Help Me Get My Life Back
Donation protected
This is my salute to the randomness of life.
I am now reaching out for help - my SNAFU is turning into an SOS: I can’t work. I am running out of loan money. I need at least $8000 to cover immediate medical expenses.
First things first.
For those who do not know me personally:
I’m real, a Molecular Biologist, PhD. This is my public profile
19 months ago I was working in a cool startup and dreaming of big data, mountains and waves.
A typical, good weekend for me was mountain biking in the morning, surfing in the afternoon and climbing in a gym after sunset, then sleeping in the redwoods at night and repeating it all the next day.
I had come up with an awesome plan for the next stage of my life, in addition to science, I was studying to be a backcountry rescuer, prepping for #silvertonmountain heli ski operations, honing my skills and getting my EMT. It was risky, fun, and required studying a ton and being in damn good physical shape. I was working pretty hard to make it real. I trusted that even if it would not have worked out as expected, all that mattered was enjoying the ride…
BOOM!
Everything was smashed in a stupid car crash.
All it took – was a few seconds.
Me - on the highway, the last car in the exit lane, locked at the end of a gridlocked traffic jam, and for an idiot behind me to speed, plow into me, without ever looking at the road.
At this point, I can probably write a book about serious traumatic brain injury and spinal trauma, but it would be very dark, and, luckily, most of you won’t be able to relate to it anyways. Brain damage stabs your very core; it sends you below ground zero.
Man, it sucks when you suddenly cannot physically do ANYTHING that you love, not even simply feeling good in your own body. Or think.
All I have so far is doctors, surgeries, excruciating therapies, home exercises up to 6 hours a day, bloody war with insurance companies and 9000+ pages of medical records. Plus mental balancing on the edge of desperation spin. Ooops, I’m looking in disbelieve at how my mind does not control things the way it used to :/
I’m trying hard to find anything positive in my situation, but I can’t. Perhaps, I leveled up my ability to not to freak out about serious problems and know how to talk to crippled. The future is uncertain, but I put up a wall so I can do one step at a time, and somehow it’s fine.
It’s been one and a half years since the accident, one and a half years since I’ve been able to work, and one and a half years since I have felt like myself… I’ve made a huge progress (see, I can write this.. with friends help), but the damage is serious and recovery is slow. I’m reaching out because I need help to do next step.
Friends helped me to find a unique brain-spinal rehab program that costs $8000. I cannot pay for it, I’m running out of the loan money and cannot borrow more, when the future is in the flux.
I understand how the therapy works, and it’s totally worth doing. The technology was developed in Paul Bach-y-Rita, MD and Yuri Danilov, PhD labs and proved itself over the course of 15 years. It is described in Norman Doidge’s bestsellers, “The Brain That Changes Itself,” and “The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity” – pretty cool read, btw.
This technology is not a magic wand, only an accelerator. Still, I will have to do daily exercises, but the result will be quicker and better. Life is so short!! On top of that, there are great spine specialists there, whom I need immensely.
Last thing, no big donations please, but spread the word! The whole idea is that people give a little, and together it makes such a big difference.
I lied: there is one more last thing J Whether you can chip in or not: PLEASE let’s not text and drive. Always look at the road. When such shit happens, it’s very very sad, and many people choose to “quit” such “life”, or are left suffering for the rest of it. What does not kill us make us stronger, huh? BS
Thank you, guys!
Natasha
PS:
1. I hate phrase “it’s new you”. It’s not.
2. Please no Steven Hawking
3. Norman Doidge book
4. On Yuri Danilov’s lab
5. Yuri Danilov’s Lecture (rus)
6. Mitchel Tyler’s lecture (en)
7. For caregivers: happy to give TBI 101! perhaps can stir you the right way with pre-hospital diagnostic, right specialists etc. for your loved ones. I can point out what symptoms to pay attention to and what can be easily missed by specialists of Stanford level. I also know now tons of great rehab exercises, some useful even for normals. will share (free of charge of course).
I am now reaching out for help - my SNAFU is turning into an SOS: I can’t work. I am running out of loan money. I need at least $8000 to cover immediate medical expenses.
First things first.
For those who do not know me personally:
I’m real, a Molecular Biologist, PhD. This is my public profile
19 months ago I was working in a cool startup and dreaming of big data, mountains and waves.
A typical, good weekend for me was mountain biking in the morning, surfing in the afternoon and climbing in a gym after sunset, then sleeping in the redwoods at night and repeating it all the next day.
I had come up with an awesome plan for the next stage of my life, in addition to science, I was studying to be a backcountry rescuer, prepping for #silvertonmountain heli ski operations, honing my skills and getting my EMT. It was risky, fun, and required studying a ton and being in damn good physical shape. I was working pretty hard to make it real. I trusted that even if it would not have worked out as expected, all that mattered was enjoying the ride…
BOOM!
Everything was smashed in a stupid car crash.
All it took – was a few seconds.
Me - on the highway, the last car in the exit lane, locked at the end of a gridlocked traffic jam, and for an idiot behind me to speed, plow into me, without ever looking at the road.
At this point, I can probably write a book about serious traumatic brain injury and spinal trauma, but it would be very dark, and, luckily, most of you won’t be able to relate to it anyways. Brain damage stabs your very core; it sends you below ground zero.
Man, it sucks when you suddenly cannot physically do ANYTHING that you love, not even simply feeling good in your own body. Or think.
All I have so far is doctors, surgeries, excruciating therapies, home exercises up to 6 hours a day, bloody war with insurance companies and 9000+ pages of medical records. Plus mental balancing on the edge of desperation spin. Ooops, I’m looking in disbelieve at how my mind does not control things the way it used to :/
I’m trying hard to find anything positive in my situation, but I can’t. Perhaps, I leveled up my ability to not to freak out about serious problems and know how to talk to crippled. The future is uncertain, but I put up a wall so I can do one step at a time, and somehow it’s fine.
It’s been one and a half years since the accident, one and a half years since I’ve been able to work, and one and a half years since I have felt like myself… I’ve made a huge progress (see, I can write this.. with friends help), but the damage is serious and recovery is slow. I’m reaching out because I need help to do next step.
Friends helped me to find a unique brain-spinal rehab program that costs $8000. I cannot pay for it, I’m running out of the loan money and cannot borrow more, when the future is in the flux.
I understand how the therapy works, and it’s totally worth doing. The technology was developed in Paul Bach-y-Rita, MD and Yuri Danilov, PhD labs and proved itself over the course of 15 years. It is described in Norman Doidge’s bestsellers, “The Brain That Changes Itself,” and “The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity” – pretty cool read, btw.
This technology is not a magic wand, only an accelerator. Still, I will have to do daily exercises, but the result will be quicker and better. Life is so short!! On top of that, there are great spine specialists there, whom I need immensely.
Last thing, no big donations please, but spread the word! The whole idea is that people give a little, and together it makes such a big difference.
I lied: there is one more last thing J Whether you can chip in or not: PLEASE let’s not text and drive. Always look at the road. When such shit happens, it’s very very sad, and many people choose to “quit” such “life”, or are left suffering for the rest of it. What does not kill us make us stronger, huh? BS
Thank you, guys!
Natasha
PS:
1. I hate phrase “it’s new you”. It’s not.
2. Please no Steven Hawking
3. Norman Doidge book
4. On Yuri Danilov’s lab
5. Yuri Danilov’s Lecture (rus)
6. Mitchel Tyler’s lecture (en)
7. For caregivers: happy to give TBI 101! perhaps can stir you the right way with pre-hospital diagnostic, right specialists etc. for your loved ones. I can point out what symptoms to pay attention to and what can be easily missed by specialists of Stanford level. I also know now tons of great rehab exercises, some useful even for normals. will share (free of charge of course).
Organizer
Natasha Naumova
Organizer
Palo Alto, CA
