Now, I spend my days in a dark room, trapped in a broken body that betrays me with every movement.
My neck is a live wire. Each movement displaces vertebrae, strangling my brainstem, cutting off vital fluids. Pain is my constant companion; seizures and pre-syncope, my uninvited guests.
The medical system failed me spectacularly. Twenty-four specialists. Male doctors dismissing my agony as “anxiety” or “drug-seeking” while I literally felt my brain deteriorating. Only female practitioners listened. There isn’t a single charity for my condition as most doctors don’t know what it is or don’t understand it.
I became my own diagnostician: craniocervical instability (CCI), TBI, hEDS, symptomatic Chiari malformation—discovered through my own desperate research when professionals gave up. The violence of the crash even changed my eye structure.
Then fate dealt another blow: hit as a pedestrian two months later. Now my pelvis joins the collapse.
I am 38 years old, and I’ve lost everything.
Words abandon me mid-sentence. Thoughts scatter like dropped beads. Mood swings feel like possession.
I can’t walk without consequences. A short walk costs me days in bed.
I can’t work. Can’t socialize (even phone calls beyond an hour bring severe headaches and confusion). Can’t dream. I used to create beauty—now I fight just to remember words.
But I’ve found one narrow path back:The PICL procedure has restored others like me to hiking, dancing, living without pain. For me? It’s locked behind a $70,000 paywall (2-5 procedures at $14k each). Insurance refuses. My medical lien was denied. America’s healthcare system has voted: my survival isn’t profitable.
I’m not just fighting for my life. I’m fighting against a system that abandons the sick, silences women in pain, and values money over mercy.
I am so tired. But I am not giving up, even though most days I want to. With your help, I will write the ending to this story—one where I walk again, think clearly, and finally live. Not just survive.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
DONATE – If 1,750 people give $40, I can afford the surgeries, neuropsychology care, and rehab to rebuild my life.
SHARE – My story can’t change things if no one hears it.
LISTEN – Believe patients like me. We’re not exaggerating. We’re fighting.
You’re my only chance. Thank you for seeing me, when the system looked away.
It took me a week to finish this campaign story. Thank you for reading.
