Donate to help Lucas heal from Anesthesia Dolorosa

Before October of 2022 I was deeply in love with my partner Jake and her son Bodhi, planning our exciting future together as a new family. I invested everything I had into my new business. I was making music of my own and with my brother Rayvn. I was full of energy and passion for life. After October 2022 my whole life changed.

I had a standard routine tooth extraction that resulted in a very rare case of nerve damage. The pain was unbearable.

The first few months of this journey were incredibly challenging, as I didn’t know what was happening, and it was very hard to get support from our current medical system.

I was in so much pain I couldn’t function, get out of bed, help my partner, take care of the little one, cook food, look at any screens, socialize, or even be in a normally lit room.

I required full-time care and was trapped in my own pain, which made it a fantasy to maintain my mental health and my daily reality.

I was living in excruciating pain with very few answers. All the doctors I spoke to didn’t know what to do.

Three months after the initial dental injury, I was still in so much pain I couldn’t function.

Sensitivity to light and sound was extreme, and the facial pain unbearable. By this point much of my body was in pain, especially the whole right side and upper body.

This came with many ups and downs, mental health struggles, and a lot of darkness.

Eventually after intense investigation and countless hours of seeing doctors I got a loose diagnosis of “Anesthesia Dolorosa”, based solely on symptoms.

To make a long story short, I can’t imagine my life without medications. The medications I have tried all aim to distance me from the feeling of nerve pain. Slowly I started to see progress after trying many strange medication with strange side effects such as motion sickness, nausea, stupidity, numbed out, more headaches, rage, anxiety, depression, and more. I rode on the knife's edge between nerve pain and unbearable medication side effects, running away from one pain to find the other. It was maddening.

Now on Pregabalin and Oxcarbamazepine, I am not sensitive to light, sound, stimulation, or processing nearly as much. I still seem to have upper jaw style headaches and all sorts of headache pain (pressure) brought on by overactivity. This medication I am on now has led me to be somewhat more active, more able to be out in the heat, undergo stimulation, and deal with stress and processing, all in small doses. Of course, whenever I feel better, I do more. Once I do more, I feel worse (headaches, facial ache, upper jaw ache, neck, back, stimulation sensitivity, etc.). That has been the trend since the beginning. I keep trying to get back to normal, and it puts me on my back, where I struggle deeply and attempt to manage in a healthy way.

Being on such a large amount of medication has me constantly exhausted, drowsy, disconnected with my emotions, anxious, and is always unpredictable as to where my physical and mental health will be each day. I struggle very much with stressful situations, decision-making, and often even social situations can feel taxing. Specifically, emotional stress is one of the biggest triggers with facial nerve pain, and these symptoms are all very common.

I still can't quite explain to people how this has changed my ability to function in the world.

Being an “invisible” injury feels like such a lonely burden.

Most people see me out and functioning, but what most don’t see is the aftermath.

All of this was very unexpected for me and my partner Jake, and with her unconditional support we are adapting to some new kind of normal within our relationship and family life with Bodhi.

Although our circumstances have been challenging and very different than we imagined, there is still so much love between us, and we feel so lucky to have each other.

We are constantly on the journey to find spiritual and medical solutions. It comes in waves as sometimes it can be exhausting and all-encompassing.

When I tell my story to various medical professionals, it most commonly leaves them stumped.

My case is so rare there isn’t much experience or information out there, and the general medical knowledge on facial nerves is quite unknown.

Nerve damage is not like a broken bone you can see with an X-ray or a tumor you can see with a CAT scan. My diagnosis is based solely on symptoms.

I am currently on disability and feeling the financial challenge that many face. It covers some costs. But it’s not enough. At this time in my life, money is the best way people can support me on my journey to health and healing.

That being said, I am so incredibly grateful for all the love and support my family and community has shown me through this time.

So many folks have donated, cooked food for us, come by for support, sent mail, and offered help. I truly can’t express how helpful that has been to myself and our family.

What this money will go to:

⁃ Medication (cost $375/month)

⁃ Rent money

⁃ Food

⁃ Tooth replacement

⁃ Travel to see specialized doctors (Neurosurgeon, Orofacial Pain, Oral Surgeon, etc.)

⁃ Practical Neurology Botox therapy

⁃ Intuitive Energy Therapy

⁃ Traditional Chinese Medicine

⁃ Plant Medicine journey facilitation

⁃ Ketamine Transfusions (would include 8h travel for 4-6 consecutive weeks)

⁃ Human Biofield tuning

⁃ Osteopathy

I wish to do everything I can to connect with the Lucas that: runs around and plays, makes music, has the energy to keep up with the little one Bodhi, goes the extra mile instead of just enough to get by, feels all his feelings, has the energy to take care of Jake and can work to create a life for his family.

With the money donated I will connect with therapies and professionals that will aid me to a lasting healing/solution. This donation is a message of hope for me and my entire family of close people.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider my world by reading this story. Through this whole journey, It has been really hard to ask for help and this go fund me is no exception. Thank you so much for donating. I cannot express how grateful I am for this form of love.