<div>Hi my name is Hermes. For the past four years, I have been living with constant, often overwhelming pain from a severe Gympie-Gympie plant injury. What most people know as a painful sting became a long-term, life-changing medical condition for me. The plant’s microscopic silica needles (trichomes) embedded deep into my skin and have continued to trigger nerve pain, inflammation, and chronic wounds across multiple areas of my body.
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<div>This injury has affected my lips, chin, chest, both arms, both hands, and both legs, making even simple daily activities difficult. I have undergone countless treatments, dressings, procedures, and specialist appointments just to manage the pain and prevent the affected areas from deteriorating further.
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<div>The physical toll has been immense — but the financial toll has been just as heavy.
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<div><strong>What These Injuries Have Cost Me</strong>
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<div>For four years, I have paid for my own medical treatment, wound care, dressings, medications, and specialist visits, because the care I need is ongoing and extensive. I have already spent over $58,000 on:
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<li>weekly wound dressings
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<li>pain management creams
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<li>microdermabrasion and chemical peels
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<li>GP excisions
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<li>lymphatic drainage
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<li>compression garments
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<li>repeated specialist consultations
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<div>These costs were not optional — they were necessary to manage constant pain, raw skin, nerve irritation, swelling, and the risk of infection.
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<div><strong>What Happens Next</strong>
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<div>My burn and plastic surgeon has recommended a complex skin graft, estimated at $20,000+, to repair some of the worst affected areas on my right arm.
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<div>However, the surgery cannot be performed until all remaining trichomes are removed. If even one is left behind, my body would reject the graft, causing even more damage.
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<div>This means ongoing treatment, monitoring, and additional medical costs before and after the operation — all while I continue managing multiple affected body areas daily.
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<div>The total upcoming cost of surgery, recovery, and follow-up care is expected to be $22,650–$26,250+.
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<div><strong>Why I Am Also Writing a Book</strong>
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<div>After everything I have endured, I am writing a book to raise awareness and help prevent others from suffering the same injuries. The Gympie-Gympie plant is not widely understood, and many people have no idea how devastating contact with it can be.
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<div>Publishing this book professionally in Australia — including editing, design, printing, and a launch to raise awareness — is estimated to cost $10,000–$18,000.
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<div>This book could protect countless people by educating them on the dangers, symptoms, treatments, and long-term impacts associated with Gympie-Gympie exposure.
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<div><strong>Why I Need Help</strong>
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<div>I have reached a point where continuing this alone is no longer possible.
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<div>My injury affects multiple areas of my body, causes daily pain, and has consumed nearly every part of my life for four long years. I have covered every cost on my own until now, but the upcoming surgery and publishing project are far beyond my financial ability.
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<div>I’ve reached a point where the medical and recovery costs of this injury are simply more than I can handle alone. After four years of treatment, surgeries still ahead, and the goal of publishing a book to warn others, the financial strain has become overwhelming. Your support will go directly toward the medical care I urgently need — including wound management, specialist appointments, and a complex skin graft — as well as the costs of producing a book to raise awareness about the dangers of the Gympie-Gympie plant.
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<div>Every contribution, no matter the size, truly makes a meaningful difference. Your kindness helps relieve the ongoing pain, supports my healing, and allows me to turn this difficult experience into something that can protect others. Thank you for reading, caring, sharing, or donating — it means more than I can say.
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<div><strong>Breakdown of Costs (At a Glance)</strong>
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<div><strong>Weekly &amp; Treatment Costs</strong>
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<li>Microdermabrasion &amp; peels: $33,280
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<li>Numit anaesthetic cream: $6,238
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<li>Bepanthen First Aid cream: $2,700
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<li>Medigel wound care gel: $1,455
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<li>Compounded pain cream: $1,000
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<li>Dressings &amp; Bandages
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<li>Allevyn foam dressings: $3,530
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<li>Melolin dressings: $3,630
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<li>Elastoplast bandages: $5,095
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<div><strong>Medical Appointments</strong>
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<li>Plastic surgeon (3 visits): $645
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<li>GP excisions (3): $336
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<li>Lymphatic drainage &amp; cold laser (2): $300
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<div><strong>Compression Garments</strong>
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<li>Total: $172
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<div><strong>Total Spent So Far:</strong>
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<li>$58,410.82
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<div><strong>Estimated Upcoming Costs:</strong>
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<li>$22,650–$26,250+
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<div><strong>Book Publishing &amp; Awareness Project:</strong>
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<li>$10,000–$18,000
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<div><strong>Overall Financial Burden:</strong>
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<li>$100,000+
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Anonymous

Minseo Ko

Support My Recovery From Debilitating Gympie-Gympie Injuries

Still $14,572 to go. Help us build momentum.