Emma is one of the sweetest, most loving people I know. Truly, to know Emma is to love her. This amazing girl has had a constant headache with frequent debilitating migraines on top of it for nine years now. She has a migraine more often than not, and she has not had a single day without pain for almost half her life! The nerves in her head are so hypersensitive now (Allodynia) that she often cannot even brush her long, beautiful hair without causing additional pain. She also has "Visual Snow Syndrome", which makes everything appear overlayed with static like an old TV set.

Because the noise at school increased her pain, she was homeschooled starting with eighth grade. We have met with almost every kind of doctor and tried every medicine with little relief. Occipital nerve blocks and Botox injections have helped the most. Her neurologist recently told her about a nerve decompression surgery that could possibly help, so she researched and learned all about it. There are no doctors in Utah qualified to do this surgery, but she found a doctor in Santa Barbara, California, who is passionate about helping people find headache relief through this surgery. He even wrote a book about it. Similar to carpal tunnel surgery, the doctor will go in and move anything that could be putting pressure on the nerves. While the surgery is not new, it is not commonly performed, so insurance companies don't cover it. Emma would need two surgeries (one in the front and one in the back); each surgery costs $21,521.

We recently went to Santa Barbara to meet Dr. Adam Lowenstein. He tested the nerves in her forehead, her temples, and the back of her head with nerve block injections to make sure the surgery will work, and we learned that it will provide significant relief. It could eliminate her pain completely. We scheduled the first surgery (on her face) for October, and the second one (back of head/neck) will probably be next June. We will have to stay in Santa Barbara for about ten days each time.

Please help me give my little girl a life without pain. For more information on Dr. Adam Lowenstein and this surgery, see headachesurgery.com. Thank you for your generous donations!