Surgical Procedure to help Evelyn walk

Hi, I’m Carolyn & this is adorable Evelyn, almost 6 years old. She’s my great niece, is extremely smart, and she always has a smile on her face. She has cerebral palsy, the spastic diplegia type which causes stiff/tight muscles causing her to walk on her tiptoes with her walker. She has constant contractures, pain, restlessness, & difficulty sleeping at night. Procedures she’s had to date, including Botox injections into her calves & hamstrings, have not worked to relieve this & have caused terrible side effects. Evelyn also undergoes constant daily physical therapy at home & office.

There is hope though, for Evelyn, which is the reason for this Gofundme. She’s in need of a surgical procedure called SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy) which is done at Shriner’s in Portland, but the neurosurgeons there only perform 3-5 of this surgery per year, not enough to make her parents comfortable as this is a very delicate surgery on the spine that selectively thins the nerves running from the spinal cord to the legs that are triggering spasticity & improves motor control of the legs allowing children the ability to walk without a walker. It also drastically reduces the tight muscles, spasticity, contractures & pain.

Evelyn parents have found a top SDR

neurosurgeon, Dr. T. S. Park, located at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, who has performed 5,100 SDR surgeries to date, a number they are much more comfortable with. The cost of this surgery is $40,000, payable 45 days before it can be scheduled, & requires a 5-7 stay in the hospital, plus she’ll need 3-4 weeks of intensive physical therapy not included in the cost, airline tickets, rental car, and hotel. Also a return visit in 4 months with Dr. Park. Evelyn has been screened for this surgery through videos & consultations, and she has been deemed a candidate.

Dr. Park’s office has quit accepting out-of-state Medicaid insurance, which her parents have Evelyn on for her constant physical therapy & medical care, Her parents cannot financially afford all of this as they are forced to keep their income at OHP’s max allowable to allow Evelyn to continue receiving her care & physical therapy locally.

If it is placed on your heart to help Evelyn’s parents to be able to offer Evelyn this proven successful surgery by a neurosurgeon who has performed over 5,000 to date so Evelyn can have a chance to actually walk without a walker & to not have the debilitating spasticity, contractures & pain that procedures thus far have not improved without terrible side effects, please join me & consider donating to this fund for Evelyn. Any amount would be so appreciated!!