Clark, my son, is a 21-year-old who loves fishing, camping, and hiking. He has been unable to do these things since August of 2024 due to severe pain, nausea/vomiting, and exhaustion. He has experienced these symptoms much milder and only intermittently throughout his life but got much worse starting in August 2024 but never complained previously because he is not a complainer. These symptoms come from his Congenital Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome.

Congenital Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome is where part of the duodenum is pinched between the aorta and Superior Mesenteric Artery without rapid weight loss. It is mostly caused by connective tissue disorders, and in my son’s case, it is hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Connective tissue disorders cause the drooping displaced anatomy, which causes the compression and has led to other compressions called abdominal vascular compression syndromes because of their location and because they involve blood vessels.

My son has Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome, which will be dealt with at the same time as his Congenital Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome. He also has Nutcracker Syndrome that will have to be dealt with at a later time with a different surgeon. My son has been dependent on TPN for nutrition and survival since late March of this year, and hopefully, this surgery will allow him to eat orally again and is lifesaving.

If you feel called to give, please give, especially since he has many more comorbidities from hEDS (hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) that I will not explain here because I don’t want to be overly redundant. Often, certain vascular compressions need revisional surgeries, and if you don’t have the means to give but feel called to pray, please do so. The congenital Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome surgery and Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome surgery will be in Virginia on January 19th, 2026.