Hello, my name is Dayanara Brem. I am 19 years old and currently stand at 4’6”. When I was about 5, my parents noticed a great stunt in my growth. We traveled across the country to many doctors, desperate for answers with very little being given. I tested negative for Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, dwarfism, and many other disorders. The best answer we eventually got was that my pituitary glands had shut down and stunted my growth hormones.

When I was 13, a new option became available to my family and me. I had my first appointment at Texas Orthopedic Hospital in Houston, Texas, with a surgeon named Dr. Brinker. Dr. Brinker specializes in limb lengthening with a special metal nail. The surgery was best decided to do when my growth plates had fully closed around the age of 18.

I continued going to appointments until the age of 18 when we had a scheduled surgery date for January 16, 2025. A week before my originally scheduled surgery date, I got a phone call that the manufacturer ran out of the nails I needed and that there was a national shortage. Months and months went by with no answers, and I started to lose hope. Finally, in June 2025, I got a phone call that the nails began to become available again. My surgeon’s nurse fought for me to be first on the waiting list and first to receive the long-awaited surgery. She wanted to schedule me for surgery within the next month.

March 2025 was when everything first became really hard. My dad’s insurance had already originally accepted my surgery and covered it. In March, I lost my dad fully as well as the insurance covering the surgery. Everything has been moving so fast. My surgery is scheduled for July 31 (2 days) and with my mom’s insurance, a total of 15k is being asked for which we simply are having a real hard time to come up with it within a real short period of time.

I ask for your help. It hurts me every day when my mom is breaking down because my dad decided to drop me from the insurance when everything was already paid for. He decided to choose his addiction over his family, and it is now costing us. This 15k will help cover the deductible, costs of my necessities such as a wheelchair, bedside commode, shower chair, etc., physical therapy, and at-home nurses.

Anything helps and is very appreciated This will be a very life-changing surgery for me as I can hopefully grow a few inches to be able to drive a car on my own and more!