Surgery Part 3: Revenge of the Kidneys

Hi all, my name is Laura Lege. I started this fundraiser because after 21 years of trying to find answers to my many health issues and not having my pain taken seriously by doctors, I will finally be getting the help I need.

On May 2, I will be getting a hysterectomy for suspected adenomyosis, a salpingectomy, and a second laparoscopy for endometriosis excision. I will also be seeing two additional specialists in the clinic for continuing treatment for my pelvic pain. Eventually, I'll need pelvic floor physical therapy to help my dysfunctional muscles heal.

This is just the start of unraveling my medical mysteries. I am seeing a vascular surgeon for a rare condition called MALS (median arcuate ligament syndrome), which is a compression of the celiac artery. The celiac artery is a major artery that supplies blood flow to the stomach, part of the esophagus, spleen, and liver. The compression causes extreme abdominal pain, difficulty eating (only able to eat simple sugars, carbs, etc.), feeling full after a few bites, nausea, malnutrition, migraines, and extreme dizziness and exhaustion. In some cases, the symptoms are so extreme, patients need to be put on a feeding tube.

My celiac artery has a 75% compression, and my doctor is monitoring a compression on my superior mesenteric artery (SMAS), as well. He wants to do further testing, including a CTA and then a gastric emptying study to check for gastroparesis (when the stomach muscles are unable to empty the stomach properly). This can have different causes. He is sending me to two other specialists: a gastroenterologist and a doctor who specializes in EDS (Ehlers Danlos syndrome), which is a connective tissue disorder. Many patients with MALS have some form of this, and it can cause complications during treatment and surgery.

Depending on the results of those tests, I will then need a celiac plexus block (blocks the nerve signals for the celiac nerves). If this provides relief from my symptoms, I'll be a good candidate for surgery. MALS surgery is a major surgery and can have a long recovery, with 6 months to a year being the average, although some people need even longer to fully heal.

As if this isn't enough, I may have additional abdominal vascular compressions (AVCs), including on my renal veins (May-Thurner Syndrome, Nutcracker Syndrome, etc.), as there is some evidence that they are being compressed. This will require (you guessed it) further testing.

Needless to say, I am exhausted. After 21 years of dozens of doctors visits; numerous painful, expensive tests; begging doctors to listen to me and having to navigate the medical system to find the right doctors; an incorrect diagnosis of fibromyalgia, I just want to heal. I want to have a normal life again, or as normal as I can.

Right now, I have no idea what my future looks like. I don't know if I'll ever be able to return to mortuary school, and I don't know what my ability to work will be like; though I can guess it will take at least the rest of this year to get a clearer picture.

Patrick (my husband) works very hard to provide for us, and I am grateful to him for that. But the bills are piling up, I have a long journey ahead of me, and I have no recourse to get disability. I don't qualify for temporary because that is related to job injury; I don't meet the state or national requirements for disability yet, which requires permanent inability to work. Since I don't know now if I can or not, I'm stuck in financial limbo.

I know times are difficult for everyone right now, so I don't ask for this financial help lightly. If you're able to give, I'm grateful. If you can't, I'd be grateful to you for sharing this fundraiser. I'll also include my Venmo, and update this fundraiser with any funds from that. If you prefer, I can do Zelle, as well.

THANK YOU for reading! I appreciate you all. <3