Mitch Simmons and Family - Fundraising Campaign Day 6
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
Two great pieces of news to report on the Mitch Simmons and family fundraising campaign:
(1) As of this morning...$7,000 raised from 65 great people in 5 days!!!
- Great start everyone, now just need another weekend push to hit our goal of $10,000 and 100 donors by EOD Sunday
- We started with a focus on Mitch's high school connections in Rapid City and as a Rapid City Stevens Raiders alum (http://www.stevensraiders.com) , this weekend's push will be his university connections at The University of South Dakota (http://www.usd.edu), Black Hills State University (http://bhsu.edu) and Arizona State University (http://www.asu.edu)
(2) As of this morning...Mitch's campaign is now searchable on the GoFundMe site! So if you run into someone who knows Mitch and/or is not on Facebook, you can quickly tell them to go to the GoFundMe site and search for Mitch Simmons to see his story and donate.
Thank you all again for your prayers and support.
Mitch Simmons and Family - Fundraising Campaign Day 5
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
Fundraising has slowed down this week, but received a couple of very appreciated donations today that put us on the doorstep of $7,000 raised...28% of the way there!
Beginning tomorrow we'll start weekend push #2 and hopefully get some media involved (in South Dakota and Arizona), get the universities that Mitch attended involved (University of South Dakota http://www.usd.edu; Black Hills State University http://bhsu.edu and Arizona State University http://www.asu.edu) and renew the 88, 89, 90 Stevens High School challenge.
If you've donated or shared Mitch's campaign on your Facebook page or other social media...thank you!
Raising Awareness for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) - Black Hills 100 Race Training
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) - Signs and symptoms (1)
ATN pain can be described as heavy, aching, stabbing, and burning. Some sufferers have a constant migraine-like headache. Others may experience intense pain in one or in all three trigeminal nerve branches, affecting teeth, ears, sinuses, cheeks, forehead, upper and lower jaws, "behind" the eyes, and scalp. In addition, those with ATN may also experience the shocks or stabs found in type 1 TN.
Many TN and ATN patients have pain that is "triggered" by light touch on shifting trigger zones. ATN pain tends to worsen with talking, smiling, chewing, or in response to sensations such as a cool breeze. The pain from ATN is often continuous, and periods of remission are rare. Both TN and ATN can be bilateral, though the character of pain is usually different on the two sides at any one time.
(1) Source: Wikipedia
Black Hills 100 - 50 Miler Race Training (23 days to race day):
http://blackhills100.com
Ran 5.5 miles this morning (before work) in preparation for a long run tomorrow. That 5.5 miles put me over 450 miles for the year!
Raising Awareness for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) - Black Hills 100 Race Training
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) - Symptoms (1)
Most patients report that their pain begins spontaneously and seemingly out of nowhere. Other patients say their pain follows a car accident, a blow to the face or dental surgery. Most physicians and dentists do not believe that dental work can cause trigeminal neuralgia. In these cases, it is more likely that the disorder was already developing, and the dental work caused the initial symptoms to be triggered coincidentally.
Pain often is first experienced along the upper or lower jaw, so many patients assume they have a dental abscess. Some patients see their dentists and actually have a root canal performed, which inevitably brings no relief. When the pain persists, patients realize the problem is not dental-related.
The pain of trigeminal neuralgia is defined as either classic or atypical. With classic pain, there are definite periods of remission. The pain is intensely sharp, throbbing and shock-like, and usually triggered by touching an area of the skin or by specific activities. Atypical pain often is present as a constant, burning sensation affecting a more widespread area of the face. With atypical trigeminal neuralgia, there may not be a remission period, and symptoms are usually more difficult to treat.
Trigeminal neuralgia tends to run in cycles. Patients often suffer long stretches of frequent attacks followed by weeks, months or even years of little or no pain. The usual pattern, however, is for the attacks to intensify over time with shorter pain-free periods. Some patients suffer less than one attack a day, while others experience a dozen or more every hour. The pain typically begins with a sensation of electrical shocks that culminates in an excruciating stabbing pain within less than 20 seconds. The pain often leaves patients with uncontrollable facial twitching, which is why the disorder is also known as tic douloureux.
Attacks of trigeminal neuralgia may be triggered by the following:
- Touching the skin lightly
- Washing
- Shaving
- Brushing teeth
- Blowing the nose
- Drinking hot or cold beverages
- Encountering a light breeze
- Applying makeup
- Smiling
- Talking
The symptoms of several pain disorders are similar to those of trigeminal neuralgia. Temporal tendinitis involves cheek pain and tooth sensitivity, as well as headaches and neck and shoulder pain. This condition is called a "migraine mimic" because its symptoms are similar to those of a migraine. Ernest syndrome is an injury of the styomandubular ligament, which connects the base of the skull with the lower jaw, producing pain in areas of the face, head and neck. Occipital neuralgia involves pain in the front and back of the head that sometimes extends into the facial region.
(1) Source: The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)
Black Hills 100 - 50 Miler Race Training (24 days to race day):
http://blackhills100.com
Scheduled to run 57 miles this week in preparation for the 50 Miler on June 27th. Have covered 14 miles so far...43 miles to go before Sunday morning!
Mitch Simmons and Family - Fundraising Campaign Day 4
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
We got a quarter of the way to our goal today after only 4 days of fundraising...great work everyone!
Now let's push to hit that $10,000 goal by the end of this weekend!
If you've donated or shared Mitch's campaign on your Facebook page or other social media...thank you!
I've been in contact with Mitch and will be sharing an update from him on Saturday morning.
Raising Awareness for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) - Black Hills 100 Race Training
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
As I mentioned yesterday, I will be running the 50 Mile race in the Black Hills 100 to raise awareness for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN).
Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) - What Treatments are Available? (Surgery)
Surgery
The goal of surgery is to stop the blood vessel from compressing the trigeminal nerve, or to cut the nerve to keep it from sending pain signals to the brain. Surgical procedures are performed under general anesthesia, involve opening a hole in the skull (called a craniotomy), and require a 1 to 2 day hospital stay.
Microvascular decompression (MVD) is a surgery to gently reroute the blood vessel from compressing the trigeminal nerve by padding the vessel with a sponge. A 1-inch opening is made in the skull behind the ear, called a craniotomy. This opening exposes the trigeminal nerve at its connection with the brainstem. A blood vessel (occasionally a tumor) is often found compressing the nerve. After the nerve is freed from compression, it is protected with a small Teflon sponge (Fig. 4). The sponge remains in the brain permanently.
MVD provides immediate pain relief in 95% of patients [1]. About 20% of patients have pain recurrence within 10 years. The major benefit of MVD is that it causes little or no facial numbness. The major disadvantages are the risks of anesthesia and of undergoing an operation near the brain.
Black Hills 100 - 50 Miler Race Training: http://blackhills100.com
Following is a summary of my running before deciding to run this race to raise awareness for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN) and as a fundraiser for my great friend Mitch Simmons, and after...
One month of training to go!!! (note: had an injury in January that sidelined me from running for most of January, February and early March)
Mitch Simmons and Family - Fundraising Campaign Day 3
Great first weekend of fundraising for Mitch Simmons and his family, thank you all who donated and/or shared his GoFundMe page...Mitch and his family are overwhelmed by your support! We were able to get over 20% of the way to our goal, but still have a ways to go...
Your continued thoughts, prayers, donations and spreading the word will be needed to reach our target of $10,000 and 100 donors by June 8; $15,000 and 120 donors by June 15; $20,000 and 150 donors by June 21 (Father's Day) and our goal reached by June 27th in time for my 50 mile http://blackhills100.com race on June 27th to raise awareness for Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia (ATN).
Your continued prayers and support and very appreciated!
http://www.gofundme.com/mitchsimmons
