My wife is in urgent need of back surgery.
She is a US Army veteran who served with a medical support battalion during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She left a successful military career with an honorable discharge only to pursue her dreams to become a physician and cardiologist. She nearly reached her goal, after twelve years of education and training, but sustained a traumatic injury before she started her cardiology fellowship.
She subsequently received back surgery approximately a year ago. Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go exactly as planned. Intraoperatively she was found to have injuries much worse than the initial imaging revealed. She had upper and lower injuries with multiple herniations resulting in severe compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots with instability that required spinal decompression and cervical fusion, among other interventions.
After surgery, she took a downward turn and started to have recurrence of symptoms. We have recently discovered that she requires another surgery as soon as possible. I've watched my wife struggle with pain that limits her abilities and quality of life, getting worse over time. Despite her pain, she gets up every day and seeks to improve her life, find a solution, and get back to work. I fear that if she does not receive this surgery soon, her efforts will be futile.
We have been desperately seeking a neurosurgeon who specializes in advanced spinal injuries, and have been blessed enough to find one of the best in his field. We are humbly asking for donations, due to insurance limitations. We are also living off one modest income with much debt to include my wife’s student loans.
The donations raised will be used to cover the cost of surgery; specifically, costs associated with the hospital stay, operating room (OR) facility and personnel, fusion hardware, and the neurosurgical care. In addition to any post-surgical care needs.
My wife wishes to donate any remainder to the neurosurgical department as a charity-fund designated for another patient in need of neurosurgery. They currently provide nonprofit neurosurgeries in Africa for persons who would otherwise never receive care. My wife can’t think of a better way to give back than to donate to this cause.
This surgery will be life saving. After recovery, she hopes to practice medicine again and get back on the path to become a cardiologist. The loss of her career has been a void. Only those closest to her would understand its value. One that surpasses her lifetime of hard work and love for cardiac medicine; it is much closer to her heart. This loss is a daily reminder of a broken promise that she made to her younger brother who was born with congenital heart disease.
My wife is the most resilient person I know; even during her suffering, she never gives up hope or her goals. Someday she wants to open a cardiology clinic in a rural town, much like where she grew up. She knows first-hand the many socioeconomic difficulties that impact their health. Her long-term dream is to open an interventional cardiac center so these communities can have faster access to emergent care. She speaks of the greater risks associated with heart attacks among persons in remote towns due to the limited number of facilities, thus longer travel times and delays in care. I can hear her say, “in the heart, time is muscle.”
The world needs more physicians like my wife. She loved medicine and her patients like family. She had a way with empowering them to take charge of their health. The same she continues to advocate for herself. But she needs your help.
We need your help today. Thank you in advance for your support, generosity, and prayers. My wife wishes to remain anonymous for her privacy. All donations on this site are also anonymous, unless you choose to leave a note. If you would like to offer a larger donation directly to the neurosurgical facility, then please leave us a message with your contact information.
