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LIFE SAVING SURGERY REQUIRED, "URGENT"

  • We Must FIGHT...............

      16 July 2024
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    Well what can I say apart from: ANGRY,, DISILLUSIONED, & FEARFUL?

    These are currently the words that come to mind when thinking about the "Care & Help" that Trinity and others like her are being subjected to on a daily basis in regard to the Hospitals that are supposedly there to provide care and sustenance for these girls.

    I shall not try and condense what it is that is now happening for Our Angel, but instead encourage you all to head over to Trinity's Health page for the latest information in our battle.

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&__cft__

    Once again we thank you all for your past support and beg of you, PLEASE SHARE this with ANYONE and Everyone.

    Much love and Aroha to you all. 💔💔💔

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  • EXTRA TIME

      15 June 2024
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    Whilst we are getting closer to our

    $$ Goal, the girls have been advised by Trinity's ever watchful & caring Dr, that due to Trinitys current battle with Scurvy and her seriously malnourished state, she needs to delay travel for a short while whilst we seek out an alternative way to get an access line put in and also access fluid & nutrition to try and build Trinity's body back up to a level that will be strong enough to cope with the travel and surgery. This of course will all have to be privately funded, so PLEASE don't give up on our girl, a delay to strengthen and build is NOT saying that we are no longer trying to get to Germany,, in fact it is quite the opposite, the URGENCY has just gone up another level, so come on people, please keep sharing Trinity's story with friends, colleagues, work mates & even total strangers. EVERY $$ counts.

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&mibextid=ZbWKwL

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  • "NEED for SURGERY"

      30 May 2024
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    It has come to our attention that enquiries are being made regarding the recent diagnosis of Scurvy, and whether this will impact Trinitys need for surgery in Germany.

    " SCURVY" has been a result of the severe malnutrition caused by the inability to absorb or maintain any of her oral nutrition as a result of the abdominal vascular compression syndromes, and therefore further highlights our desperate need to get Trinity to Germany for life saving multiple decompression surgery.

    We are pleased to advise that this week the DHB has been giving Trinity daily Multi Vitamin infusions and yesterday the girls were informed that the funding for the vitamin C had been approved, so beginning next week, Trinity will be receiving intermuscular injections of Vitamin C to bring her levels back to an acceptable level.

    We are still very much focused on getting Trinity to Germany , with another fundraising event being organised by Anna & Trinity in HB for those Equine followers. Check out Trins page for more info.

    "Upcomming Event"

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&mibextid=ZbWKwL

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  • " Rollercoaster "

      24 May 2024
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    Yes,, Life for Trinity is most definitely likened to that of a roller coaster. Whilst her days are, at best up and down, her Health conditions are mostly down. The latest in her diagnosed conditions is " SCURVY " Yeup you read that right,, a medical condition that generally has not reared its ugly head for over a 150 years and our girl has now been diagnosed with it.

    What is Scurvy??? As per Google search;

    Scurvy

    Also called: scorbutus.

    A condition caused by a severe lack of vitamin C in the diet.

    According to Trinity's latest blood test results ( As per her wonderful G.P's regular care and watchful eye ) her Vitamin C level is ZERO.

    No real surprise there considering her inability to hold down any food, and yet when presenting at Hospital as per her Drs instructions and email the Drs appeared surprised 😯, and now we have been informed " Excited " 😱😡

    Thankfully DHB agreed to put in a line for I.V infusion and then later informed that they needed to apply for approval for funding to get this, as it is not a normal medication kept in store. Anyways not all is lost, as they have offered infusion on Multi Vitamin. Whilst this will not have the level of Vit C that Trins body requires, it is at least something, and for that we are extremely grateful.

    In the meantime, the Girls, Grae and I are working hard to get us to the finish line.

    So close now.

    🏁 🏁 🏁

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&mibextid=ZbWKwL

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  • NEARLY THERE 👏👏

      22 May 2024
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    Yes that is right,, thanks to an incredibly generous donation from a couple in Germany we are now 2 thirds of the way in achieving our $180k target.

    Anna and Trinity received a phone call from our friends in Germany this morning informing them of this mind blowing donation and they are still reeling from the knowledge that this Mammoth goal that we set ourselves is now so close to becomming a reality.

    We also want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU once again to you all for what you have done to help us get to where we currently are. We are eternally grateful to everyone of you. THANK YOU ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

    The push is now on for the final $60k so this lifesaving surgery can become a reality for our Angel.

    🇩🇪 😇

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  • A Synopsis "Trinity's story" refer "A Compressed Angel" on facebook

      2 May 2024

    HOW ARE YOU? A question of caring, yet 1 that fills me with dread.

    I want to answer, I am well. I want to be honest, I don't want to make the person asking uncomfortable by speaking the truth. Maybe 1 day I will be comfortable speaking about my health issues, but I am not there yet.

    My health is not who I am. It is what is happening to me. I struggle with the impacts of having rare health conditions that are not acknowledged by our health System & being told, what I am experiencing is in my head.

    I am a foodie, grateful for the fact that most days I still get some hunger signals & desire to eat, however It doesn't matter what or how much I eat, the results are always the same.

    My life is like living with never ending Gastroenteritis. I can't stay hydrated or keep down food. I spend my days battling dizziness & trying not to faint.

    I long for a day that I can stand without causing my heart to have a total freak out & my vision to completely disappear.

    I dream of how life would be without the constant tremors in my hands & body that make simple tasks so difficult. To go for a walk without setting off gut & pelvis pain & having my vision blur.

    I know, surgery for the Compressions is not a magic cure, but it CAN give me a chance to some quality of life & not just a slow painful death from malnutrition.

    For me, it is a LIFELINE. I hate feeling like a burden & I hurt seeing the stress on Mum, Nanna & Gada as they try to raise awareness & funds for myself & others.

    Trinity 💞

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  • "Half Way" 👌😁

      9 April 2024
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    Yes, unbelievably we have finally managed to get to the halfway mark in our quest to raise the $180K to get our Trinity to Germany before it is too late.

    I (Trinity's Nanna /Lynn) have actually managed to complete the cycle / walk from Blenheim to Hawkes Bay in time to also be ready & available for the TV interview on the AM Show on Monday morning 8th April. Regrettably it turned out that they were running approx 12mins or so behind time when it came to my interview and so instead of the 5-6 mins of time that they had said would be allocated we only ended up with approx 2-3minutes tops and as such a lot of information was unable to be expressed, amazingly tho the donations began flowing in and it has left us ALL feeling very humbled, and even slightly believing that MAYBE, just MAYBE we will manage to get to our goal and manage to save our Angels precious life.🙏🤞

    As Trinity's Grandparents, we shall be spending a few more days here in Hawkes Bay with our girls before heading Northwards and I shall be on my bike again, hoping to raise further awareness of this dreadful condition and trying against all odds to achieve our target amount to get Trinity & her Mum on their way to Germany.

    THANK YOU ALL 💐💕 from the bottom of our 💔 for all the wonderful support that you have shown us thus far, we are optimistically close now so PLEASE share our story and help us to get to the finish line.

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  • Trins health is Spiralling and in the meantime..............

      7 March 2024
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    So it is now March 7th, and 11 more days will see Grae and I leaving our new found homebase in Blenheim so that I may begin the task that I have set myself to cycle / walk to our Trinity in Hawkes Bay. Regrettably Bridget has had to withdraw for personal reasons, so I shall be tackling this on my own (with support from Grae who will be following with our Motorhome, so I have somewhere to lay my weary body at the end of each day.) We look forward to meeting many and sharing our story, with the hope that people will be encouraged to speak up when faced with Health issues and not to be intimidated into accepting the first diagnosis you are given if things just do not add up for you.

    I Cycle / walk for TRINITY

    I Cycle / walk for EDS & AVC's Awareness

    I Cycle / walk for Improved Health Care

    I Cycle / walk for YOU.....

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812

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  • I'm Cycling /Walking to Trinity

      2 February 2024

    I have been inspired and motivated by Taylor Doyles Grandmother "Bridget" to participate in her "Walk to Trinity" to try and bring much needed Awareness of this debilitating and life threatening condition to the Public eye. Abdominal Vascular Compression Syndrome is still being ignored by our Health System and being referred to as a Fad diagnosis or a very rare condition ( both comments being used as a way to ignore a condition that is being diagnosed more and more frequently, privately funded of course) This has to Stop, we need the people of our Country to demand change and allow these youngsters to be treated fairly, and not ignored and left to die 😭. I shall be joining Bridget in Blenheim to continue the AWARENESS walk to Trinity in Hawkes Bay. Our awareness walk is united, however we will not always be travelling together as we endeavour to maximise our voice by approaching different venues from different directions etc on our travels.

    I will be departing Blenheim March 18th Ferry crossing 19th March.

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  • DONATIONS

      20 January 2024
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    Hello all you lovely people out there, I would just like to take this opportunity on behalf of Grae, myself, Anna, and of course our darling Trin of thanking you all for your loving support in our very ambitious task of trying to raise the funds necessary to get Trinity to Germany for the surgery that ultimately can safe her life.

    We are blown away with the amount raised so far, however we are still a fair way from achieving the required amount.

    We have recently had a couple of questions asked of us which got me to thinking 🤔, the question? " What will you do with funds donated IF for some reason you don't get to Germany? 🥺

    ANSWER: Any funds raised that have not been used for Health care for Trin would be either offered back as a refund to Donor ( less any fees charged) or if Donor wishes, then we could pass on funds to another deserving cause of your choosing.

    We don't have a set date for Trin's surgery yet but her health is declining daily. If, for any reason, we don't get to Germany, then we will post another update with further information as well as details for people to contact us should they wish for a refund or transfer - Givealittle will not be involved in any refund process.

    We are aware that some people are nervous of donating monies to a cause only to find out later that the funds were not used as they were intended, this most certainly is NOT the intention of our family and what we are trying to achieve.

    I hope that this will in some way give piece of mind to those that have concerns.

    Thank you all once again for your support thus far.

    Lynn 💔💔💔

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  • "FINANCE"

      19 December 2023

    As Trinity's Grandmother I have been asked a few times now " WHY $180k?" Why do we not contribute to the $180k required for Germany? and as I have said all along, we (Trinity's Mum and her Grandparents) have always said we will be as forthcoming with information as we can be and as time allows.

    Anna does not own her own home and she and Trinity have committed a great percentage of their finances into medical care over the past few years, and as for Grae and I ? Well we sold up everything we owned just on 9 years ago now and purchased a Motorhome in the hope of travelling this fair Country & enjoying Retirement with surplus funds invested for incidentals, living costs and making memories.

    Fast forward to today, , we have now parked up semi permanent, & working in a Holiday Park to help subsidise ongoing medical care and have used the majority of retirement funds set aside to pay for Trins medical care to date, including diagnostics etc. We no longer have a home to Mortgage or refinance, and so this is where we are at.

    Fundraising to date incl givealittle is now at just over $50k so we still need to raise a further $130k to save our Angels life.

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  • N.Z Herald Editorial Release

      8 December 2023
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    Message received this morning from Jaime Lythe at N.Z Herald ( The Journalist that has been investigating Trins case)

    👏👏👏

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  • " WIPEOUT "

      23 November 2023
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    . 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️ ANGEL CHECK IN 🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️

    She is unwell in appearance.

    wt 45

    Pale skin.

    Fades out at moments. Eyes drift.

    Hands are cooler.

    Stumbling while walking or with prolonged standing.

    Everything remains delicate and complicated.

    💥 She is damn determined, but her body is refusing to allow much now.

    😪 Her energy levels allow pretty much for one "thing" a day.

    📝Today's "thing" was a trip to Hastings for an appointment. 17 minutes drive each way and 2 x 10 minute appointments.

    😴 That's it, she is totally wiped and the nausea and pain have knocked her for a six again. She is now resting so she can attempt to eat something in a couple of hours.

    💖 She has asked us to pass on a big thank you for all who participated in the Auctions and attended the Event at the Filter Room on Friday.

    She was stunned to see everyone there, and says sorry to those she didn't catch up with.

    🧍‍♀️Standing and walking for any length of time gets very challenging for her and she was desperate to not pass out while there.

    ✨ ️🎈While she may be struggling with recovery from such a big night, you all created many magical moments for the girls to reminisce over of which we are all extremely grateful 🎈✨️

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  • " SPREAD THE WORD "

      23 October 2023
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    Thank you, each and everyone of you that has so kindly donated to help get our girl to Germany. We still have a long long way to go and altho we have an exciting event coming soon,; check this out:

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&mibextid=ZbWKwL

    We still need your help in getting Trinitys story out to the people.

    Please, please HELP us to to spread the word and get people to share & donate.

    150,000 people at $1 🙏🙏🙏 that is not even .35% of our current population.

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  • "ANGEL COMMUNITY"

      15 October 2023

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&mibextid=ZbWKwL

    We have a beautiful community of Angels building on our Fb page that has been set up for our wonderful supporters to be able to keep up to date with our progress. We are running an online Auction from Nov 10-17 and are asking all to give it a follow to keep up to date. Trinity is struggling more with her health and her symptoms are getting worse, as the daily pain and vomiting increases, and now a bit of a battle trying to raise Trins sodium and potassium levels. Plus a need to double check her cortisol on Tues as that is a time sensitive test but her GP is concerned thatvthe last test numbers were possibly a bit low. Other than that the rest of the bloodwork is looking okish for now thankfully as Trins weight is now sitting down at around 45kgs. Our girls have never been the types to just give up so are still pushing hard to still live and enjoy life to the best of the angels abilities. This has included loving time spent connecting with their beloved friends and a little bit of time with the horses which of course lifts their spirits immensely.

    To all of you who have donated either through here or to the Auction, words can never express our gratitude. You are what keeps our hope alive for our Angel. We ask that you please give our fb page a follow and share it with your friends and contacts to help us spread the word. Thank you once again ❤️

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  • A Roller Coaster

      20 September 2023

    This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions for us all, lack of sleep, increased pain & lack of nutrition is really beginning to take its toll on both Trin & her Mum Anna. While many people offer up many suggestions of what we could or should do to increase our chances of getting to Germany including " resting up " we say thank you & whilst your comments are acknowledged we would like to point out that we ARE giving this our all, including approaching Media, writing to MOH, approaching M.Ps etc etc , so while we are doing all of this, is it that much to ask of 🫵 to push a button & share our story, our plea?

    This IS a battle for Trinity's life and a battle against time. My apologies if I appear abrupt & unappreciative, I'm not,, I am just a VERY worried and concerned Grandmother at a loss for what else I can do to help my babies 🥹🥹

    For additional information re Trinity and her condition please check out her Facebook page:

    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551410426812&mibextid=ZbWKwL

    Thank you all for your support ❤️‍🩹

    Oh P.S,, Trinity STILL waiting for jpeg line replacement from DHB so she can once again get some pain relief and a little nutrition. Now been told it could be Mid to late October !!!!😱😭

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  • Flight cost ???

      14 September 2023

    For those questioning the cost of flight being in vicinity of $27,000 return ;

    Yes this is flying Business Class and reason for this is ;

    When you are traveling that far with someone who is very sick, unfortunately there is no other option than to fly business class, especially when they are constantly vomiting, tachcardic and in severe pain. There is also a much higher risk of flying with being that unwell, so they need to be as comfortable as possible, it's such a shame that it costs so much, but this is our reality of what we need to pay if we are to save our loved ones lives. 🥹💔❤️‍🩹

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  • COSTINGS:

      12 September 2023

    To give a little clarity on where and how the $180k needed, I requested a breakdown of costs from a family that has just returned from Germany.

    Due to restriction of number of words allotted here I have had to combine a lot, so this is an estimate only:

    FLIGHTS $27k

    TRANSPORT GERMANY / LEPZIG, DUSSELDORF $9K

    SCANS $16K

    SURGERY $105K

    PHYSIO, MEDS, POST OP $5K

    HOTEL/ HOSP ACCOMODATION $5K.

    On top of this, due to early departure (for personal reasons) there is still approx $15 / $20k for another month of accomodation, post care & physio.

    I hope this goes some way to clarifying costs for those interested.

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  • GREEN LIGHT, It's a Go.....

      12 September 2023

    RIGHT Folks,

    Confirmation has been received. Germany is now a GO

    Dear Mrs.McGrath,

    The findings from the scans are: severe compression of the left renal vein , which is called nutcracker syndrome; compression of

    the third part of the duodenum, called WILKIE Syndrome, Compression of the left common iliac vein; called MAY-THURNER Syndrome, Compression of the celiac artery and the solar plexus<, called MALS. The underlying basic disorder is, hypermobility , most probable due to hypermobile EDS. All compressions are suitable for decompression surgery and in regard to the symptoms and dysfunctions Your daughter complains about , surgery is recommended. Trinity should undergo functional ultrasound -Duplex examination with Prof. Scholbach at Leipzig, to explore the functional consequences and to find out, if Trinity has POTS from floating kidneys.

    Kind regards Wilhelm Sandmann, Dr. med. Prof. of surgery and vascular surgery

    Mit freundlichen Grüßen

    Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Wilhelm Sandmann

    Chefarzt für Gefäßchirurgie Experte für Kompressionssyndrome

    A.N.S.C. Clinic GmbH | Clinic Bel Etage | Reichsstraße 59 | D-40217 Düsseldorf

    Tel. +49 211 / 781 795-0

    Wilhelm.sandmann@clinicbeletage.de|www.clinicbeletage.de

    The upper level of medical care!

    Please note all funds are now going towards travel costs, surgery, and post Op care for Germany.

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  • MEDIA

      29 August 2023

    Hi folks,

    Not a lot to report at present. Trinity is still losing weight and had a rather severe blowout with blood pressure going awol on Friday night ( giving her Mum Anna a few more grey hairs) and leaving her even more fatigued, however she is an amazingly resilient girl & refuses to give up for which we are very grateful. The girls are still waiting on a replacement pegj line to be supplied so at least Trin will then be able to get at least a minimal amount of nutrition and pain relief instead of having to take orally, which we all know how that works for her. By the girls calculations it will be possibly another 10 days at least before Hawkes Bay DHB has a replacement and then they will have to wait for a day to be allocated for the surgery.

    In the meantime the girls have been busy trying to gather all of Trins health records held by the respective DHB's, no mean fete there, believe me 🤨 especially when Te Whatu Ora insists that you supply proof of idenditity and a Birth certificate does not qualify... Trin does not have a passport, is not permitted a driver license, & does not have a school card as did most of her schooling in Hospital or at home, not easy.

    Last but not least, Thanks for the help of a very dear friend, Trinity's story has been put to the Media to see if we can get their support in getting this out to the public arena, fingers crossed, so watch this space for further info, will let you know as we know, thank you. 💝🩷🧡

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  • Professor Sandmann / Germany

      17 August 2023

    Last night Anna finally managed to get all of Trins tests currently held on file here sent to Professor Sandmann (Germany's Vascular Surgeon) for his perusal and comments and more importantly whether or not he could see signs of vascular compressions. He has had a quick look at some of the scans & reports:

    "For the moment being, I could see that Trinity suffers from scoliosis, May-Thurner syndrome, medium arcuate ligamentum syndrome and left renal vein compression.

    This now confirms what Fraser Burling indicated to us of Vascular Compression.

    Prof Sandmann has yet to finish a full review of the scans supplied, but for now we know for certain that this is the minimum that is showing.

    Next step is FULL review by the Proffessor and then Video Consult.

    Funding is now positive, PLEASE HELP by sharing this page.

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  • Change of payee

      11 August 2023
    Posted by: Givealittle

    Posted on behalf of Anna (Trinity's mother)

    Funds will now be released to Lynn Hankey (Trinity's grandmother) as she is responsible for paying the medical bills thus far.

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  • A "NEW" Challenge

      4 August 2023

    Yet another blow was dealt Trinity this week, her PEG-J tube decided to break. This is the line that goes directly into her stomach for nutritional & pain relief, without it she must resort to taking everything orally which causes immediate nausea, pain & vomitting, not to mention further weight loss and the inevitable malnutrition. According to the "powers at be" the consensus still remains at ORAL IS BEST 😱. Meeting held today to review this, so once again we wait to see whether this line will be replaced OR removed.

    In the meantime Trin has lost another half kilo in weight this week while we wait.

    We are now preparing to send Trins scans etc to Germany to at least get Prof Sandmans opinion.

    We have been told that Trin is 24th in line for tests in N.Z so at allocation of 3 per month that is an 8 month wait before tests would be done here ( and yes that IS even by going privately).

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  • EMOTIONAL DAY

      1 August 2023

    UPDATE.

    We met with a surgical GP yesterday who has gone over her CT scan that was done in February, (plus others which he described as impressive) and he pointed out an area in her small intestines that shows an area of ballooning followed by an area of collapse which he suspects is from abdominal adhesions. He also has found that her pelvic arteries are enlarged which he says could be a strong indicator of abdominal vascular compressions. He was amazing in explaining what her previous surgeries have actually entailed. For years I have been parroting the words of what has been done without understanding the meaning behind them.

    It was incredible watching him as he was examining her, pressing on different parts of her abdomen and everytime she reacted in pain he was like "yip that makes sense" so many emotions in that appointment as finally we are seeing a glimmer of light out of the "No man's land of the DHBs" "There IS NOTHING WRONG, TESTS SHOW NOTHING, SHE JUST NEEDS TO EAT" and actually having a direction to head in that will hopefully save her life.

    Next step is for Dynamic Visceral Duplex scanning and another CT scan. Total cost for just these scans is a scary $5000.00 plus. If compression syndrome is confirmed then we will need to get her to Germany for surgery. This is our only chance at getting her the help she so desperately needs.

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