I'm Edward Fortae and for the last 6 months, I've been struggling with chronic back pain due to a growth on my lumbar nerve root at L5. The root is being crushed against the bone by this growth.

Here is the MRI of the growth from two views. As you can see it's right on the spine itself pushing on the nerves simulating a ruptured disk.

I was scheduled for surgery after 3 months of looking for the cause of the nerve pain. The date was July 17th. The day before my surgery, United Health Care's review board decided I did not try enough other options and canceled my surgery.

I've been going to physical therapy since with no results because of the root being pinched by the growth. 12 injections were done on the 24th of July and worked for about 2 weeks. I'm now again waiting on insurance and surgery being scheduled.

The union provided short-term disability for 13 weeks that has long since run out and at $270 a week barely covered any expenses. My wife Jess has been working as much as possible yet can no longer receive overtime through her employment. We are in desperate need of help until I can return to work.

Surgery itself is relatively simple. He will cut through the back muscles and remove the growth as long as it has not grafted to the nerve root. He will remove bone to open the chamber where the root feeds the nerves to my right leg and hip.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am basically disabled but cannot go on full disability or receive any further aid because the surgery will correct my condition. Thank you for reading my story and thank you for any help.

Sincerely, Edward Fortae