Prodigy's Spine Surgery Fund
Donation protected
Hello.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I tried telling it for 12 years before I finally got the right medical attention.
I was born with Spina Bifida. I have a 6th Lumbar Vertebra (normal spine's have 5) that is not fully formed or properly supportive. The base of my spinal cord does not terminate properly and the nerve roots that travel into my Sacrum are damaged.
I fell running track when I was 14 and could not walk. I had several epsidoes of this for the next 12 years. Everyone, family and doctors alike, told me the bump on my lower back was normal and the radiating pain down my leg was just sciatica. I was told it couldn't possibly be my SI joint over and over again.
Well. It wasn't. It was my Sacrum slowly filling up with spinal fluid. Tarlov's Disease causes your nerves to leak spinal fluid inside their lining. This forms into Arachnoid Cysts and casues lesions inside the nerves themselves. My sacrum swelled from the inside out, causing terrible pressure on the nerves to my legs and eventually a major trauma to my right SI joint. By age 26, I was having temporary bouts of paralysis, was living in cripping chronic pain and losing sensation in my right hip and leg.
That is when I finally received a diagnosis.
I had a birth defect, Spina Bifida Occulta and Tarlov's Disease, an incredibly rare nerve disorder. The swelling inside my Sacrum needed to be decompressed. The surgeon removed the posterior boney covering of my spine from L5, L6, S1 & S2. Then drained as much spinal fluid as he could from inside the nerves. They needed to be clamped with titanium as to not continue leaking and refil the Arachnoid space. I was on mandatory bed rest for 6-8 months.
My body, life and finances have been devestated by my condition. On top of this I have an autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue from Epstein Barr and arthritis from Lyme Disease. I'm asking for help to pay my medical bills and to help return my life to normal while I heal. I am mostly unable to help myself for fear of rupturing the nerves and several falls that I've had since the surgery. I now have 5 bulging discs because of the lack of supportive bone and a narrowing of the foraminal canal which encases the sacral nerve roots.
Thank you for reading this. Your support means so much to me.
with love xoxo
Prodigy
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I tried telling it for 12 years before I finally got the right medical attention.
I was born with Spina Bifida. I have a 6th Lumbar Vertebra (normal spine's have 5) that is not fully formed or properly supportive. The base of my spinal cord does not terminate properly and the nerve roots that travel into my Sacrum are damaged.
I fell running track when I was 14 and could not walk. I had several epsidoes of this for the next 12 years. Everyone, family and doctors alike, told me the bump on my lower back was normal and the radiating pain down my leg was just sciatica. I was told it couldn't possibly be my SI joint over and over again.
Well. It wasn't. It was my Sacrum slowly filling up with spinal fluid. Tarlov's Disease causes your nerves to leak spinal fluid inside their lining. This forms into Arachnoid Cysts and casues lesions inside the nerves themselves. My sacrum swelled from the inside out, causing terrible pressure on the nerves to my legs and eventually a major trauma to my right SI joint. By age 26, I was having temporary bouts of paralysis, was living in cripping chronic pain and losing sensation in my right hip and leg.
That is when I finally received a diagnosis.
I had a birth defect, Spina Bifida Occulta and Tarlov's Disease, an incredibly rare nerve disorder. The swelling inside my Sacrum needed to be decompressed. The surgeon removed the posterior boney covering of my spine from L5, L6, S1 & S2. Then drained as much spinal fluid as he could from inside the nerves. They needed to be clamped with titanium as to not continue leaking and refil the Arachnoid space. I was on mandatory bed rest for 6-8 months.
My body, life and finances have been devestated by my condition. On top of this I have an autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue from Epstein Barr and arthritis from Lyme Disease. I'm asking for help to pay my medical bills and to help return my life to normal while I heal. I am mostly unable to help myself for fear of rupturing the nerves and several falls that I've had since the surgery. I now have 5 bulging discs because of the lack of supportive bone and a narrowing of the foraminal canal which encases the sacral nerve roots.
Thank you for reading this. Your support means so much to me.
with love xoxo
Prodigy
Organizer
Jessica Sarah
Organizer
Mullica Hill, NJ