At the tender age of 14, something inexplicable happened and in an instant I lost all sexual sensation and functionality.

As the years went by, the situation deteriorated, with chronic pelvic pain and leg pain that oscillates between somewhat tolerable and so debilitating I cannot leave my bed.

I cannot describe the harrowing impact this has had on my life. It colours everything; my self-esteem, my mental health, social interactions, relationships and any life prospects at all. Every day is a struggle and I fear that one day I won't have the strength to carry on, I see no future for myself as things stand.

I have spent the majority of my adult life in what has seemed like a hopeless endeavour to attain normality. Back and forth over the years with the NHS left me nowhere. At my wits end, I travelled to India to receive a number of speciality scans.

Finally, at the age of 32, I have my answer:

Pudendal nerve entrapment at the site of the piriformis and distally at the site of the dorsal nerve.

It will involve a number of surgeries, and unfortunately, due to the complexity and obscurity of the issue, only a handful of surgeons in the world routinely perform them. With complexity comes cost, and sadly insurance isn't an option. I have no hope in hell of ever accruing the money by myself in my current state, so I come to all of you today to ask for your help to put a stop to this never-ending nightmare.

These are the following surgeries I will be pursuing:

Surgery 1: Bilateral resection/removal of the piriformis muscle, which has been compressing my pudendal and sciatic nerves, pulling my sacrum forward and affecting my sacral plexus as a result. This will be performed by Dr Renaud Bollens who operates out of Belgium. I have been quoted a total cost of €28800

Surgery 2: Dorsal nerve decompression; this will involve decompressing the nerve that directly supplies the genitals. This will be performed by Dr Oskar Aszmann who operates out of Austria,Vienna. I haven't received a quote yet, but a patient underwent this procedure last year and paid €14500.

A potential third surgery may be required, but that will not become apparent until these first two are performed.

The £45000 I am asking for will be used to cover the cost of the two surgeries, travel and post operative care(physical therapy, scans, medications etc)

Given the nerves have been severely compressed for a rather significant period of time, permanent damage will have occurred, but it is my hope that I will recover a considerable amount of nerve function and with it be able to live a normal life.

I will be keeping a documented journal of my journey and will include surgical reports, images and/or videos of the surgeries for those interested.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much for the consideration and any help you are able to give will be eternally appreciated.

Best Regards

Mark Beattie