Asking for help has never come easily to me. I've always tried to handle things on my own, but I've reached a point where I simply can't do this by myself anymore.
I am raising $10,000 to receive Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) treatment, a procedure that has given many people with PTSD and Complex PTSD their lives back. After years of trying everything available to me, this has become my last real hope.
I have lived with Complex PTSD (CPTSD) as a result of severe childhood abuse. Trauma isn't just something that happened in the past—it affects my everyday life. It impacts my ability to feel safe, sleep peacefully, manage anxiety, regulate my emotions, trust others, and enjoy the things that many people take for granted. Living with CPTSD often feels like my nervous system is stuck in survival mode, even when I'm safe.
For years, I have fought as hard as I could to heal.
I've worked with doctors. I've tried medication after medication, but unfortunately I have been resistant to many of them or experienced side effects that outweighed any benefit. I continue to attend talk therapy and EMDR therapy, and I remain committed to doing the work required to heal. While these treatments have helped me process my trauma, they have not been enough to quiet the constant fight-or-flight response that CPTSD creates.
After countless appointments, medications, and years of therapy, I began researching Stellate Ganglion Block.
SGB is an injection that targets the sympathetic nervous system, helping "reset" the overactive fight-or-flight response that many people with PTSD and CPTSD experience. Although it isn't a guaranteed cure, many patients report significant improvements in anxiety, hypervigilance, panic, sleep, and their overall quality of life. For the first time in a long time, I feel like there is a treatment that addresses the physical effects trauma has had on my body—not just the emotional ones.
There is another reason this treatment is especially meaningful to me.
I also struggle with Long COVID, and emerging research suggests that SGB may help relieve symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, autonomic dysfunction, and other lingering effects. If successful, this treatment has the potential to improve multiple conditions that have significantly impacted my daily life. It truly feels like an opportunity to address several major health challenges with one course of treatment.
Unfortunately, there is one major obstacle.
Insurance does not cover this procedure, and I cannot use my Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for it.
The treatment my physician recommends consists of four injections—two on each side of my neck—at $2,500 per injection, for a total cost of $10,000.
That number is overwhelming.
My goal is to raise the full $10,000 so I can complete the recommended treatment. However, even reaching $5,000 would allow me to receive two of the four injections, getting me halfway through treatment while I continue working toward funding the remainder. Every donation, no matter the amount, moves me one step closer.
If you aren't able to donate, sharing this fundraiser with your family, friends, or social networks would mean just as much.
I know this treatment cannot erase what happened to me. But after years of surviving, I am hoping it can finally give me the chance to truly live.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story, for believing in my journey, and for helping me pursue a future that isn't controlled by trauma.
