Put Pompom's healing into the right hands

Our dearest friend and beloved member of our Berlin community needs your help. Pompom is a brilliant shining light in our lives, a faithful friend and an icon on the dancefloor. Their light has been significantly dimmed by complications of their rare illness, and we are not sure how much longer they will be with us unless we intervene.

At the beginning of 2023, they were forced to leave Berlin after the medical system failed them, in hopes that the doctors in their home country of France would be able to offer a true diagnosis and treatment. The only thing they were able to find out is that they have significant inflammation in their brain, pressing on their prefrontal cortex (likely encephalopathy or encephalitis) which could be traced back to ‘Long Covid’ or the contraction of MPX last year.

They are in constant neurological pain and since the prefrontal cortex regulates thoughts, actions, and emotions, it has been a heavy burden on them to do even the most simple daily tasks.

The doctors in France cannot offer any treatment options beyond morphine, pregabalin and other various painkillers, and the many psychiatric medications they are being prescribed all seem to be hurting rather than helping

With this fundraiser, we aim to offer them alternative integrative medicine or holistic therapies which will allow their immune system to reset and their body to finally heal itself in a nurturing environment.

We have spoken with several doctors and researched several clinics, and we truly believe these alternative solutions can provide Pompom with greater chances of healing. One doctor at Hufeland Klinik in Bad Mergentheim Germany is treating a patient quite successfully who has almost exactly the same symptoms Pompom is experiencing. This fundraiser will allow us to (1) provide immediate relief, (2) move them to a mid-long-term treatment center, and (3) integrate them back into living here in Berlin.

(1) Immediate relief: Sending local queer counselors to their home to console them, alongside local acupuncturists and healers to be able to manage their daily pain and suffering.

(2) Mid-long-term treatment: Our first choice would be to send them to Hufeland Klinik in Bad Mergentheim, Germany for 4-8 weeks of inpatient immunobiological therapy including knowledge and equipment on how to continue the therapy at home. The holistic program includes: biological detoxification and regeneration of the organism/metabolism; intensive immunotherapy and anti-inflammatory therapies rooted in medical and ayurvedic research; a special lactovegetarian diet and/or alkaline food and/or fasting program (according to the doctor); psychological treatment; physical treatment such as acupuncture, lymphatic drainage and soaking in alkaline thermal springs. This clinic believes that treatment should in no way harm a person but rebuild them, dramatically improving their patients’ well-being even in cases where conventional methods are ineffective. In this case, we believe this too.

3) Any leftover donations will be used either for further treatment by well-researched, non-Western healing clinics or to assist Pompom’s relocation and integration back into rejoining us in Berlin. The decision between our researched treatment options is ultimately in the hands of Pompom.

However, these costs lie outside the basic medical system which is flawed and discriminatory. Pompom also does not have access to the specialized doctors that they need in the countryside of France. Unfortunately, we live in a society where only the rich can afford real integrative medicine. Please help us give Pompom the chance at a second life in hopes they will be able to one day rejoin all their friends in Berlin, and move on with their hopes and dreams.

This letter is an example written by Pompom of what they are experiencing on a daily basis:

I’m Pompom, I’m 30 years old, and an artist and was living in Berlin, which I had to leave because in September 2022 I started suffering enormously from intense and constant oral / mouth pain and it never went away, and the pain radiates into my neck, chest, heart, arms, wrists, fingers, as everything is burning constantly and hurting so bad that after seeing several dentists, hospitals, emergency visits, doctor visits I went back to my parents because I was unable to do much and it just became too difficult living that I needed a lot of help.

I am currently after all this time still in extreme and constant quite unbearable mouth and oral pain, like electric shocks in the palate, my tongue every time it touches my oral cavity feels like razor blades, it is more painful to eat, drink, talk but it is always painful, and I can feel the pain tensing my neck, hurting going down to my chest, my heart hurts sometimes more, and especially the right side of my body. Like especially my hand, wrist, arm, inside, at the tips of the fingers, even showering is painful to my skin. Also when I walk, my right foot hurts too, sometimes. My doctors speak of a neuropathic kind of pain, but after a complete examination and brain scan and blood tests and MRIs of my teeth and face they couldn't really find anything [except severe brain inflammation]. Getting to this point where it is painful all the time, makes me unable to think, rest and sleep, makes my life really miserable and I feel like I have tried everything I could and found no answer apart from medications that don't do much and make me really tired and I have almost no benefit from them at all.

A million thanks for taking the time to read this page. Please consider giving anything that you can to help. By taking this globally from our little community in Berlin, we can together save Pompom’s life.

For transparency purposes: This fundraiser was born out of a Telegram group with 38 of Pompoms' friends who all wish to help. The fundraiser was made with Pompoms' blessing and is in Janae Byrne's name - a very trusted and sweet friend of theirs who is working professionally in the field of crowdfunding and volunteered to be the admin on the page. We have until August to add the bank details for withdrawing the money raised, and we will of course submit Pompom's bank account details so only they can withdraw the funds. Anyone who wishes to donate by Paypal directly to Pompom's Paypal account may do so to [email redacted]. Once we've reached our first goal of €6.300, Pompom will go for the recommended 21-day inpatient program at Hufeland Klinik, they have been in direct contact with the Doctor there. They will also be equipped with tools and knowledge to continue their healing regimen at home. We are hoping to raise more money because then they can have more choices to continue their healing journey in Columbia or India... and/or we can integrate them back into working life as they become stronger to be on their own again.