Urgent Spinal Surgery

I am looking for the world to help my partner Matt, who is in need of urgent spinal surgery to stabilise his spine.

Matt first damaged his spine in 2012 and underwent major reconstructive surgery at the age of just 23. As you can imagine, this was a very difficult time for him, not only physically but also emotionally and financially. Anyone who knows Matt will also know how determined he is. I watched him work every day for years at getting his life back, only to watch him further deteriorate.

In the past 12 months, it has become unbearable for him, and he is unable to do much for himself anymore. We decided it was time to get further medical testing and the opinion of a new specialist. Unfortunately, the previous surgery performed on Matt has failed and the metal inserted into his spine has come loose, causing his spine to become dangerously unstable. The cause is either due to an infection inside the spine or his body reacting to the prosthetic, both of which cause the vertebrae surrounding the metal to dissolve. Unfortunately, the only way to permanently rectify this, and identify the cause of failure, is to attempt a prosthetic removal surgery and add further screws and bone from his hip to the spine.

This type of surgery is extremely risky and considered life-threatening, due to the level of risk posed to the surrounding nerves and vascular system. Matt and I have spent the last 4 months searching for a surgeon who has sufficient experience in this surgery. Unfortunately, our search in Australia has been pretty disappointing, with my original surgeon not wanting to help, and other surgeons not having the experience needed to perform a surgery this complex. Time is not on our side either, as further bone loss is inevitable, which will lead to the metal subsiding into his spine and causing irreversible damage.

We have met with a world-renowned spinal surgeon in Luxembourg (via Telehealth) and he is the only surgeon we have found who has done more than 20 of these revision surgeries before. Due to the amount of risk, the consequences of those risks, and the fact we only have one chance at fixing this, Matt feels most comfortable being operated on by someone who has done it many times before. Matt will be operated on in Luxembourg on August 9th, 2023 and will spend 8-10 weeks recovering overseas before making the long journey home to Australia.

The total costs including surgery, flights, hospital stay, accommodation and rehabilitation are well over $95,000 (AUD). We have been fortunate enough to have some amazing family support, and have also started selling our belongings, now we only need to raise $65,000.

Despite his own struggles, Matt has done so much for those around him. During the day, he works as a Disability Support Worker and in his spare time, he works tirelessly on our record label. Even in his current health, he is still trying to go to work and run Vicious Instinct Records. The work he has put in over the years has meant a lot of up-and-coming bands have had the chance to share their music with the world. Many would agree, Matt has done a lot for not only the metal community but for people in general.

We have never asked for help before, but we are in desperate need. If he does not get this surgery soon, the metal will continue to loosen and the cause for the bone loss will remain unidentified, posing a great risk to his health, and his life.

Matt has written up a full explanation of his journey.

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