My name is John, and I’ve spent the last 17 years living with a chronic illness no doctor could fully explain — intense waves of nausea, unexplained vomiting episodes, nerve pain, crushing exhaustion, cognitive dysfunction, and immune flares that would knock me out for days. Over time, the illness chipped away at my ability to work, care for my family, and simply feel normal again.
Recently, I finally uncovered the cause — not through a single doctor, but by feeding years of scattered records into AI tools that spotted patterns others had missed. Those clues pointed to ASIA (Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants), also known as Shoenfeld’s Syndrome — a rare condition triggered by materials like breast implants and surgical mesh.
The mesh had been in my body since 2008, originally placed during a hernia repair. But only in the past two years did it become the primary focus — the thread that finally tied all my symptoms together.
I found one of the world’s top mesh-removal surgeons, Dr. Jonathan Yunis, and underwent robotic, nerve-sparing excision on June 6, 2025. In the OR, the team discovered the mesh had fused to my sigmoid colon, was tethered to my deep iliac lymph node, and was densely wrapped around sensitive pelvic tissues and nerves. They painstakingly freed the bowel, removed the entire mesh, and excised the swollen lymph node — later confirmed to show chronic inflammatory change consistent with ASIA.
The surgery was a success, and within days, many of my worst symptoms began to fade. For the first time in nearly two decades, I feel like I’m truly healing.
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Why I’m asking for help
We’ve spent over $35,000 on medical expenses in the past two years alone. I stopped working completely in November 2024 to focus entirely on finding answers.
While I’m the one organizing this fundraiser, the support is for my entire family — to keep our household stable for the next few months while I heal and regain the strength to return to full-time work.
Your gift will help cover essential living costs — housing, food, utilities, follow-up care — and most importantly, help us keep our kids’ lives as normal as possible during this critical window.
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Stretch goal
If we’re blessed enough to exceed the immediate need, any extra will go toward the medical and related debt we’ve accumulated during this long journey — and, if possible, to helping others still walking the same path. I hear from people almost daily who are searching for answers, just like I was.
If you feel connected, Please share. No one should have to endure years of pain without answers.
If this fundraiser gains enough momentum, I also hope to begin laying the groundwork for an AI-driven patient advocacy platform — built by someone who’s lived it firsthand. A place where complex patients can track their symptoms, organize their medical records, and get real support navigating what I went through.
It’s early — but your support could help make that vision a reality.
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Looking ahead
I’m now working with Dr. Yehuda Shoenfeld, the world-renowned immunologist who first identified and named ASIA, to publish at least one medical case study.
Additionally, Dr. Jonathan Yunis — and possibly the oncologist I consulted — will also contribute, creating a rare multi-disciplinary collaboration aimed at educating doctors, surgeons, and patients worldwide.
Few ASIA reports bring together specialists across immunology, surgery, and oncology, so this study could help reshape how implant-related illnesses are recognized and treated.
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Thank you for reading, caring, and standing with me and my family as we rebuild. Your support is a blessing we will never forget.
