Update: I have finally received the approval for the CT scan needed to figure out how many fusions actually need to be done, whether it be six or eight. I am having it done today, May 21, 2025. The next step will be submitting that to the insurance, and then, my neurosurgeon and I will figure out a date for the surgery. Thank you again for your support and well wishes. If you can continue to share and help in anyway, I greatly appreciate it. I love you all.❤️❤️

Original post: Many of you know my story and what’s going on. For those who don’t, I will try to make this as short as I can, but it’s kind of hard.

Last August, I started getting sick and we couldn’t figure out why. After going into the hospital the first time, we found a bulging disc, a pinched nerve, and cysts all over many organs.

After months of many types of treatments, including acupuncture, decompression therapy, and medication, the pain continued.

In December, I made the decision to go to the hospital because something just didn’t seem right after bumping up my meds to try to deal with the pain so that I could possibly get another MRI to hopefully figure out what possibly was going on.

After three days of fighting for my life, we found out that I had an E. Coli infection eating away at my spine. There were scans earlier in the year that showed I possibly had an infection, but unfortunately, it was not caught in time. Biopsies were done to make sure what the infection exactly was so that I was put on the correct antibiotics. I was in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks and released on January 1. I continued to take intravenous antibiotics for another seven weeks approximately.

The damage to my spine is mostly irreparable. The disc between the T11 and T12 vertebrae was completely eaten away, and those vertebrae look like Swiss cheese. They are currently leaning on each other, and that is what is supporting that area of my spine. But now my spine is starting to slip.

The only way to deal with this is to do 6 to 8 fusions on my spine to stabilize it. In the process of doing this, it will also straighten my back a small amount, but not ever to where it was. The bend in my back is called a kyphosis. This kyphosis continues to get worse daily as my spine slips.

I was told last Thursday that there is no choice but to have the surgery to do the fusions before my spine slips completely. Unfortunately, this means I will be out of work for 6 to 12 weeks, and I need to come up with the financial aid to survive not working for up to three months. My bills each month equal about $4,000, which means I need to come up with $12,000 to survive for three months and make sure I still have a home while I’m trying to recover and heal from the surgery.

We still do not know the exact date of the surgery yet because we’re waiting on the insurance company to get a CT scan to figure out exactly how many fusions we must do, and after that, we will be waiting on the insurance company to approve the surgery. It could happen anywhere between two and eight weeks from now.

I hate asking for money again because I’ve done it once before, but I don’t know what else to do at this point. It’s extremely stressful, and that does not help my healing. I appreciate any help that anyone’s willing to give. This is not a sob story, but it is my life, and I need the help.

Any money that I receive will be used to pay my bills while I am in recovery from my surgery. I’m going to be stuck in bed for quite a long time and unable to work so I’m in a really tight spot to make sure that I keep a roof over my head while I heal. I am trying to avoid stress as it does not need to healthy healing.