Dear friends and family, as many of you know, my mom (Jodie) has long been in need of a surgery that will improve her quality of life tremendously. She lives with intense pain daily and the only way to relieve her pain is by surgery, however the financial hurdle preventing her from getting the help she needs is significant. If you haven’t yet heard her story, you can read more about it below.

My mom has had 5 C-sections, then later underwent surgery to remove a football-sized uterine tumor. Following this surgery, she had a hysterectomy and 2 separate hernia surgeries with 2 pieces of mesh implanted. The purpose of the mesh is to produce scar tissue to strengthen the abdomen wall, but it does so indiscriminately, causing scarring amidst all internal organs. She received a procedure earlier this year to free organs that had adhered together, but it provided only temporary relief.

The presence of foreign material has caused chronic pain and begun to trigger autoimmune symptoms including muscle pain and weakness, chronic fatigue, and vertigo. Local specialists have told her this is "just her life" for which she will always require some form of pain relief - preventing her from living life as fully as she’d like to.

There are a handful of specialists in the US who are able to remove mesh, but their help would require travel for a consultation, more travel and lodging to have and recover from surgery, and an additional operation back in Utah to put everything back as it should be. All of this in total would cost an estimated $40-$90K. Insurance will not cover any of this because they require acknowledgment from doctors that the mesh is causing harm, which they are reticent to confirm because of liability issues. And, since the final repair is executed by a plastic surgeon, it's considered cosmetic and deemed unnecessary.

On a recent trip to Brazil, God provided an unimaginable set of circumstances that caused her to meet a doctor who not only does the specific plastic surgery repair that she needs, but also works with a world renowned surgeon who performs the mesh removal. They cooperate to do both surgeries at once, which is rare in the US. They have both met with my mom and affirmed their confidence that she could be pain free and live a normal life, and have made themselves available to help as soon as early this May.

The tests and hospital fees are an estimated $16,000 and we will incur an additional $6-8,000 as my dad travels with her and takes time off of work to remain there in the early weeks of recovery. This is substantially cheaper than the cost of the surgery in the US and it would be easier on her having to recover from only one surgery instead of two.

Please consider donating to help ease the financial burden of the procedure, hospital fees, and travel. If you would also share this campaign, and please pray as my mom pursues and hopefully soon undergoes this procedure. We are immensely grateful for all of the support shown and for everyone who has been so eager to help already!

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