URGENT MEDICAL TRIP FOR TESTS & CONSULTATIONS

Dear All, Firstly thank you for taking the time to read this. Unfortunately my wife is having to travel to Barcelona Spain urgently on the 16th July for medical tests that cannot be performed in the Netherlands for various reasons one being her complex allergies. My wife is already under the care of a Neurosurgeon there and this is something new that needs attention fast, something that the Drs in Spain understand well and can work alongside her Neurosurgeon to find a solution. Unfortunately the hospital in the Netherlands failed to see the serious problem on her emergency MRI they performed until she herself pointed it out and asked for the MRI to be reported on again; within 24 hours they confirmed in a new report that my wife was correct and she did have csf fluid (spinal fluid) leaked into an area of her skull where the pituitary gland is and the fluid (that should not be there) has crushed and flattened her pituitary gland causing it to not function correctly anymore. This has lead to her entire hormonal system to be messed up including her thyroid. Blood tests have also confirmed this and it is believed the cause is Intercranial hypertension (high pressure in the skull) and CSF leaks which she has suffered from for 8 years. So now she needs various tests to look at her brain/neck/vascular system as well as seeing an endocrinologist who can work alongside her Neurosurgeon to investigate this fully and come up with a treatment plan which may involve a shunt in her brain to drain the fluid away into her stomach, medication to reduce the pressure, medication to replace the hormones missing in her body, possibly fixing the csf leak if possible! But until she has the tests and knows the outcome a treatment plan can’t be formulated. Also this has caused her to gain 25kg of weight in a matter of a few months despite only eating one meal a day for the 1st few months of this year. Due to her Gastroparesis and allergies, she has never managed to put any large amounts of weight on and has been underweight most her life even when pregnant, so we knew something was seriously wrong. Also she has lost her vision on numerous occasions and her vision is nearly always blurry now. The pain she is suffering is heartbreaking to watch and she cannot take anything to relieve the pain in her brain due to what we believe to be high pressure!! The medical tests and consultations come to €2650 and then there is the cost of fuel to Spain which is €1200 alone, toll charges, accommodation etc. We have to drive from the Netherlands to Barcelona as my wife cannot fly due to her low oxygen levels and high pressure in her brain. We have tried everything to find the money but all loan attempts were refused due to our income not being enough. Credit cards in Netherlands all need paying off within 30 days and also need a certain income level. We have asked family and friends but everyone is struggling themselves especially those in the UK with mortgages due to sudden interest rate increases!! If anyone can help in any way we are more than grateful and if you can’t we understand and thank you for reading.

Many thanks

Richard