Help Kelsi Get Stem Cell Therapy

Hi, my name is Kelsi Wells. I am a 20-year-old University of Alabama college student trying to raise money to undergo stem cell therapy. Here is my story.

From the outside, I look perfectly normal. There is nothing to suggest I would be enduring things no young person should ever have to go through. And yet, for the past almost 7 years, my life could not be more different from any of my peers.

When I was 14, I was just another freshman in high school. I would go to cheer practice, hang out with friends, and go to school like every other kid. That is until I caught an unknown virus in September.

At first, it started with a few symptoms. Every time I went from sitting to standing, my heart rate would increase 45+ beats per minute, I would get short of breath, and start to become dizzy. After a few minutes I would be okay, until the next time I had to stand up. After months of these symptoms, with no answers (even from a Stanford cardiologist who said it was all in my head), I met with a neurologist who had finally reached a diagnosis for me -- POTS. POTS stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and is the most common form of dysautonomia, or dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system. Now while this diagnosis was a saving grace from all the ambiguity and confusion of my rare symptoms, I don’t think I could've ever predicted the road I was about to embark on.

What makes this diagnosis even more frustrating, besides the lack of awareness and

acceptance, is the lack of apparent cause and underlying mechanisms. Most with the same condition have similar but also different symptoms. That, along with the lack of studies, makes it incredibly difficult to treat and/or cure. So, even though my neurologist could identify the symptoms I was experiencing, there was no way to guarantee help. And though some young people with this condition can “grow out of it”, I have not been as lucky.

Unfortunately, as time goes on, more symptoms continue to appear. In addition to the constant dizziness, fast heart rate and shortness of breath, I now struggle daily with nausea, insomnia, brain fog, fatigue, headaches, hyperhidrosis, GI dysfunction, standing/exercise intolerance, fibromyalgia, numbness/tingling and poor circulation. Not to mention, I also have to watch out for migraines and possibly fainting unpredictably. In addition, I have had to manage intense anxiety and depression for years, manifesting either out of nervous system dysfunction or due to all the uncertainty, hopelessness and isolation I am continually left with. Nevermind the constant doubt I have in trusting myself that what I feel is real -- even with my disabling symptoms, it sometimes feels hard to trust myself after all the years of many doctors, some friends, a few family members, and society telling me that I look completely normal therefore it's all in my head.

Since I received my diagnosis, I have endured more than 7 intense treatments/surgeries which included long hospital stays, seen over 14 doctors, been prescribed upwards of 20 medications and tried more supplements than I could possibly count. I have also experimented with many diet and exercise regimes and have gone through many non-traditional routes to find any bit of relief. I have constantly researched and reviewed studies to see if I could make any connections myself. Not to mention I have experienced some of the worst pain ever imaginable, more than just a couple of times, all in an attempt to free me from the cage I feel is my body.

Although I was not doing great before the pandemic, catching COVID twice has definitely made my condition worse. Though vaccinated, I got COVID in January of this year which launched me into one of the hardest 6 months I have had to endure yet. No matter what medication or supplement I tried, my insomnia has gotten exponentially worse, and the subsequent lack of sleep only made every other symptom worse. And after taking a semester off of school the previous year, I was determined to finish last semester despite all these new symptoms. However, I cannot fathom going into another semester without improving my condition. My quality of life has gone down exponentially, which is why my mom started researching newer treatments and found one that seems to be pretty much perfect for me.

So, I am now asking for any help for me to receive treatment with a very high possibility of full recovery. A newer treatment of stem cell therapy has seen 99 out of 100 patients with my same condition at least partially or fully recover. And since this treatment, along with most others I’ve tried, is not covered by insurance, I would appreciate any monetary donations I can get. It’s been almost 7 years for me enduring this unique journey of mine. And though it brought me to my passion of wanting to be a medical professional in this field, I could not be more ready to part with it.

Please, help me get my life back. It’s been long enough.