Surgery to give Joann Martinez her life back.

Joann Martinez is a loving wife, mother, and granny. Like nearly one-third of the people in the United States, Joann developed shingles in 2016. It lasted around four months, and it caused her incredible pain. For the majority of people who develop shingles, symptoms clear up after a couple of weeks. This has not been the case for Joann.

Since then, there have been several month-long periods during which her shingles pain returned. In April 2022, this escalated further. As a result of the shingles virus, Joann developed postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a condition characterized by chronic, debilitating pain in the nerves and skin. This pain was all-consuming, and it prevented Joann from enjoying many things in life. Worst of all, now, 15 months later, that pain is still as present as ever.

While many people with PHN experience a lessening of symptoms over time, Joann’s symptoms have progressed despite countless efforts, including home remedies like ice packs, anti-inflammatory diets, and red-light therapy, as well as medical treatments including muscle relaxers, pain medications, an attempted nerve-block, radio frequency ablation, and Qutenza patches. None of these have given her lasting, meaningful relief from the pain.

Many of us have probably experienced an ER visit at some point or another. It’s not uncommon for a nurse or doctor to ask us to rate our pain on a scale of 1-10. Thankfully for most of us, even our worst pain is temporary. A broken bone starts healing right away. A bad stomach virus will clear in a week or so. Even appendicitis can be quickly resolved with a surgery. Having intense pain for months on end is something that many of us, thankfully, cannot imagine.

Some days, Joann cannot put a shirt on because the touch of the fabric causes intense pain. Going to Wal-Mart is a luxury that she is rarely able to do. Between each of the instances of shingles and PHN, she has lost multiple years of her life that could have been spent with her children and her grandchildren.

Her husband, William, has been a great help through all of these struggles. He has taken her to appointments, is always ready to rub her back to alleviate some pain, and spends time researching different doctors and treatments. He found a doctor in Nebraska who can likely help get rid of this pain with peripheral nerve surgery. After a phone call to Dr. Aguila’s office and getting records from numerous doctors, they hit the biggest hurdle: Dr. Aguila does not take insurance. The procedure would have to be entirely out-of-pocket, which would cost around $7,000 for the surgery and $2,000 for the hospital stay and traveling expenses.

We are asking for any help you can give in order to help give my mom her life back. If you are unable to donate monetarily, we ask that you share this page and please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to seek relief.