ONLY REHAB LEFT TO GO!
"The trauma I have faced has created cracks in my life. Without them there would be no place for the light to shine in" - Tez
We've finally raised the funds for Tez's life-saving surgery! Our final push is to get Tez into the rehab necessary for her to overcome an opiate dependency as a result of the drugs necessary to treat chronic pain, and to offest residual medical bills. Please join us in getting her the rest of the way.
Only 9K remaining!
Please donate here or directly through her PayPal account - [email redacted]
Our hearfelt thanks to you all for your loving and continued support.
#TezStrong Alive & Kicking ⚓
Let us tell you about our friend, Tezah Waters. She is a live out loud kind of person who lives only in truth, a fearless boat captain, selfless friend, silly and mischievous, bursting with passion, a genuine empath, and a beautiful dreamer with deep gratitude for the gift of life.
Here’s a glimpse into her story…
Riding her bike home after a day at sea, she became the victim of a hit and run drunk driver ─ left alone in the road to die. The scene was gruesome, with her right leg mutilated, the muscles and tendons strewn in the street. A deltoid was torn, tendons in her hand severely damaged, she sustained significant cervical spine damage and head trauma, and one of her kidneys was ruptured.
Miraculously, she mustered the fortitude to drag her body over to a bungee cord, which had been on her bike, using it to create a tourniquet to stop herself from bleeding out.
Tez saved her life that night, but not without severe and lasting consequences. Ultimately, her right leg had to be amputated below the knee. As a result of all of these injuries, Tez has undergone 16 surgeries during the last two years. 
Faced with the horrid effects of PTSD, she was prescribed psychotic drugs which brought on a myriad of issues, including facial paralysis, and diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome and Tardive Dyskinesia ─ all caused by the drugs to treat PTSD. However, the worst of her problems is living with Sympathetic Nerve Disorder, an excruciating condition only a handful of amputees suffer.
A brief explanation of the disorder is that anytime her brain senses heightened feelings from excitement, sadness, depression, happiness, crying, laughing, and many times for no reason at all, it sends a surge down to her amputated limb that feels as if her stump is being electrocuted while being dipped in acid. It is a pain like no other…even worse than when she was run over by the SUV. The pain is constant, and requires regular doses of opiates to soothe it even a little. The relentless pain keeps Tez captive from feeling joy, living life, and, worst of all, has stopped her dreaming.
Taking heavy opiates for over two years has not only made her chemically addicted, but the drugs are destroying her remaining kidney and severely compromising her liver. Tez is once again fighting for her life, all because of a drunk driver ─ this time she cannot do it alone.
There are a few places in the US that perform a specialized operation using an implant device designed to help reduce or rid the pain persons with Sympathetic Nerve Disorder suffer. The short explanation is an electro neuro stimulator (ENS) device is surgically implanted, along with permanent wire leads that are inserted from the brain stem down the lumbar and into the ENS device. When the patient feels pain, the device will match the wave frequency to reduce (disguise) it. Tez’s current doctor has found a surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who performs this specialized operation. It would mean no more drugs, significantly reduced pain, and the chance to return to a functional, happy, and robust life.
There’s an 80% chance this life-saving operation will work for her. Tez, and the great many people who dearly love her, really like those odds! If she doesn’t get the operation, she must continue taking the drugs, which will certainly result in complete kidney and liver failure. That takes the odds of her dying to 100%. We just cannot let that happen, but we will need your help.
We’re asking everyone receiving this message to realize the dire urgency of the situation. We can all be heroes by simply donating what we can, then sharing this message with all of our contacts with a note asking them to donate, and to also share the message as far and wide as possible. Together, we can make this happen.
Tez has remained positive and courageous throughout this pain-filled journey, and we cannot fathom it ending in death simply because she is unable to afford insurance for the operation. We know she has a life of real purpose ahead of her, and a strong desire to turn this horrific tragedy into a triumph, where she can use all she's learned from this experience to motivate and inspire others who are facing adversities to work through them.
We really want you to know Tez and what an extraordinary human she is, so we implore you to visit her Facebook page, Tezah Waters -https://www.facebook.com/Tezstrong/ and tezahwaters on Instagram to read the details of her remarkable journey, her brightest and darkest times, the details of the operation that can save her life, and how you can be a part of making a miracle happen. She can’t wait to compete in the Paralympic Games and to help others who want to do the same!
You never know the value of your life until you are fighting to save it. What is your life worth? What would you do to save it if you were in this position?
We humbly thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 
