RYAN'S SPINE SURGERY FUND AND ROAD TO RECOVERY

Hello Everyone, My name is Ryan Law.

From my whole heart, I hope this finds you in good health.

I come across many fundraising and charitable events to which I am always happy to donate but not in a million years did I ever think I would be writing one for myself. This is by far the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. For those of you who know me, you know how hard it is for me to ask for any help at all, I have always taken pride in standing on my own two feet, working hard, playing hard and having a great time enjoying the pleasures in life.

However, in 2020, my whole existence came screeching to a halt with a devasting injury to my spine that would have me hospitalized and sidelined for almost 3 years now. I fought through the pain for as long as I could until it was just too unbearable to even stand and found myself inside more hospitals than I have ever ever seen. I had 5 herniated discs, torn lower back muscles, pinched nerves, sciatica, SI joint separation, pulled hip and groin muscles and tendons, broken bones in my sacrum, loss of feeling in my legs and degenerative discs. The pain that this caused me was so overwhelming and uncontrollable that it was blinding, but I was determined to fight through it and get stronger with physiotherapy, doctor supervision, exercise and good health care, I could not have been more wrong if I tried.

After 8 gruelling months of physiotherapy and treatments from several hospitals, my condition would only get worse and worse. This had Doctors baffled, I underwent several MRIs, CAT Scans, X-Ray which only confused the doctors even more. I spent hours and hours on end trying to figure out what I had done to myself and trying to lead the doctors down the right path on how to fix me to no avail. I saw specialist after specialist at some of the top hospitals in Toronto, I underwent tons of procedures to reduce the pain, 100's of injections and scopes, epidurals and even had RFA (Radio Frequency Ablations) on all the nerves in my facet joints in my 6 lower lumbar vertebrae, this is where they burn off all the nerves to help ease the pain. Every time I thought we were getting ahead as soon as I tried to resume any sort of everyday life activities the pain would have me crippled and bedridden again. It was absolute torture.

In late 2021, I struggled to return to work after being off for a full year, but not in the same role or capacity. I had to leave my role as a High Voltage Electrician, a role I worked Incredibly hard to achieve and it had been a lifelong dream of mine. Being an Electrician for 20 years previous to this role I was extremely excited to be picked for this position too. Luckily my employer found me a position where my skill set and knowledge of the Trade could still be an asset, I felt even though I was still in agony most days, that I could still contribute to the team and fulfill my duties as a working man again and provide for my family.

This dream was very short-lived. After only a few months back to work and under a strict pain management program, the pain and discomfort took a toll on me once again and I landed back in the emergency room, only this time the symptoms were getting worse and severely affecting other functions of my body. My blood pressure had skyrocketed, I was having major central nervous system issues, my cognitive abilities were affected, I was losing control and use of my extremities and suffering from massive migraines, all of which were unexplained with more tests.

I felt so lost and confused, why was this happening to me and why couldn't anyone tell me why this was happening? At this point, severe depression and anxiety hit me hard. I was used to being able to solve any problem, but here I was with a major problem that left not only me but the doctors I put my trust in baffled as well. I was and am still unable to walk much, unable to stand long, and not able to do simple daily activities that I had always taken for granted like house cleaning or standing long enough to cook my dinner. I am a complete shell of the man I once was.

With one last hail mary set of injections to try and control the pain, one of my specialists noticed an anomaly in my lower spine, something he had only ever seen once before at a medical center in California, something very rare and unexpected called Bertolottis Syndrome. He was very reluctant to say that was causing my pain and suffering, being it such a rare condition but that's all I needed was a name of something else to research. Off to the Internet I went as soon as I was home and recovering from that last procedure. After weeks of trying to find literature on this condition and reading what I could find, I had a hard time believing that this was what was causing my pain but all the signs and symptoms were there, could it be that I had this rare condition, could I finally have my answer.

I started to think if it's that rare, then surely there has to be some more information or even a Facebook group on it. Sure enough, there were, not many but a few hundred people worldwide who had started a chat about it, I joined the group and talked with the most amazing people who had also been affected by all the same things I had been suffering from. It was a miracle. I rushed back to specialists and informed them that I had found all these people online and my symptoms were exactly like theirs, I was so excited to find out that there was a cause for my pain and rallied the troops to come up with a solution only to find out that the solution was even rarer than the cause. Again my hope and dreams of being pain-free were shattered here in Canada.

We looked high and low for a surgeon in Ontario that was familiar with the procedures necessary to fix such an ailment, then we looked Canada-wide, but no luck.

I returned to the Facebook group devastated and looking for any doctor worldwide that could help me. That's when I was told by one of the group's administrators that there was a brilliant Specialist in New York City that had helped several people with this syndrome get their lives back and he was very familiar with Bertolottis SYndrome.

I immediately called his office and he agreed to meet with me on a video call to discuss my case. After a lengthy conversation, he asked for me to send over all my hospital records and he would look them over and see if he could see what the problem was. Well, it didn't take him long to call me back. He indeed confirmed that I had this rare bone disorder. I was filled with every emotion possible, I could not believe what I was hearing, but to be sure I would have to go to New York City, Manhattan and have a diagnostic procedure done, just to be 100 % certain that this was the cause of my pain generators.

I have been back off work now for another 6 months and had nothing to lose, so in January 2023 I went to New York and had the procedure done. The results were astonishing, not only did I have Bertolottis Syndrome but I had several different types of it, plus irreversible damage to my discs which are pushing on my spinal cord. However I finally had my answer, and I finally had an explanation as to what is causing this insufferable pain.

Bertolottis Syndrome is a genetic overgrowth of the transverse processes of the vertebrae, the bones overgrow and rub on each other and crush all the nerves around them, it is by far the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Dr. Jenkins has assured me there is a solution for me, however, it will take 3 surgeries to eliminate the pain generators, and that comes with a hefty price. Unfortunately, because I am Canadian and do not have any coverage to receive healthcare in the United States, I will have to pay out of pocket for all surgeries required and hospital stays.

This is where I am asking for your help. I have done all I can here in Canada, OHIP at this time has not been able to help, I have exhausted every financial support I had here, and paying for experimental treatments here in Canada and in the U.S. has left me in a very tight spot. I have to get this surgery done, I just simply cannot function at all without it, my life has been taken away from me, and it has not only affected me but also my loved ones. I am crippled with pain 24/7 with no relief and the complications from that are building up at an alarming rate.

If you can assist me in raising the money for the surgeries and a long stay in New York for recovery, I will be forever grateful. Asking for help is the hardest thing to do but I know I do not have any other choice. I am certain that Dr. Jenkins ( one of the best neurosurgeons in the world) will make me whole again and give me and my family our lives back.

All operations, hospital stays, pre and post-op medical clearance and medications, and post-surgical rehabilitation will accumulate to just slightly over $200,000 and I assure you that every single penny will be going towards that. This has been such an atrocious and arduous time in my life and all I wish for is the chance to be normal once again.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, I left a lot of the darker details out, I am sure you can imagine why. My story will not end here. I assure you with your help, I will just be starting a brand new chapter and then, there is no limit to what I can achieve.

Thank you for your support and if you can Please share.

Bless you, all.

Ryan (RY GUY) Law