Hi, my name is Rachel Wright and I’m 25 years old. I was born prematurely with a condition called Cerebral Palsy Spastic Diplegia (CP). I will have this condition for the rest of my life. CP affects the motor function in my legs and causes me to have severe and constant tightness and stiffness (spasticity) in the muscles of my legs, hips and pelvis. Which also leads to my muscles and tendons shortening over time. This not only makes my mobility and walking extremely challenging but also affects the muscles in my upper body because those muscles help to maintain my balance. The result of all of this is every muscle in my body is functioning at an extreme level of tightness with no relief. Think about when you’ve had a charley-horse in a calf or thigh muscle, that is going on throughout my body all day, everyday. Anyone who knows me will know that I have worked through these challenges for many years. I did not allow CP to stop me from living my life like other children and young adults. I had an active childhood. I was always playing sports or doing some sort of extracurricular activity and completed part of my Athletic Therapy degree in college. In addition, I was able to travel to Europe and to parts of the United States for anything and everything related to seeing my favourite entertainer Shawn Mendes in concert and to experiencing a Harry Potter-themed hotel in London. In recent years, I have noticed that my pain levels and mobility restrictions which once was manageable has now become a hindrance and debilitating to my quality of life. There have been some significant changes in my body that are having an impact on my mobility. I now deal with an indescribable amount of chronic pain and increased muscle tightness that many days are unmanageable. I am currently employed part time. This job has been paying for my physical therapy sessions, which barely provide relief and only for a very short amount of time. With this increased pain and tightness, my mobility is rapidly declining much faster than it can get better. I have been hopeful that things would start to improve but that has simply not been the case. Recently, I came to learn about a surgical procedure, called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, that would permanently reduce the spasticity in my legs caused by CP. This is the only permanent treatment option for CP. Every other form of treatment is like a band-aid solution that doesn’t take care of the issue. That’s why I decided to go get assessed for this procedure. Because it’s not available to me in Canada, I saved up some money to travel to St. Louis, Missouri to meet with one of the world’s most renowned neurosurgeons and a true pioneer in this procedure, Dr. T.S. Park. Dr. Park has performed the surgery with great success on over 4,600 patients. At my appointment, Dr. Park explained that all the pain and fatigue I’ve been feeling is related to early aging caused by CP. He said that the amount of spasticity in my legs is among the highest he’s seen and without surgery my mobility will continue to decline. Without this procedure I will end up in a wheelchair with severe body pain within the next 10 years. At the young age of 34, I do not want to be confined to a wheelchair when there is a solution and something that can be done about it. I am too active and too young for that to happen. With the surgery, Dr. Park believes my pain level, walking, balance, posture, endurance and ability to exercise will all improve. This opportunity feels like a new beginning – where I can live with significantly less pain for the first time in my life. That’s why I’ve decided to go ahead with surgery. I know this surgery is the right and best decision for me. It will give me a clean slate, a fresh start, and a HUGE opportunity for things to be better. This will change my life. As this surgery is in the United States and not covered by medical insurance, it is quite costly. I would appreciate and be forever grateful for your help and assistance to cover the costs associated with this surgical procedure. Even the smallest contribution will go a long way in helping to meet this goal. In order to have this opportunity, I need to raise $120,000 for surgery, travel, accommodations and post-operative therapy.  Cost Breakdown in CAD Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy     $60,000 Muscle Lengthening                      $15,000 Travel Expenses*                             $10,000 Post-Op Rehab                                 $35,000 *required 5 week stay in St. Louis   I will keep you updated on my progress following the surgery. Follow my journey here: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/rachels_journey2/"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rachels_journey2/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.instagram.com/rachels_journey2/</a></a> Facebook: <a href="https://m.facebook.com/RachelsSDRJourney/"><a href="https://m.facebook.com/RachelsSDRJourney/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://m.facebook.com/RachelsSDRJourney/</a></a> Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. With love and hope, Rachel

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Rachel's Journey: Lets Keep Rachel On Her Feet

Rachel's Journey: Lets Keep Rachel On Her Feet

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