Help towards the costs of my medical treatment
Donation protected
Hi I’m Kerry!
For 9 long years now I’ve been suffering with a neuropathic bladder following neurological illness. I have had many tests, medications, treatments and operations but nothing has worked. I currently have a suprapubic catheter (tube through my stomach to bladder) but this blocks at least once a week, leaving me in excruciating pain and covered in urine. This happens when I’m out with family and friends; at college, church or on holiday. Obviously this is VERY embarrassing and I often have to cut my day short and rush home, or sit wet and smelly for the rest of the day! Quite often I strip off in a public toilet and use hand soap and water to scrub my clothes (not easy as a full-time wheelchair user). If it happens on holiday I have to spend a whole day in A&E. I have to wear nappies, which as an adult, adds to the excruciating embarrassment that I feel daily.
I have been told that I have a ‘high pressure dangerous bladder’ and that in my current situation, I am at risk of renal failure. The best solution for me is to have an operation to remove my bladder entirely (it has atrophied to the size of a walnut and is useless) and to have urinary division surgery, where my ureters will be connected to my bowel and a stoma created. This will reduce the instances of chronic UTI’s/kidney infections, will not block, and will relieve the pressure to my kidneys. The problem is, I have been waiting for years to even receive a referral for this surgery. The current wait time to even see a consultant urological surgeon to discuss the surgery on the NHS is 27 weeks (taking me to February). In light of this and through sheer desperation, I paid to see a surgeon privately last week. As a consequence he has asked that I have a CT scan of my kidneys, urinary tract and bladder (at a price of £736) and an exploratory operation under GA next week (at a price of £2264). We just don’t have that money and want to avoid taking out loans etc and so I am turning to my friends in the hope that you may be able to help towards some of the cost of this. We would be eternally thankful for any help big or small. I have no idea how much the very big bladder removal surgery will be but I’m desperately hoping that once I’ve had all of these diagnostics done, that I can be re-referred back into the NHS and be put on their waiting list.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I am someone who doesn’t like to ask for help and have set this up in absolute desperation after years and years of suffering. ❤️
For 9 long years now I’ve been suffering with a neuropathic bladder following neurological illness. I have had many tests, medications, treatments and operations but nothing has worked. I currently have a suprapubic catheter (tube through my stomach to bladder) but this blocks at least once a week, leaving me in excruciating pain and covered in urine. This happens when I’m out with family and friends; at college, church or on holiday. Obviously this is VERY embarrassing and I often have to cut my day short and rush home, or sit wet and smelly for the rest of the day! Quite often I strip off in a public toilet and use hand soap and water to scrub my clothes (not easy as a full-time wheelchair user). If it happens on holiday I have to spend a whole day in A&E. I have to wear nappies, which as an adult, adds to the excruciating embarrassment that I feel daily.
I have been told that I have a ‘high pressure dangerous bladder’ and that in my current situation, I am at risk of renal failure. The best solution for me is to have an operation to remove my bladder entirely (it has atrophied to the size of a walnut and is useless) and to have urinary division surgery, where my ureters will be connected to my bowel and a stoma created. This will reduce the instances of chronic UTI’s/kidney infections, will not block, and will relieve the pressure to my kidneys. The problem is, I have been waiting for years to even receive a referral for this surgery. The current wait time to even see a consultant urological surgeon to discuss the surgery on the NHS is 27 weeks (taking me to February). In light of this and through sheer desperation, I paid to see a surgeon privately last week. As a consequence he has asked that I have a CT scan of my kidneys, urinary tract and bladder (at a price of £736) and an exploratory operation under GA next week (at a price of £2264). We just don’t have that money and want to avoid taking out loans etc and so I am turning to my friends in the hope that you may be able to help towards some of the cost of this. We would be eternally thankful for any help big or small. I have no idea how much the very big bladder removal surgery will be but I’m desperately hoping that once I’ve had all of these diagnostics done, that I can be re-referred back into the NHS and be put on their waiting list.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I am someone who doesn’t like to ask for help and have set this up in absolute desperation after years and years of suffering. ❤️
Organizer
Kerry Murphy
Organizer
England