she had chronic nerve pain, which led to Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. Experiential surgeries, treatments, and spinal meningitis over time along with lack of knowledge to this new lifestyle resulted into my mother becoming permanently disabled.

 

THE GOAL

Our goal is to raise atleast $10,000. Any and all funds will solely be put into the procedure and medical costs only. All I want is for my mom to have her best chance in recovering. 

I work as hard as I can to provide for our day to day living. I make sure she's as well taken care of as possible as I am her main care provider. We're working to pay down our credit, to get rid of our storage unit (atleast $200 a month), and sell what we can to pull together whatever funds we can collect on our own. Still, it has not been easy with the costs of her medical needs. 

 

Please feel free to ask questions! 

 I cannot express my gratitude enough for you just clicking on this page and taking the time to read about this incredible woman. I promise any help in donations or in spreading the word is beyond invaluable to us. we are beyond humbled and appreciative of you and any act of kindness. 

 

I promise to keep all of you informed on our progress and journey through this difficult time in pictures, videos, and written updates.

 
Most sincerely,

Camille's daughter, Malachiyah