An elementary school teacher is diagnosed with the suicide disease. She feels like she’s being “electrocuted” up to 25 times per day. The fundraiser is to fund an operation that will allow her children to be born.
Laura Cruz (28), from Castle Donington in Derby was diagnosed with trigeminal neurogia. This rare condition is also called the “suicide disorder” because it can cause severe pain that cannot be controlled with painkillers.
Cruz was married to in summer. She is now raising funds on GoFundMe in January for surgery that will permit her to have kids. Because of her medical condition, it is highly possible that she will have deformities.
Dr. Xia hopes that Laura will be able to have an operation in two or ten years, without any pain. It will also allow Laura the time she needs to get off her medication and start a family.
Mrs Cruz explained that her illness had consumed all of my life. It’s impossible to brush or clean my hair, touch or stand in the wind or eat my food without feeling electrocuted.
“The symptoms are severe enough that it makes me wonder why this is called suicide disease.”
Laura Cruz, 28 years of age, was diagnosed as having rare trigeminal neuralgia. This condition is also called the “suicide disorder”.
Laura is currently on medication and has been told not to have kids. After getting married to Troy Cruz (29), she started fundraising through GoFundMe to pay for the operation that would allow her to have children.
Laura shared how on January 12, she felt a slight tingling sensation in her right lip when she awoke.
Within weeks this became severe pain. Doctors initially mistakenly thought it was shingles.
Laura began feeling severe pain about ’25’ times daily after she visited a doctor and had MRI scans analysed.
It is now her last chance at having a child with Troy Cruz, her 29-year-old husband.
Laura began to feel severe pain when she visited a doctor and had MRI scans taken.
Laura received antiviral medications but she continued seeing her GP because the pain was getting worsening. She was then first informed of this condition in February.
Mrs Cruz stated that she is on pain medication to control the symptoms, but that it doesn’t stop me from experiencing severe pain.
‘I ended up in A&E after my most recent flare up where I was told to go home as there was nothing they could do.’
Due to the severe pain experienced by patients suffering from trigeminal neurogia, and their higher rate of suicide ideation, this condition is often called “suicide illness”.
Also, there are links between higher levels of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.
Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK states that the condition has been called the “most painful” in medical history.
On her 28th wedding day, the young bride was pictured. According to her, everything triggers the pain as it is winter. “The cold makes it worse. I can’t continue my work at the moment because of it.”
Mrs Cruz said: ‘I’ve just got married and I feel like a burden to my husband’. Troy and Mrs Cruz on holiday
Microvascular decompression is the operation that can buy Laura some time. It’s an invasive procedure which relieves pressure on the trigreminal neuron by blood vessels touching it or wrapping around it.
A small amount of skull bone is removed by the surgeon after he makes an incision behind your ears.
The blood vessels are then separated using an artificial pad, or a sling made from adjacent tissue.
‘On my MRI scans, I see that there are blood vessels wrapping around my nerve. This is what has caused my pain. I raised money on GoFundMe so I can have an operation to relieve the nerve pressure and put some teflon padding in between the nerves and the blood vessels.
“We were supposed to be on our honeymoon and wanted to have children together after we got married, but my illness has taken control of my entire life.
I was afraid when I found out that it was known as the suicide disease.
It’s not curable, so I was left wondering how I would cope with the situation.
“At this moment, everything triggers the pain. And because it is winter, it is even more severe. I am struggling to keep working right now.
“I feel like a burden to my spouse since I just got married.”
Troy Cruz is Mrs Cruz’s husband and they got married in the summer.
The surgeon said that he hoped the operation would give her anywhere from two to ten years with no pain, so she could take me off of the medication and have a baby.
“That was the hardest part of my life.
“One day, it will come back but if I can have time to have my family, then that is what I’m concerned about.
“The NHS wait times range from 6 months to 2 years. I cannot wait that long because the pain is too unbearable.
“The operation has been booked for January 20. I hope to raise enough money through my GoFundMe account.
“This invisible disease is a common one and people often think that I’m fine. But, I’d like people to learn more about it and realize how serious this condition is.
So far Laura has raised £6,965 on her GoFundMe page for what she hopes will be life-changing surgery in January.