Patrice & Robin Davidson
Donation protected
As many of you know, my mom, Patrice has been battling multiple medical problems for over 10 years now and now we are finally at a point where we need to ask for help.Here’s her long story.
It all began after she donated a kidney to a little boy she heard about at church, who was in a life threatening situation. Things spiraled downhill after that. She was in pain for the next two years because of an undiagnosed post-op abdominal hernia. After getting that surgically repaired, she was given an anti-inflammatory pain medication called toradol, by mistake. That medication should not be given to someone who has only one kidney. Well turned out that she also had an undiagnosed stomach ulcer and the toradol greatly worsened it. She ended up with with a badly bleeding ulcer. From there, he struggled with what was called “refractory” gastric ulcer disease- which means the doctors didn’t know why ulcers continued to appear despite three years of medication and negative bacteria tests and with debilitating pain. She eventually had to have two-thirds of her stomach removed in 2015 because she was not getting better. We thought that would fix the pain, but it continued. She remained in pain for unknown reasons going in and out of every ER in Baltimore and seeing multiple doctors. Eventually in November 2017 she had to have an emergency surgery because she was in septic shock. They found that she had mesenteric ischemia- this is lack of blood and oxygen to the intestines basically- like a heart attack to the colon. It caused two perforations in the colon, which then cause liters of infectious fluid to fill her abdomen. What’s amazing is that despite multiple x-rays, CT scans, exams by specialists, blood tests etc....no one caught this. The doctors have always been so dismissive of her since they can’t find a reason for the pain, they assume it’s pyschosematic (in her head. Yet, she ended up having half of her colon removed and an ileostomy placed temporarily. She was given a 20% chance of surviving after the surgery. She was so malnourished going into the surgery, with only one kidney, and fighting the infection for a while, it was really scary for the whole family. But she made it through miraculously and walked out of the hospital 6 weeks later.
Again, we thought, now she will finally be well and not in pain. But devastatingly, that has not been true.
My Mom continues to be in pain, but it’s gotten much worse. She continues with her pain management doctors, but her medications don’t even help at this point at all. She continues following up with doctors. We continue looking for better doctors to try and yet still no relief. She has severe abdominal and rib pain and nausea. She can’t eat much at all and is extremely malnourished. My Dad, Robin, takes care of her every day when he’s not at work. And even when he is at work, he goes back and forth with doctors and insurance and pharmacies over the phone. He frequently has to leave work and cancel all of his customers’ appointments to go be with her and take her to the ER or just comfort her. He struggles to balance work, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, cleaning, and handling all my Mom’s medical care plus just keeping her company when he can so that she’s not alone in bed all day. Because of all of this, my Dad’s business is really suffering and making ends meet right now is a struggle. Being self-employed has always been a feat, but managing that while caring for every need of your chronically sick spouse is a whole other ball game. It’s physically and emotionally draining for everyone involved. Of course our whole family has been pitching in- even from LA I help as often as possible- calling doctors from here and arranging appointments, having my younger brother live with me out here, and sending money when I can. My other siblings help often as well in many ways.
However, now it’s to the point where we can’t hold back and need to ask for YOUR help.
Yes, my parents are applying for disability for my Mom- however this process takes months. And they are seeking out other state resources. But nothing is a fast process. Just like the medical system- no one really cares to help quickly- no one understands the urgency, especially in Baltimore city.
At this point, we are still pursuing medical help but have extremely limited options. Our last theory for the cause of the chronic pain is something called MALS- median arcuate ligament syndrome. This is a rare syndrome caused by compression of the celiac artery in the abdomen with or without nerve involvement as well. All of her symptoms line up with this syndrome. It’s very difficult to diagnose and not many doctors are familiar with it at all.
She has had the imaging needed to diagnose it- however it’s very difficult to interpret if not familiar with this syndrome. For instance, a friend of mine has also had similar pain for 6 years and went to UCLA and Cedars Sinai hospital in LA with no clear diagnosis. But after sending the images to the MALS expert in Connecticut, Dr Hsu, he was finally diagnosed and will be getting surgery this week!! So, we plan to send my Mom’s images and records to the same doctor this week. However, the doctor has a two month waiting list to even review the records! Then if she is diagnosed, then she will need to travel to Connecticut and have the surgery with out of pocket costs- as her insurance will not cover this.
So, though this is completely out of character for me and my family to ask, we are out of options and are humbly asking for help and support from you all. Anything you can give is a blessing. I will provide updates as able with transparency as to what the money is used for. If you can’t support my parents with a monetary gift, please keep in mind that a spontaneous phone call, card in the mail, a hot meal or groceries are all wonderful blessings as well. When dealing with chronic illness and pain, it can feel very isolating at times. My mom is one of the strongest people I know. No one deserves their life to be slowly taken away from them while suffering with debilitating pain or to have to watch your loved one deteriorate slowly in front of you for over 10 years. She raised the 6 of us, home-schooled us, started a business with my Dad, built cement walls with me in Guatemala, donated a kidney to a stranger, and cooked the best sauce, baked the best cookies...(am I right?! Lol) please help get my Mom back to the life she loves. Please support my Dad as he continues to be the best husband and caretaker that he can for her.
Of course if you know my Mom you know she would hate that I’m writing this. Please don't mention this to her. But it’s because I love my Mom so dearly and my Dad who has dedicated his life to her, that I’m writing this and asking for help.
Thank you all!
It all began after she donated a kidney to a little boy she heard about at church, who was in a life threatening situation. Things spiraled downhill after that. She was in pain for the next two years because of an undiagnosed post-op abdominal hernia. After getting that surgically repaired, she was given an anti-inflammatory pain medication called toradol, by mistake. That medication should not be given to someone who has only one kidney. Well turned out that she also had an undiagnosed stomach ulcer and the toradol greatly worsened it. She ended up with with a badly bleeding ulcer. From there, he struggled with what was called “refractory” gastric ulcer disease- which means the doctors didn’t know why ulcers continued to appear despite three years of medication and negative bacteria tests and with debilitating pain. She eventually had to have two-thirds of her stomach removed in 2015 because she was not getting better. We thought that would fix the pain, but it continued. She remained in pain for unknown reasons going in and out of every ER in Baltimore and seeing multiple doctors. Eventually in November 2017 she had to have an emergency surgery because she was in septic shock. They found that she had mesenteric ischemia- this is lack of blood and oxygen to the intestines basically- like a heart attack to the colon. It caused two perforations in the colon, which then cause liters of infectious fluid to fill her abdomen. What’s amazing is that despite multiple x-rays, CT scans, exams by specialists, blood tests etc....no one caught this. The doctors have always been so dismissive of her since they can’t find a reason for the pain, they assume it’s pyschosematic (in her head. Yet, she ended up having half of her colon removed and an ileostomy placed temporarily. She was given a 20% chance of surviving after the surgery. She was so malnourished going into the surgery, with only one kidney, and fighting the infection for a while, it was really scary for the whole family. But she made it through miraculously and walked out of the hospital 6 weeks later.
Again, we thought, now she will finally be well and not in pain. But devastatingly, that has not been true.
My Mom continues to be in pain, but it’s gotten much worse. She continues with her pain management doctors, but her medications don’t even help at this point at all. She continues following up with doctors. We continue looking for better doctors to try and yet still no relief. She has severe abdominal and rib pain and nausea. She can’t eat much at all and is extremely malnourished. My Dad, Robin, takes care of her every day when he’s not at work. And even when he is at work, he goes back and forth with doctors and insurance and pharmacies over the phone. He frequently has to leave work and cancel all of his customers’ appointments to go be with her and take her to the ER or just comfort her. He struggles to balance work, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, cleaning, and handling all my Mom’s medical care plus just keeping her company when he can so that she’s not alone in bed all day. Because of all of this, my Dad’s business is really suffering and making ends meet right now is a struggle. Being self-employed has always been a feat, but managing that while caring for every need of your chronically sick spouse is a whole other ball game. It’s physically and emotionally draining for everyone involved. Of course our whole family has been pitching in- even from LA I help as often as possible- calling doctors from here and arranging appointments, having my younger brother live with me out here, and sending money when I can. My other siblings help often as well in many ways.
However, now it’s to the point where we can’t hold back and need to ask for YOUR help.
Yes, my parents are applying for disability for my Mom- however this process takes months. And they are seeking out other state resources. But nothing is a fast process. Just like the medical system- no one really cares to help quickly- no one understands the urgency, especially in Baltimore city.
At this point, we are still pursuing medical help but have extremely limited options. Our last theory for the cause of the chronic pain is something called MALS- median arcuate ligament syndrome. This is a rare syndrome caused by compression of the celiac artery in the abdomen with or without nerve involvement as well. All of her symptoms line up with this syndrome. It’s very difficult to diagnose and not many doctors are familiar with it at all.
She has had the imaging needed to diagnose it- however it’s very difficult to interpret if not familiar with this syndrome. For instance, a friend of mine has also had similar pain for 6 years and went to UCLA and Cedars Sinai hospital in LA with no clear diagnosis. But after sending the images to the MALS expert in Connecticut, Dr Hsu, he was finally diagnosed and will be getting surgery this week!! So, we plan to send my Mom’s images and records to the same doctor this week. However, the doctor has a two month waiting list to even review the records! Then if she is diagnosed, then she will need to travel to Connecticut and have the surgery with out of pocket costs- as her insurance will not cover this.
So, though this is completely out of character for me and my family to ask, we are out of options and are humbly asking for help and support from you all. Anything you can give is a blessing. I will provide updates as able with transparency as to what the money is used for. If you can’t support my parents with a monetary gift, please keep in mind that a spontaneous phone call, card in the mail, a hot meal or groceries are all wonderful blessings as well. When dealing with chronic illness and pain, it can feel very isolating at times. My mom is one of the strongest people I know. No one deserves their life to be slowly taken away from them while suffering with debilitating pain or to have to watch your loved one deteriorate slowly in front of you for over 10 years. She raised the 6 of us, home-schooled us, started a business with my Dad, built cement walls with me in Guatemala, donated a kidney to a stranger, and cooked the best sauce, baked the best cookies...(am I right?! Lol) please help get my Mom back to the life she loves. Please support my Dad as he continues to be the best husband and caretaker that he can for her.
Of course if you know my Mom you know she would hate that I’m writing this. Please don't mention this to her. But it’s because I love my Mom so dearly and my Dad who has dedicated his life to her, that I’m writing this and asking for help.
Thank you all!
Organizer
Danielle Davidson Mein
Organizer
Baltimore, MD
