Let Us Move This Mountain / Richard's Back Surgery
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Creating a GoFundMe page is the last thing I want to do...
But if I am to loose my husband and I have to spend a lifetime without him here on Earth, I have to be able to look within myself and know with absolute certainty that I've done my very best to save him, that I've given everything, that I've tried everything, every option, every possibility, every avenue.
I can't let my pride or his pride be the death of him.
As many of you know, Richard has multiple health issues.
He's a fighter and he's putting up a hell of a fight, but he can only exist for so long in such devastating pain and suffering before his body OR his soul gives out.
Even though he loves me, even though he loves life itself, he can only handle so much.
He had MRI done on his back in late 2018.
Those are the impressions from the MRI:
1. L3, S1 vertebral body hemangioma are present (benign tumors)
2. Bilateral L5 spondylolysis and grade 1 spondylolisthesis of L5 on S1.
3. L5-S1 mild degenerative changes, disc bulge, and small central disc herniation, superior extrusion limited to the epidural fat. No central or lateral recess stenosis. L5-S1 borderline-mild bilateral foraminal stenosis.
4. L4-5 early degenarative changes with minimal retrolisthesis of L4 on L5., L4-5 shallow central disc herniation/protrusion. L5-S1 mild bilateral lateral recess and borderline-mild bilateral neural foraminal stenosis but no central stenosis.
This was a year and a half ago, since then his back has gone so much worse, to the point that the painkillers are useless and he's puking and crying from the pain almost every single day now.
The botched Venous Stent Surgery that he underwent last August and the complications from it, add up to that and the strain on his body is just too great now.
We've done a thorough research and we believe that the best option for him is a Laser Spine Surgery.
The Laser Spine Surgery that the Bonati Spine Institute offers and has a patent over, is minimally invasive surgery and some of its benefits are:
• No general anesthesia
• No hospital stay
• Less post-operative pain
• Surgical recovery in days
• Reduced blood loss
• Smaller incision and less scarring
• Minimal damage to the soft tissues and muscles
• Avoids spinal fusions
• Fast return to work
• No pain management required post-op
• Over 30 years of experience
• High Success rate – 98.75% patient satisfaction
Laser Spine Surgery Info >>> https://www.bonati.com/beyond-laser-spine-surgery/
After having this surgery, doing the required physiotherapy and going through the recovery process, Richard will ultimately be able to have a life of minimum if not even completely free of pain and he'll be able to return to work and have a normal life.
The surgery costs $15 000.
We're raising additional $5 000 in case of any additional expenses that might arise, which we wouldn't be able to meet otherwise.
We've tried every possible way to get this surgery though his job and insurance company/s, but with no success.
He's on Short Term Disability Leave since August because of the botched Stent Surgery and is now waiting and hoping to be approved for Long Term Disability Leave on account of how bad his back is and the crippling pain he's in 24/7.
He badly needs this Spine Surgery and has spent hours upon hours on the phone with his Job, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Lincoln Financial, The Bonati Spine Institute and others, trying to make it happen, but it seems that everyone is going out of their way to work against him and he's getting doors slammed into his face on every turn.
I can't even tell you what this does to his soul, he feels so rejected and as if he doesn't belong here.
Everything that he's going through makes him feel as if he's being punished for simply existing.
And the amount of stress and anxiety he has to deal with on daily basis, all in addition to the pain, is just maddening.
I won't go into it all, all our circumstances, struggles and everything we had to go through and are currently going through, because it's very complex and it's just too much information that might or might not make sense to you whatsoever.
But believe me when I say this:
WE'RE DOING OUR BEST AND WE'VE TRIED EVERYTHING.
We're completely out of options.
We created a GoFundMe page once before because we needed help paying for the Stent Surgery, which as his vein doctor advised, was very urgent.
Back then, we put our pride and any reservations we had aside, in the name of his life.
We opened up and showed ourselves vulnerable, in need of help, and asked friends, acquaintances and people we didn't even know to help us.
We put our faith in God and in good people because we had no other choice but to do so.
Our hard work and our very best just wasn't enough.
Many people answered our plea back then and we appreciate their help – donations and shares.
Many that we considered "close" showed no care and gave no damn whatsoever.
And there were many that judged us for asking for help.
We both lost a lot of "friends" over this and had feelings of regret for asking for help in a first place.
The bad taste that this experience left was holding me back from creating another GoFundMe page and asking for help once more.
But with every day that passes things get darker and darker, the load gets heavier and it looks like our worse fears are coming to fruition.
Whatever can go wrong, does go wrong for us and we seem to be given more than what two people can deal with on their own, no matter how hardworking, strong or resourceful.
Things would've been completely different if we were together, if Richard had a better back and wasn't in so much pain, if we had family to count on financially, even just a little.
But that's not our life.
I can't bare the thought of loosing my Husband & Best Friend.
I'm desperate to save him.
I've contacted his father multiple times, begging him to help his son but even though he has the means, he couldn't care less.
My family does care, but they're in no position to help us.
I bust my ass off working and I play the lottery every week hoping for a miracle, but my hopes are being crushed again and again, week after week.
We ran out of options and very soon we're about to run out of time.
Yesterday a Bulgarian friend of mine and her husband raised €190 000 for a life-saving surgery for their little baby boy.
Even when the campaign reached its marked goal of €160 000 people kept on donating and showing love and support to this lovely family.
The money were raised for just one day.
One. Single. Day.
And the majority of donations were in the range of €5 – €30 but more than 5 000 people donated to the cause.
This just blew me away and filled me up with hope.
It made me trust and believe in people's hearts and in what we're capable of when we come together.
Made me believe that for a good cause people can unite, get involved, create this giant net of compassion and care, and they can move mountains and change lives for the better.
I understand that people have more compassion for children and especially babies and I find it to be only natural, they're so innocent, so pure and so tiny.
But I would like to believe that we can unite and care in such way for an adult person just the same.
Richard has a beautiful soul and I bet my life that he has touched your life in some positive way over the years.
Through the Art group he created in which we share so much beauty and inspiration.
Through music or movies that he has shared with you.
Or by messaging you and saying "Hey, are you ok? I'm here for you." when you yourself were going through a rough patch.
He has been through so much in this lifetime, so much abuse, rejection, pain and so much struggle.
And if you knew him the way I do, you would've love him to bits.
I'm asking you, please help me show him that he's wanted here on Earth, that he belongs here, with me, with his brothers and sisters.
That he's loved and cared for.
Please, take this mission to heart and help me save his life.
Spread the message, spread the love.
Lets show what we can do collectively for an individual, for one of us.
And I swear to God, him and I would do the same in your time of need.
We're not asking you to put yourself in a strain, or your friends.
We're asking you to spend on Richard's life as much as you would spend on a box of chocolates or on a pint of beer.
And we're asking you to forward our plea so it can reach more and more people with open hearts, who might do the same.
Help us move this mountain, bit by bit.
Please Join Us (( ♡♡ ))
But if I am to loose my husband and I have to spend a lifetime without him here on Earth, I have to be able to look within myself and know with absolute certainty that I've done my very best to save him, that I've given everything, that I've tried everything, every option, every possibility, every avenue.
I can't let my pride or his pride be the death of him.
As many of you know, Richard has multiple health issues.
He's a fighter and he's putting up a hell of a fight, but he can only exist for so long in such devastating pain and suffering before his body OR his soul gives out.
Even though he loves me, even though he loves life itself, he can only handle so much.
He had MRI done on his back in late 2018.
Those are the impressions from the MRI:
1. L3, S1 vertebral body hemangioma are present (benign tumors)
2. Bilateral L5 spondylolysis and grade 1 spondylolisthesis of L5 on S1.
3. L5-S1 mild degenerative changes, disc bulge, and small central disc herniation, superior extrusion limited to the epidural fat. No central or lateral recess stenosis. L5-S1 borderline-mild bilateral foraminal stenosis.
4. L4-5 early degenarative changes with minimal retrolisthesis of L4 on L5., L4-5 shallow central disc herniation/protrusion. L5-S1 mild bilateral lateral recess and borderline-mild bilateral neural foraminal stenosis but no central stenosis.
This was a year and a half ago, since then his back has gone so much worse, to the point that the painkillers are useless and he's puking and crying from the pain almost every single day now.
The botched Venous Stent Surgery that he underwent last August and the complications from it, add up to that and the strain on his body is just too great now.
We've done a thorough research and we believe that the best option for him is a Laser Spine Surgery.
The Laser Spine Surgery that the Bonati Spine Institute offers and has a patent over, is minimally invasive surgery and some of its benefits are:
• No general anesthesia
• No hospital stay
• Less post-operative pain
• Surgical recovery in days
• Reduced blood loss
• Smaller incision and less scarring
• Minimal damage to the soft tissues and muscles
• Avoids spinal fusions
• Fast return to work
• No pain management required post-op
• Over 30 years of experience
• High Success rate – 98.75% patient satisfaction
Laser Spine Surgery Info >>> https://www.bonati.com/beyond-laser-spine-surgery/
After having this surgery, doing the required physiotherapy and going through the recovery process, Richard will ultimately be able to have a life of minimum if not even completely free of pain and he'll be able to return to work and have a normal life.
The surgery costs $15 000.
We're raising additional $5 000 in case of any additional expenses that might arise, which we wouldn't be able to meet otherwise.
We've tried every possible way to get this surgery though his job and insurance company/s, but with no success.
He's on Short Term Disability Leave since August because of the botched Stent Surgery and is now waiting and hoping to be approved for Long Term Disability Leave on account of how bad his back is and the crippling pain he's in 24/7.
He badly needs this Spine Surgery and has spent hours upon hours on the phone with his Job, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Lincoln Financial, The Bonati Spine Institute and others, trying to make it happen, but it seems that everyone is going out of their way to work against him and he's getting doors slammed into his face on every turn.
I can't even tell you what this does to his soul, he feels so rejected and as if he doesn't belong here.
Everything that he's going through makes him feel as if he's being punished for simply existing.
And the amount of stress and anxiety he has to deal with on daily basis, all in addition to the pain, is just maddening.
I won't go into it all, all our circumstances, struggles and everything we had to go through and are currently going through, because it's very complex and it's just too much information that might or might not make sense to you whatsoever.
But believe me when I say this:
WE'RE DOING OUR BEST AND WE'VE TRIED EVERYTHING.
We're completely out of options.
We created a GoFundMe page once before because we needed help paying for the Stent Surgery, which as his vein doctor advised, was very urgent.
Back then, we put our pride and any reservations we had aside, in the name of his life.
We opened up and showed ourselves vulnerable, in need of help, and asked friends, acquaintances and people we didn't even know to help us.
We put our faith in God and in good people because we had no other choice but to do so.
Our hard work and our very best just wasn't enough.
Many people answered our plea back then and we appreciate their help – donations and shares.
Many that we considered "close" showed no care and gave no damn whatsoever.
And there were many that judged us for asking for help.
We both lost a lot of "friends" over this and had feelings of regret for asking for help in a first place.
The bad taste that this experience left was holding me back from creating another GoFundMe page and asking for help once more.
But with every day that passes things get darker and darker, the load gets heavier and it looks like our worse fears are coming to fruition.
Whatever can go wrong, does go wrong for us and we seem to be given more than what two people can deal with on their own, no matter how hardworking, strong or resourceful.
Things would've been completely different if we were together, if Richard had a better back and wasn't in so much pain, if we had family to count on financially, even just a little.
But that's not our life.
I can't bare the thought of loosing my Husband & Best Friend.
I'm desperate to save him.
I've contacted his father multiple times, begging him to help his son but even though he has the means, he couldn't care less.
My family does care, but they're in no position to help us.
I bust my ass off working and I play the lottery every week hoping for a miracle, but my hopes are being crushed again and again, week after week.
We ran out of options and very soon we're about to run out of time.
Yesterday a Bulgarian friend of mine and her husband raised €190 000 for a life-saving surgery for their little baby boy.
Even when the campaign reached its marked goal of €160 000 people kept on donating and showing love and support to this lovely family.
The money were raised for just one day.
One. Single. Day.
And the majority of donations were in the range of €5 – €30 but more than 5 000 people donated to the cause.
This just blew me away and filled me up with hope.
It made me trust and believe in people's hearts and in what we're capable of when we come together.
Made me believe that for a good cause people can unite, get involved, create this giant net of compassion and care, and they can move mountains and change lives for the better.
I understand that people have more compassion for children and especially babies and I find it to be only natural, they're so innocent, so pure and so tiny.
But I would like to believe that we can unite and care in such way for an adult person just the same.
Richard has a beautiful soul and I bet my life that he has touched your life in some positive way over the years.
Through the Art group he created in which we share so much beauty and inspiration.
Through music or movies that he has shared with you.
Or by messaging you and saying "Hey, are you ok? I'm here for you." when you yourself were going through a rough patch.
He has been through so much in this lifetime, so much abuse, rejection, pain and so much struggle.
And if you knew him the way I do, you would've love him to bits.
I'm asking you, please help me show him that he's wanted here on Earth, that he belongs here, with me, with his brothers and sisters.
That he's loved and cared for.
Please, take this mission to heart and help me save his life.
Spread the message, spread the love.
Lets show what we can do collectively for an individual, for one of us.
And I swear to God, him and I would do the same in your time of need.
We're not asking you to put yourself in a strain, or your friends.
We're asking you to spend on Richard's life as much as you would spend on a box of chocolates or on a pint of beer.
And we're asking you to forward our plea so it can reach more and more people with open hearts, who might do the same.
Help us move this mountain, bit by bit.
Please Join Us (( ♡♡ ))
Organizer
Richard Hoffmann Gillespie
Organizer
