Stephanie's Reconstructive Surgery
Donation protected
My name is Stephanie and I am an American living in Ireland and I need to raise €20000 to have reconstructive surgery on my face and implants after two men kicked my face during an unprovoked assault in Galway City. 
Hello! My name is Stephanie and I am a 42 year old American woman who has been living in Ireland since 1999. A few years ago I started a small tour company called Mór Tours Ireland out of Galway City. I take tourists to Inis Mór (the largest of the Aran Islands) and lead bicycle journeys to archaealogical sites off the beaten track and teach Anglo-Irish relations, Celtic mythology, ancient history and topical issues affecting the islanders. Although my company is small, it has been very highly rated and I have been looking forward to Summer 2016 as potentially my best year yet.
Unfortunately, I am not certain if I will be keeping my business or even staying in Ireland, my home for the last 16 years. On August 23rd after attending a friend's birthday party I was viciously assaulted in Galway City. In a completely unprovoked attack two men hit and kicked my face in. I have several fractures in the right side of my face including my eye socket and my jaw, permanent nerve damage, broken teeth, and brain trauma. I have had one surgey through the regional hospital to repair my zygomatic arch but that surgey did not meet the expectations and now I need three plates to bring my face back together and even with this surgey I will not look the same as I did before I was assaulted. I am asking all my friends and all their friends to help me raise money to buy me new teeth (I have already lost 4 teeth and at least 2 more are breaking out) as in implants and also to pay for me to have reconstructive surgery so that I can look at myself in the mirror without crying. I need the plates to rebuild my face but also follow-up plastic surgery to make me look like the happy person I used to be. Also I am in constant physical pain with headaches and neck stiffness. I cry all the time, I never feel settled or safe and I am seriously traumatised by this assault.
Even if we all work together and raise the money to rebuild my face, I am not sure I will be keeping Mór Tours Ireland nor am I certain that I want to live in Ireland any longer. I do not have the money to pay for the surgery out-right in a private hospital without help. The sooner we raise this money the sooner I can have the surgeries, but obviously the facial reconstructive surgery is the most imminent. As difficult as it is, I must prioritise the facial surgery and then fix my teeth as I can afford to do so.
As I am writing this plea, I feel heart-broken and distressed but at least I do not feel completely helpless anymore. I know that I have a lot of wonderful people in my life and some of them will not have the means to support me financially but will help pass on my gofundme request to others. And for those of you who do have the means I thank you in advance for your generosity. You have no idea how much this means to me.
My friends in Cork know that I spent a lot of time raising money for the Irish Red Cross disaster relief by organising music concerts and other fun charity events but the truth is I do not have the energy to try to organise a music concert to pay for my broken face and broken teeth. I wish I did. I wish I could be the person I was before two men decided to ruin my face. I wish I were a stronger person but right now I am very weak, very tired, very depressed. I need all the help I can get and that includes prayer and positive energy. So whatever you have to spare, whatever you can afford to send, or whatever prayers you can say I thank you for all your help.
Hello! My name is Stephanie and I am a 42 year old American woman who has been living in Ireland since 1999. A few years ago I started a small tour company called Mór Tours Ireland out of Galway City. I take tourists to Inis Mór (the largest of the Aran Islands) and lead bicycle journeys to archaealogical sites off the beaten track and teach Anglo-Irish relations, Celtic mythology, ancient history and topical issues affecting the islanders. Although my company is small, it has been very highly rated and I have been looking forward to Summer 2016 as potentially my best year yet.
Unfortunately, I am not certain if I will be keeping my business or even staying in Ireland, my home for the last 16 years. On August 23rd after attending a friend's birthday party I was viciously assaulted in Galway City. In a completely unprovoked attack two men hit and kicked my face in. I have several fractures in the right side of my face including my eye socket and my jaw, permanent nerve damage, broken teeth, and brain trauma. I have had one surgey through the regional hospital to repair my zygomatic arch but that surgey did not meet the expectations and now I need three plates to bring my face back together and even with this surgey I will not look the same as I did before I was assaulted. I am asking all my friends and all their friends to help me raise money to buy me new teeth (I have already lost 4 teeth and at least 2 more are breaking out) as in implants and also to pay for me to have reconstructive surgery so that I can look at myself in the mirror without crying. I need the plates to rebuild my face but also follow-up plastic surgery to make me look like the happy person I used to be. Also I am in constant physical pain with headaches and neck stiffness. I cry all the time, I never feel settled or safe and I am seriously traumatised by this assault.
Even if we all work together and raise the money to rebuild my face, I am not sure I will be keeping Mór Tours Ireland nor am I certain that I want to live in Ireland any longer. I do not have the money to pay for the surgery out-right in a private hospital without help. The sooner we raise this money the sooner I can have the surgeries, but obviously the facial reconstructive surgery is the most imminent. As difficult as it is, I must prioritise the facial surgery and then fix my teeth as I can afford to do so.
As I am writing this plea, I feel heart-broken and distressed but at least I do not feel completely helpless anymore. I know that I have a lot of wonderful people in my life and some of them will not have the means to support me financially but will help pass on my gofundme request to others. And for those of you who do have the means I thank you in advance for your generosity. You have no idea how much this means to me.
My friends in Cork know that I spent a lot of time raising money for the Irish Red Cross disaster relief by organising music concerts and other fun charity events but the truth is I do not have the energy to try to organise a music concert to pay for my broken face and broken teeth. I wish I did. I wish I could be the person I was before two men decided to ruin my face. I wish I were a stronger person but right now I am very weak, very tired, very depressed. I need all the help I can get and that includes prayer and positive energy. So whatever you have to spare, whatever you can afford to send, or whatever prayers you can say I thank you for all your help.
Organizer
Stephanie Dick
Organizer