Help get Kimi’s head put back on!

❗️*UPDATE*❗️

Hello friends & family!

I just wanted to update on the success of the first procedure I had done in March. I have seen my heart rate stabilize some, and I have seen my vision (specifically floaters caused by high intracranial pressure) improve. I don’t get as many occipital neuralgia migraines. my hope is that with a second procedure I will be able to do more without feeling so sick. I hope to be able to be present at all the fun school and athletic functions for Fiona, and to be able to travel and do more active things with my family.

Unfortunately since my injury is 11 years old, I will require another procedure to hopefully be able to improve the constant dizziness that I live with. I am hopeful that with a second procedure my vertebrae will stabilize further and I won’t deal with as many vagus nerve (fight/flight) issues. My upper cervical chiropractor says that my C1 is staying in place nicely, and I tend to hold my adjustments for about a month before needing to be adjusted again. The stronger I can get my ligaments and muscles, the better I will hold the adjustments and the further my nerves can heal!

I totally understand if donating isn’t on your heart, we will figure it out! However I am asking for your prayers. I know that procedures like this - not covered by insurance, new methods, etc. - are a big gamble. I am shooting for mid-December for the next one, and I am looking forward to being able to update you all. ❤️❤️

Hi friends & family

As you’re all probably aware by now, back in 2013 I had a major injury to my cervical spine. I spent 4.5 years going from doctor to doctor, specialist to specialist trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I went from living my best life to being mostly housebound, and some days even bedbound. I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t cook, I couldn’t even muster a smile most days. I slept 18+ hours a day. I had a 24/7 migraine on the left side of my head, and I was dizzy from the moment I woke up to the moment I fell asleep. Nick and I were completely defeated and confused, because after all the imaging and testing, poking and prodding - I still didn’t even have a diagnosis. We continued to search for answers, but honestly at this point I was beginning to think it was all in my head and I could expect to live the rest of my life like this.

At the beginning of 2018 I took a last ditch chance on a specialized type of chiropractic care. I went in not expecting much at all, but after X-rays this chiropractor was able to show me that my C1 was almost dislocated. Why didn’t any other doctor see this in the years prior?? I agreed to a week of care and had my C1 adjusted. I remember vividly after leaving his office we went across the street to Sprouts and I was able to look up at the artwork on the wall above all of the groceries. It didn’t make me sick and dizzy. I cried showing my X-rays to friends and family. It was proof that I wasn’t making it up, it wasn’t “just anxiety” and it was proof that it wasn’t all in my head - it was in my neck!

Over the last 6 years I’ve continued to see my atlas chiropractor and he keeps me mostly functional. I thank God for him. The migraines are gone unless my C1 falls out of place. I am able to drive, attend functions at Fiona’s school (most of the time) and do the grocery shopping by myself. I cook sometimes, I clean what I can without flaring symptoms up too bad. When I first started with this chiropractor, my C1 would stay in place maybe a few hours to one day. I was being adjusted twice a week for a long time. My C1 can now stay in place for months at a time, but I have instability in other parts of my spine as well, so I continue to see him to work on those areas too.

In 2019 I heard about this clinic in Colorado that does orthobiologic injections to heal instability. I had a consultation and was told I had to start with posterior neck injections before possibly being considered for a new procedure they had that uses stem cells to reach anterior ligaments in the cervical spine. Nick and I talked it over and we agreed we would go for it. I was scheduled for the end of 2019. Just two weeks before we were set to go, I found out I was pregnant. The doctor cancelled the treatment, and just a few weeks later we lost the baby. I took this as a sign that this was not what I was supposed to be doing for my neck, and it sent me back into a pretty deep depression.

I have spent the last 4 years now just trying to maintain the little bit of independence and self confidence I have leftover from what this injury has taken from me. My symptoms have gotten worse, but not as bad as they were before chiropractic treatment. I have gotten new diagnoses over the years, as well as having big medical setbacks that I have decided to share with everybody as well.

In March of 2023 we decided to go to Colorado and get a digital motion xray and speak with the orthobiologic clinic again. My X-rays shows that not only does my skull slide too far forward on C1 compressing my brainstem, but my C1 falls off the sides of C2 with motion. My head is literally falling off of my neck at any given time, which causes a myriad of neurological problems that we have to deal with. This means I have damaged ligaments that are supposed to hold the vertebrae in place, but they are failing at their job. My upright MRI imaging shows slight brainstem compression when I look down, as well as severely atrophied muscles in my neck. My chiropractor does what he can, but there’s only so much you can do when the structures that hold bones in place are damaged.

Based on my imaging, I was approved for the stem cell procedure offered through the clinic, and we have decided to take the plunge and just go for it. I will be having it done in March, 2024. The procedure is called the P.I.C.L. which stands for Percutaneous Implantation of the CCJ Ligaments. I will link the website for the clinic explaining this procedure below.

Unfortunately, this procedure is not covered by any insurance, and most people with instability similar to mine need between 2-4 treatments. These treatments will cost us around $14,000 each, plus travel and lodging, food, etc.

We are so fortunate to have a plan in place to help pay for the procedure, but if you feel inclined to help us financially we would be so grateful. If you don’t want to or can’t help financially, please pray for us. This is a very complex procedure I will be having done that requires a bone marrow draw and injections through the back of my mouth and very close to my brainstem, and of course like anybody else that has had to deal with life altering chronic illness - I am terrified of getting worse. The healing/working time for stem cells is a minimum of 4 months, but many times people don’t see positive results until 6-9 months or so from the procedure. This will likely make for a long and hard year for my family. I am claiming 2024 to be a year of healing, and I am claiming that this procedure is what I need to regain more of myself that I lost 10 years ago. Thank y’all in advance for prayers, positive thoughts, financial and emotional support… all of it. I like to be 100% transparent, so if anyone has any questions please just ask. ❤️