Help Gail Bowman on her Road to Health

Dear friends:

Many of you know Gail Bowman as the smart kid in class, the tall, shy girl with the quick smile. Others know Ms Bowman as one of their favorite teachers, or the favorite teacher of their kids, or the trusted co-worker. All of us know Gail as a friend.

Only a few of you know that Gail was badly hurt in a workplace accident that happened in 2014 while she was teaching at Roosevelt Elementary School. An improperly-repaired window crashed down on her hands, crushing them both. Over a matter of months Gail developed a rare pain condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

After the accident, Gail struggled through a morass of challenges involved in having a job-site injury. Despite many assessments, she was not diagnosed as having CRPS until the end of 2015. Even then, she was not referred to a specialist in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, although she repeatedly requested a consult.

CRPS is an incompletely understood disorder caused by trauma (a crushing injury like Gail’s, for example, or things like fractures, surgery, strokes, or heart attacks). People with this debilitating pain disorder experience pain of an order of magnitude far worse than anticipated by the nature of the trauma. The pain can be constant or fluctuate; even light touch or normal use of the limb can be excruciating. Changes in skin temperature or color are common, as are alterations in other parasympathetic functions such as modulation of body temperature.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is difficult to diagnose. Sadly, without early diagnosis and treatment the problem can progress to increasingly disabling conditions including the wasting away of body tissue and/or contracture of muscles (leading to the digits of one’s hands or feet pulling into a fixed position). Impaired muscle strength and/or mobility may also occur.

Due to delays in diagnosis and treatment, Gail developed seriously debilitating physical and neurological disabilities which prevented her from returning to work. She was obliged to accept early retirement from the Salinas City Elementary School District; her only income now is a reduced pension, and she has depleted her life savings.

Nowadays, Gail struggles daily with severe pain and fatigue. She has mobility problems, has a lowered body temperature, and cannot fully use her hands. CRPS has severely impeded Gail’s ability to meet most tasks of daily life including shopping, cooking, cleaning, or managing her day-to-day affairs. To make matters worse, she sustained a bad concussion in a traffic accident in December of last year, from which she is still recovering.

BUT! The horizon is looking brighter: Gail recently was accepted into the Stanford Pain Management Clinic, under the care of renowned physician Dr. Sean Mackey, the clinic’s director. She will be receiving comprehensive treatment from a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and has reason to hope they can help ease her pain and restore the quality of her life.

While the cost of her medical care is budgeted for, Gail’s income can’t cover other necessities. She will need to travel frequently to Stanford for appointments and treatments and needs funds to cover travel costs. She also needs adaptive equipment, an inexpensive computer for remote doctor appointments, and in-home support for tasks of daily life she cannot yet manage on her own.

I’m hoping to raise $10,000 from Gail’s friends and former students and co-workers to help her heal from the injury that has sidelined her for eight years. These funds will pay for gas, wages, and food for the driver who takes her to and from Stanford, and cover the costs of special equipment to help with her physical limitations and in-home support with the basic life tasks she currently is unable to do for herself.

Your help in supporting Gail’s road to recovery is deeply appreciated, whether such assistance is to be found in a donation of funds, or sharing this request with others, or in your good wishes for her. Thank you.

--Laura Doty