Support Baseerat’s Engineering Education & Medical Recovery

My name is Baseerat. I’m a student at George Mason University and have wanted to be an engineer to help other people my whole life. I’ve contributed to the INSPIRED lab where I specialized in cardiovascular care for marginalized communities. My goal is to be an advocate for diversity in technology. I plan to move forward the needle on girls and women’s rights, equality, and education especially in tech.

I am writing this to help with my school and living expenses due to severe and ongoing medical issues that began in January 2024.

In January 2024, I experienced a sudden and intense increase in my TMJ (jaw) pain, leading to daily migraines that never subsided. This time it was particularly debilitating. The pain intensified to the point where I could barely function and spent the entire day coping with the pain. A proper diagnosis was difficult. I struggled to get a timely medical diagnosis with doctors constantly dismissing me.

I received a specialist referral for a Neurologist in February and scheduled the earliest appointment, which was in May, but the wait exacerbated my condition. When I did get in, I was diagnosed with suboccipital neuralgia, which has caused me great pain and limited my mobility. I’m currently under the care of multiple doctors to battle the broader challenges of the condition.

I was tired all the time and laying down because I was in so much pain and had no energy. This is true to this day. My pain, initially concentrated in my jaw, began to spread throughout my body. First in my whole face, particularly in my eyes and ears, then as time passed the pain spread into my head causing chronic migraines, then my neck, then all throughout as other parts of my body tried to compensate. I don’t know what my day-to-day in terms of pain management will look like because of how complex it is. It’s a continuous never ending pain. Even if it reduces, it’s still always there, aching and throbbing.

I can’t make facial movements. I’m a bubbly person but I had to learn to keep my face neutral a lot of the time, otherwise the pain would be even worse. Beyond just the physical pain, I experience emotional pain as well because I can’t express my feelings.

During this period, I spent a majority of my time bouncing between doctors’ offices trying to find a way to ease my symptoms. As a full-time student it’s demoralizing because it’s difficult to do day-to-day tasks and stay on top of all my homework.

In May 2024, I made the difficult decision to stop working entirely. My ability to handle even basic daily tasks, such as preparing food and maintaining personal hygiene, is still severely limited. Despite finally getting in to see the specialist, and making some progress over the summer, my condition remains life-altering. I am unable to work or fully engage in my studies, and this has continued into the current semester.

I don’t have any family that can help me. I've been navigating life and supporting myself entirely on my own. I'm determined to pursue my goals with resilience and determination, but given these circumstances, I need help in covering my current overdue school bill of $11,232.50 until I am sufficiently recovered from this setback. I also need support for ongoing medical treatments and care that I urgently need during this difficult time. Every contribution, no matter the size, will help relieve some of the financial strain so I can focus on healing.

My hope is that with your support and others, I will be setting up steps to be better, be able to fully engage in my classes again, pursue my engineering goals, and be back to my normal capacity.

~ Baseerat