Nathaniel Stein's Medical Fund

Brief overview:

I’m here to ask for financial assistance from my family, friends, the yoga community and anyone else who feels inspired to contribute. I have surgery scheduled in Philadelphia on December 15th to repair tears in my pelvic floor and groin. This will be the third major surgery I’ve had in the past two years and the fifth in five years. It has been extremely difficult for me to ask for help in this way, but I’ve realized that I do not have any other viable options. My goal is to raise as much as I can to put towards the $13,500 fee that is due in full and up front by December 15th. This surgical procedure is the only chance I have to recover from this debilitating injury, however, insurance companies deem the procedure ‘experimental’ (don’t get me started on our corrupt healthcare system in the U.S.). With that said, there is almost zero chance that I will be reimbursed by my insurance company.

To help inform potential donors as best as I can, in addition to the video, I thought it was appropriate to thoroughly answer questions that I’ve been asked frequently regarding my situation. They are in bullet point form to ensure that you are informed with the facts in the most efficient way possible.

What is my ask?

o   I’m asking for financial assistance to help pay the exorbitant costs of an upcoming surgical procedure scheduled for December 15, 2016 along with the subsequent weeks of physical therapy.

o   Receiving donations prior to the date of surgery would be ideal, but I am grateful for donations whenever they may come. I understand that given the holidays the timing isn’t ideal.

What is the cost of the surgery?

o   Because insurance companies so frequently decline to cover this procedure, the surgeon requires payment upfront and in full.

o   The cost for the surgery alone is $13,500.

o $3,500 for the facility fee and $10,000 for the surgeon’s professional fee.

o   This cost does not include the anesthesiologist nor does it include the cost of the 6-8+ weeks of physical therapy that is required post-op.

o Combined these could easily exceed an additional $5,000.

What is the injury?

o   I have what is known as a core muscle injury, more specifically, an athletic pubalgia.

§  You might have heard this injury referred to as a sports hernia.

o   An athletic pubalgia is the weakening and/or tearing of muscles in the pelvic floor and groin.

o   As standard imaging is so inconclusive, we do not know the extent of the damage, but given my history and previous injuries, my hip surgeon believes that there are multiple tears on each side.

o   The best case scenario is that I’ve torn the rectus abdominis (the superficial abdominal muscles) from where they attach to the pubis (the pair of bones forming the two sides of the pelvis).

What caused this injury?

o   Over the course of the past few I’ve learned that I suffer from a genetic abnormality that caused an overgrowth of bone in my ball and socket joints.

o   That overgrowth of bone causes rapid deterioration of the bony anatomy, muscular structure as well as the connective tissue.

o   The condition I suffered from in my hips is called Femero-acetabular Impingement (FAI).

o   There is strong correlation between FAI and core muscle injuries. The interaction between the two is thoroughly explained in the excerpt below taken from the website of the surgeon I will be seeing in December:


What is the procedure?

o   The procedure is known as a pelvic floor repair.

o   It will involve reattaching the torn muscles to the pubis and other parts of my pelvis.

o   Given my symptoms and the severity of my previous hip injuries, the assumption is that the surgery will also require what is known as an adductor release. An adductor release involves cutting the adductor longus tendon to release the tendon from where it attaches to the pubis.

Who is the surgeon?

o   Dr. William Meyers, the founder of the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.

o   Dr. William Meyer's Bio

o   Further info from the Vincera Institute regarding the injury, treatment and surgery

o   Dr. Meyers is the leading authority on core muscle injuries and has dedicated 25 years to pioneering the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of core muscle injuries.

o   Dr. Meyers has evaluated over 15,000 patients.

o   He has developed a number of variants of the surgical repair for core muscle injuries and their relationship to the ball and socket joint.

o   Dr. Meyers is the go-to surgeon for the best athletes in the world. He has treated countless players from the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and various Olympic athletes among many more.

o   In 2013, Dr. Meyers established the Vincera Institute, a center dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, research and education of core muscle injuries.

o   To sum that all up, there is no surgeon more educated, experienced or qualified in treating these injuries.

How did you find Dr. Meyers?

o   My hip surgeon, Dr. Patrick Birmingham, referred me to Dr. Meyers.

o   When I was diagnosed with this injury back in August Dr. Birmingham strongly suggested that I see Dr. Meyers, but warned me that he required payment in full and upfront.

o   I did everything in my power to research other alternatives for surgeons with no luck.

o   I spent weeks and weeks contacting everyone I knew in the medical world seeking recommendations, but no matter who I spoke with they ultimately referred me back to Dr. Meyers in Philadelphia.

o   After continuously pressing Dr. Birmingham for alternative surgeons that might be more financially accessible, he told me that there was no surgeon other than Dr. Meyers who was qualified enough to repair an injury as complex as mine.

o   I think this is best represented by the letter Dr. Birmingham wrote to my insurance company (see below).


Why not wait until you can save enough money to afford this surgery on your own?

o   The answer is that I simply cannot wait any longer for a myriad of reasons.

o   Constant pain is physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting.

o   No matter what I do I am in constant pain. At the best of times, the pain is only severe discomfort.

o   I can’t sit, stand or lay down comfortably.

o   Walking up a flight of stairs feels like I ran 5 miles.

o   The constant pain makes it extremely difficult to complete simple daily tasks.

o   My identity is dependent upon my physical body.

o   Given the symptoms of my health conditions (depression, ADHD, learning disabilities, etc.) physical activity and action sports is where I find solace.

o   It’s my form of self-expression.

o   I can’t be the best version of myself when I’m not active.

What’s the back story?

o   I’ve been severely limited by injury over the past five years that I’ve reached my breaking point.

o   By the time I was 26 I had already had three full joint reconstructions.

o   The first was in August 2011 when I was 22 and had my right shoulder reconstructed.

o It was supposed to be a six-month recovery, but because of the severity of the injury it took me over two and a half years to come close to fully recovering.

o   In November of 2014 after years of planning and preparation, I sold the majority of my belongings, turned in my resignation at my job and moved in with my parents for what was supposed to be two months as I prepared to pursue my dream and move to California. Two weeks before I was supposed to move I found out that I was in dire need of full reconstructive surgery on both of my hips.

o   My plan came to an abrupt halt and I was forced to put my dream on the back burner yet again. I had no choice but to go back to my employer at the time (Northern Trust), hat in hand, and ask for my job back so that I would have insurance coverage and financial means to pay for my surgeries and recovery.

o It was a god send that they graciously took me back.

o If they hadn’t, I would have been responsible for over $60,000 in medical expenses.

o   Prior to my move out to California at the beginning of 2016 I had hit a plateau in my recovery following the hip surgeries. I assumed that the recovery would ramp back up when I no longer sat at a desk all day.

o When I moved to California I would be teaching yoga full-time and thus not spending much time at a desk.

o   Unfortunately, that hope never came to fruition. Around March of this year, not only were my hips not getting better, the pain started to get significantly worse.

o   The whole reason I moved out to California was to be able to live the active lifestyle I had always dreamed of. I was so excited to be able to practice yoga, surf, rock climb, run, hike, skate, ride my motorcycle, etc. all on a daily basis. However, the pain in my body never allowed me to achieve those goals.

o   Very quickly all of those activities were taken away from me.

o   When August rolled around I flew home to Chicago to move my girlfriend into her new apartment and to meet her mom. I took that opportunity to schedule a visit with my surgeon to discuss the halt in my recovery. My assumption was that I was suffering from psoas tendonitis (inflammation in the psoas tendon) which is a known side-effect of the surgeries I had. I thought that my surgeon would recommend a cortisone injection to calm the inflammation to help me get over the hump and that would be that.

o   Unfortunately, that was the furthest thing from what happened. He immediately informed me that not only was the issue not psoas tendonitis, but the constant pain I was experiencing was due to tears in my pelvic floor and groin and given how far it had progressed, my only option was surgery.

Where are we now?

o   At this point I’ve said goodbye to the lifestyle that keeps me happy. The lifestyle I’ve fought so hard to return to. I’ve been forced to stop teaching and practicing yoga, surfing, climbing, skating and riding my motorcycle. I am not even able to take care of my dog, Gunnar, in the way that he deserves because of this injury as even walking for extended periods is challenging and painful. I have yet to return to running, snowboarding, wakeboarding and so many of the activities I have loved since before I had my hips reconstructed.

o   And this is where I turn to you. My friends, family, community and others willing to contribute.  I’m asking for your help. Whatever it is that you can give, even if it’s only a few dollars. Every bit helps. Maybe right now you can’t contribute financially, that’s okay. I’ll always be grateful for whatever you can donate even if it’s simply positive energy.

o   If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ve provided my contact information and would be more than happy to answer any questions or to provide any further clarification that you desire.

In conclusion

Thank you so much for taking the time to hear my story. I am eternally grateful for you all for simply taking the time to listen. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for those who are able to donate and/or simply provide emotional support through this difficult time. I’m ready to have my body and life back.