Shannon's SDR Journey

As most of you know, I was born with a mild case of cerebral palsy. For those that don't know what this is, I'll explain.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that typically occurs at birth. My specific type, spastic diplegia causes my muscles to be in a constant state of tightness making it difficult to walk and balance. Just for an example, imagine walking around with a giant rubber band around your knees. The spasticity (or tightness) creates a resistance causing  me to use more energy than the average person to move around.

As a child, I underwent a few different surgeries to improve my condition. Some were successful and some were not.
As I've gotten older, I have begun to notice a decline in my mobility. My muscles are much stiffer, my legs sometimes shake uncontrollably, there's now a sensitivity to cold that wasn't there before, and some chronic aches and pains. All the years of walking with spasticity has taken a toll on my body. 

Let me go back to earlier this year... 

Mike and I were in a local restaurant. (it was Wade's in the express line)
I got my food as I always had, put it all on my tray and then asked Mike to put my drink on his as usual. I don't walk steady so I always let someone else carry the drink to avoid a mess! However, this time was different. I went to walk with my tray to the table and I completely froze. I couldn't move. It was like I just locked up. I couldn't carry the tray and walk like I had done so many times before. This completely broke my heart, and I just broke down crying in public. All kinds of thoughts went through my head!
"Am I going to need a cane soon?" 
"I could be in a wheelchair in the future if something doesn't change."
"I don't want to end up a burden on Mike and others."

I came home and immediately started trying to find all the info I could! I Googled, joined Facebook groups, asked others what might help.

It was in one of those Facebook groups that I saw people talking about something called SDR. Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy. (I'll attach a link with details, if you're interested)
I read the information and it seemed pretty complicated and invasive and figured it probably wasn't for me.  But even after a few weeks went by, I couldn't stop thinking about it. 

There was an application process required. So in March, I decided to go ahead and see if I was a candidate. I gathered everything required and sent off my packet of info to St. Louis, Missouri.
In a few weeks, I was contacted and told they had everything they needed to proceed and would call me back later for an appointment.
In May, I got the call that my appointment would be in August.
My dad, Mike and I flew to St. Louis to speak with this doctor that had helped so many!

On August 26th, I received my "Yes" from Dr. Park! He told me that he recommended the surgery! He also said that it would improve my walking, standing, sitting and balance by removing most or all of the spasticity in my legs. He even went on to say that if I didn't have the surgery, I could expect to be in a wheelchair by the age of 50.

So here we are! I'm having the surgery!
We'll be spending our Christmas and New Year's in St. Louis, Missouri in the hospital.

This will be a journey unlike any other I've experienced. It is exciting, yet I know it's going to be a long road to recovery, both mentally and physically!

Along with all the other challenges comes a hefty financial burden. While the surgery should be covered by insurance, there's still a TON of physical therapy that will not be.
There's the travel and hotel, the equipment, the time off work for me and Mike. It all adds up to so much! 

As hard as this is for me to do, I'm asking for your help! I would be forever grateful! If you can't help, I completely understand! I ask that you just keep me in your prayers! ❤

Here is a more information on the surgery:

https://www.stlouischildrens.org/conditions-treatments/center-for-cerebral-palsy-spasticity/about-selective-dorsal-rhizotomy

If you would rather donate via PayPal, my link is Paypal.me/shannonnicoleparker  

Thank you so much for taking time to read my story! Please share!