Get Kelsey to POTS Care
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Hi, everyone...My name is Taylor Foster and I have started this page for my amazing friend and co-worker Kelsey Watts. Here is Kelsey's story about her long-term battle. Please take the time to read Kelsey's story and donate whatever amount you feel you can!
Over seven years ago, Kelsey fell in a school cafeteria. She slammed the back of her skull on the lunch table and her back on the seat. That day the doctors diagnosed Kelsey with a concussion but expected a complete recovery. Kelsey did not completely heal back to normal. Kelsey experienced a squeezing horrible head pain for several years that NEVER went away. Kelsey has been seen by around 10 specialists, neurologists, etc. Over the last seven years, most of theses doctors would run multiple tests on Kelsey, prescribe tons of medicine with terrible side effects but they would all eventually give up on her case because they could not come up with a diagnosis or solution. No one could figure out why Kelsey experienced head pain that was 100% debilitating. No one knew why Kelsey was dizzy and nauseas constantly, why she could never rest or why Kelsey was unable to stand on her feet for prolonged periods of time before feeling as though she was melting into the floor to pass out. No one knew why Kelsey continued to development all of these new symptoms over the years after her fall.
In February 2017, Kelsey finally got an answer. Kelsey was having a cerebral spinal fluid leak at T7-T8 in her spine. A calcified disc was puncturing a hole in her dura causing the fluid to leak out. The simplest treatment for her leak was to have an epidural blood patch. Kelsey had two of these procedures but both failed. Kelsey then had spinal surgery in the summer of 2017. This surgery was supposed to be Kelsey's answer to all of those awful symptoms! Kelsey is no longer leaking cerebral spinal fluid! PRAISE God for this!
But...one year later, Kelsey continues to suffer from those debilitating symptoms. Her cerebral spinal fluid leak was something that needed to be fixed, but in the end was not the main culprit for the constant pain and suffering Kelsey experiences daily. Kelsey along the way has found out that she suffers from POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). Many specialists have tried the typical treatment plans on Kelsey but nothing has worked and some have exacerbated the symptoms. What these specialists are missing is that each person experiencing POTS is on an individual basis and a treatment plan needs to be set up based on the specific individual. There is a center in Texas called POTS care. POTS care focuses on the overall syndrome of POTS instead of treating each individual symptom Kelsey experiences. They will focus on Kelsey's POTS as an individual case and treat her accordingly. Everyone that has POTS has there own reason for having POTS and Kelsey needs a specialist that is going to focus on her as an individual and get to the bottom of what is causing her POTS. The cost of POTS care alone is $9,000. This amount does not include the transportation to get there or the living arrangements for Kelsey while she attends POTS care.
I met Kelsey about a year ago and she is one of the kindest and strongest women I know. Throughout the time I have known Kelsey she has been really struggling with being able to live with her debilitating symptoms. At her young age she has been through so much, yet continues to always be such a positive person. Kelsey truly is a woman of God and she is someone I look up to! Again, please consider donating to this cause. Kelsey deserves to live a normal life and a pain free life!
Over seven years ago, Kelsey fell in a school cafeteria. She slammed the back of her skull on the lunch table and her back on the seat. That day the doctors diagnosed Kelsey with a concussion but expected a complete recovery. Kelsey did not completely heal back to normal. Kelsey experienced a squeezing horrible head pain for several years that NEVER went away. Kelsey has been seen by around 10 specialists, neurologists, etc. Over the last seven years, most of theses doctors would run multiple tests on Kelsey, prescribe tons of medicine with terrible side effects but they would all eventually give up on her case because they could not come up with a diagnosis or solution. No one could figure out why Kelsey experienced head pain that was 100% debilitating. No one knew why Kelsey was dizzy and nauseas constantly, why she could never rest or why Kelsey was unable to stand on her feet for prolonged periods of time before feeling as though she was melting into the floor to pass out. No one knew why Kelsey continued to development all of these new symptoms over the years after her fall.
In February 2017, Kelsey finally got an answer. Kelsey was having a cerebral spinal fluid leak at T7-T8 in her spine. A calcified disc was puncturing a hole in her dura causing the fluid to leak out. The simplest treatment for her leak was to have an epidural blood patch. Kelsey had two of these procedures but both failed. Kelsey then had spinal surgery in the summer of 2017. This surgery was supposed to be Kelsey's answer to all of those awful symptoms! Kelsey is no longer leaking cerebral spinal fluid! PRAISE God for this!
But...one year later, Kelsey continues to suffer from those debilitating symptoms. Her cerebral spinal fluid leak was something that needed to be fixed, but in the end was not the main culprit for the constant pain and suffering Kelsey experiences daily. Kelsey along the way has found out that she suffers from POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). Many specialists have tried the typical treatment plans on Kelsey but nothing has worked and some have exacerbated the symptoms. What these specialists are missing is that each person experiencing POTS is on an individual basis and a treatment plan needs to be set up based on the specific individual. There is a center in Texas called POTS care. POTS care focuses on the overall syndrome of POTS instead of treating each individual symptom Kelsey experiences. They will focus on Kelsey's POTS as an individual case and treat her accordingly. Everyone that has POTS has there own reason for having POTS and Kelsey needs a specialist that is going to focus on her as an individual and get to the bottom of what is causing her POTS. The cost of POTS care alone is $9,000. This amount does not include the transportation to get there or the living arrangements for Kelsey while she attends POTS care.
I met Kelsey about a year ago and she is one of the kindest and strongest women I know. Throughout the time I have known Kelsey she has been really struggling with being able to live with her debilitating symptoms. At her young age she has been through so much, yet continues to always be such a positive person. Kelsey truly is a woman of God and she is someone I look up to! Again, please consider donating to this cause. Kelsey deserves to live a normal life and a pain free life!
Organizer
Taylor Smith Foster
Organizer
Ruffin, NC
