Raising Funds for 19yr old disc fusion surgery

In 2014 I began developing a pain down my left leg. After months of appointments with specialists, I was sent for an MRI which showed one of the discs in my spine trapping a nerve, causing the pain to radiate down my leg. This lead to 14 year old me getting spine surgery to remove the disc from trapping the nerve (there are medical terms for this- something like herniated and L5 disc, but it basically was a surgery to take the disc off the nerve so I could be pain free). The surgery worked and after recovery I was back to normal.

This year in January I randomly and suddenly had severe back pain in the lower left side of my back, and that familiar pain down my leg. At the time, I was studying my economics degree in California, but after a couple weeks of the pain growing worse, I was hospitalised in the states and my parents had to quickly fly over to help me. I was given an epidural steroid injection (that didn’t end up helping much) and a lot of high-grade pain relief, that allowed me to fly home to be treated under the NZ system (the American health insurance system is terrifying).

I was devastated to have to end my studies in the states, which had taken me hours of paper work and money to get there. But then COVID happened and suddenly hundreds of students were forced to go home. So it put things in perspective. (2020 has been a very weird year for all!).

I spent quarantine doing zoom calls with physios and trying to get well enough to not need pain relief like tramadol. After a couple months of not much progress, I suddenly started to feel a lot better. I was more mobile and active and most importantly, in a lot less pain.

By now we were at level 1 and I was setting up my life to study back in Auckland. I signed a lease for an apartment, enrolled in semester two and looked for a job.

Things were going well in Auckland for the first couple of weeks, until I was on a trip home, when out of no where, my back spasmed on the plane and left me temporarily paralysed. Once the paralysis wore off, I was left with crippling pain. The pain grew worse and worse over the next five days, much worse than it had ever been during the year, until it reached a point where I couldn’t shower, walk well, eat, sleep or any of the basics of life-so I was hospitalised for severe pain.

I was there for a few nights with relief from the pain, thanks to the morphine. I was discharged with an MRI booked in the next day, and with a list of pain relief so long, the pharmacist thought it was a kind of prank.

The MRI ended up showing that the last disc in my spine (I think its called L5) has worn down and been squished so much it was only about a millimetre tall on the image, compared to the healthy discs that look about a centimetre tall. This is trapping the nerve next to the L5 disc, causing inflammation. Since the disc is so worn down, there’s no shock absorbent for the impact of daily activities. This is causing extreme pain, that I can only relieve with pain killers such as morphine and tramadol. The surgery I need is a fusion surgery that will fuse that disc and relieve the nerve. This involves metal bits being implanted in my back. Since this is a pre-existing condition, ACC will not cover the surgery. If I go through the public system, I will be put on a waiting list with other urgent cases, that means I could end up having to wait up to six months for the surgery and risk becoming addicted to the pain relief drugs, specifically tramadol and morphine. Being addicted to these kind of drugs results in chronic pain, where the brain creates pain to get the drug. It’s very hard to combat. Since the pain isn’t subsiding, I’m struggling to function without the pain relief, so addiction is highly likely.

The surgeon we saw a couple days ago advised us that the risk of addiction is higher the younger you are, and that if it was his daughter he would do everything he could to get the surgery as early as possible to avoid the risk of addiction and chronic pain, which he said will be much, much worse than the surgery. The only way we can get surgery in the next couple of weeks is if we go private and pay for it ourselves. The surgery costs more the $50,000. I am trying to raise this money to avoid my parents having to mortgage their house again. At the moment I am coping by taking all my pain relief which involves more than 15 pills a day (things like Gabapentin to combat the nerve pain, Celecoxib for the inflammation, Norpress and Norflex, and many more, including the notorious tramadol and morphine). I am terrified of developing an addiction and having chronic pain. I am so sad that it is putting so much pressure and stress on my parents, who have already given me so much in life. I so desperately want to get back to being able to live a normal active life, and the success of this surgery will guarantee that for at least the next 10 years.

Any donation amount is extremely helpful, and will help me be able to help my parents. I thank you so much and feel extremely grateful for the help. Being in vulnerable positions really makes you see the affect and power of kindness.

There are also many people on here who are in much worst situations then me, so make sure to see others to donate too before me.

Thank you so much.

Maria