Cass needs our help!

Hi, my name is Donna Grossman & I'm raising desperately needed funds for our friend Cass Mertz. On April 13th, Cass goes in for serious back surgery. She will not be able to work at all during her healing. If everything goes smoothly, that means eight weeks with no income; if things go wrong, it could be much longer. Cass is a single mother to her beautiful daughter Haiven. Please read Cass's story in her own words.

It all started in 2017 with a slip on ice when I was going to get Haiven from school. I slipped on my 2nd to last step and fell backward on top of it with my whole body. My L4 had herniated and was lying on my sciatic nerve. I would lose all control of my leg and collapse. Despite the pain, I continued to work for the next 3 months until my surgery date. I had no choice. During surgery, they shaved the bone off the nerve and thought it would do the trick. For about a year, I was good until the L4 actually fractured. I kept working, which made it worse, but I again, I really didn't have a choice. I now had a fractured disk, another herniated disk, and multiple bone spurs. Severe deterioration because I continued going non-stop, but Haiven deserves a good life, damn it. Covid hit, and it backed up my surgery for quite some time, making things worse. By the time I had surgery, they had removed and replaced 4 disks with cadaver bones, bone grafts, 2 bars, a fusion, and 6 screws. Everything was fine for the past 3 years until 6 months ago. It kept bothering me more and more. Dr. Megan made me get X-rays, and it showed a broken titanium bar in my S1. The surgeon confirmed my fusion did not take 3 years ago. Therefore 4 more screws were loose, they are removing every bit of hardware and replacing it with larger hardware now and more bone grafts for deterioration since the original holes are now warped from wear and tear over the years.

Please share with all who love & care about Cass & Haiven. If we all give a bit, we can really ease her burden & let her put all her energy into healing. Anyone who knows Cass knows she wants to be up on her feet and back to work!