Dear Friends, Family, and Kind Strangers,

I am writing to ask for your help during a really tough time. My name is Bruce and I am 57 years old. I have a serious right shoulder injury that causes a lot of debilitating and excruciating pain which makes it hard for me to do simple things every day. I have tried everything, pain killers, physio, cortisone shots etc. and other doctors but there isn't a doctor in Canada who can fix my shoulder. What I have is a shoulder separation with a 20mm gap with a clavicle excision. The doctors in Canada messed up my shoulder and I require reconstructive surgery to put my shoulder back together so that I can lift my arm and lift heavy items that weigh more than 5 lbs. The surgery will also allow me to get back to work as well.

After a lot of research, I found a highly skilled doctor in the United States who can perform the surgery I need. This surgery is my only hope to get me back to normal and back to work. The cost is $39,000 which includes the surgery, travel expenses, and hotel stay.

I am asking for your support to help me raise this money because your donation will ease my pain and bring back my ability to live a normal life. Any amount you can donate will make a huge difference and bring me closer to my goal. Your kindness means everything to me.

Imagine living with constant pain, unable to lift or hold things without being in excruciating pain. I cannot even hold my 5 year old grandson! This is my daily life, and it doesn’t have to be. With your help, I can get the surgery I need to use my arm again, go back to work, and live life like like I used to.

I understand that everyone has their own challenges, and I appreciate any help you can give, whether it’s a donation, or sharing my story. Every little bit helps and gives me hope.

I have included the doctor's letter to show the validity and importance of the funding for me.

RE: BRUCE PERRY

To Whom It May Concern:

This is an addendum to the letter of medical necessity dated February 22, 2024 on the above named patient.

AC joint dislocations are a complex problem because the mechanism of injury involves a very high force on the outside of the shoulder, causing all of the ligaments in and around

the AC joint to tear completely, thus forcing the entire arm to be displaced downward.  

This results in the distal clavicle being prominent and painful. In addition, without the ligamentous connections between the clavicle and the scapula, the entire area is destabilized. This results in excessive movement of the scapula both front to back as well as side to side. Cutting the prominent end of the clavicle (distal clavicle excision) is a completely discredited procedure for AC joint instability and, as such, has not been

advocated as a valid treatment since the 1950s because it reliably results in worsening the overall problem by destabilizing the area even more and causing even more downward drift of the arm, which then causes the remaining clavicle to become even more prominent (and more painful). 

It is universally accepted in any credible orthopedic literature source that doing an isolated distal clavicle excision has no role in the treatment of AC joint separation.

In addition to the destabilization problems with distal clavicle excision, as discussed above, removing the distal clavicle makes the ultimate surgical solution more challenging

because one has less bone with which to work, which creates unique additional challenges to a surgery that is already complex. With standard procedures such as the tendon graft procedure, the failure rate remains around 20%, and that number is clearly substantially higher in revision procedures. The triple endobutton technique that I patented has a documented and published success rate of well over 95%, and that rate is nearly the same with revision surgeries and cases involving distal clavicle loss. I do not know of any surgeon in Canada who has a particular interest in what is universally

regarded as a most challenging orthopedic condition.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. S

Please consider donating to help me afford this important surgery. Your support means the world to me and will always be remembered.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

With heartfelt thanks,

Bruce