Support Roy Lee's Urgent Spine Surgery

My name is Roy Lee, OR LMT #023272.

I am a licensed massage therapist of nearly a decade, and I recently opened up a private practice a year and a half ago. I am also a new employee at Cascada Thermal Springs and Hotel, the founder and admin of "Chihuahua Club," a Facebook group with over 281K+ members, and a father to two beautiful children and two elderly chihuahuas.

I have been dealing with pain in my neck and spine for years, causing me daily headaches, neck pain, back pain, and severe pain, numbness, and tingling in my hands and fingers. I have recently lost precise motor control in my hands due to cervical myelopathy. Since having these issues, I was bounced around by medical providers and often came to no conclusion about what was causing these problems. So, after changing my doctor and seeing a nurse practitioner, she recommended that I visit a neck and spine specialist. I recently had a checkup with the specialist, who ordered an MRI. After reviewing the MRI with my doctor today, we found that my C3 and C4 have been severely compromised and that the discs are bulging so badly that they are pushing up against my spinal cord, causing all sorts of issues, which could eventually lead me to walking like a pirate on a rocking ship to potential paralysis. It also impacts my precise motor skills in my hands, explaining my clumsiness and my sudden falls and dropping of objects and myself.

My doctor tells me that this surgery is necessary and that I should not take this lightly, because my condition will become worse if I don't take care of it right away. I am asking my community for help. I will be out of work between 2-4 months, and I'm afraid I don't have enough saved to support my family and my life to be out of work that long. I am praying and hoping that we can all come together as a community to help me out in need. Thank you for reading and listening.