From epix episode 6 recap

This is my childhood and soul dog, Macy. She crossed over one year ago today at 6:27am, from stomach cancer and old age (15 1/2). Not a day goes by I don't think of her. Today has been rough, but I want to have something done for her in honor and remembrance of the best and goodest pupper, fur sister, companion I'll ever have had.

I am 63 years old with a 4.78 Haller. When I was born, there was no NUSS surgery. I have found one of only three Doctors who will correct someone my age or over 60 years old.
Dr. Cedric Sheffield of Cleveland Clinic, Weston, FL. Dr. Jaroszewski,(Jk.) Mayo Clinic, Arizona, and Dr. Daniel Raymond,(Ray.) Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. All three communicate and have trained together.
If you live closer to South Florida and are thinking you have to travel to Arizona for Dr. Jaroszewski, Dr. Sheffield and team will do all ages, with a speciality of ages 25 and up if you qualify. He has done hundreds of the NUSS procedures, most under 25, but over 100 cases of people who are 30's, 40's, 50's and ages 60 upward. Dr. Sheffield trained at Mayo Clinic, AZ with Jk. and help develop today's procedures. Dr. Sheffield is extremely caring and concerned about the pain the NUSS procedure can cause no matter the age. He is also head of heart transplants and cardio at Cleveland Clinic, Weston, Florida. He knows his way around a chest and uses the same pain cryoablation that Jk. & Raymond do.
Weston Florida is 22 miles west from Ft. Lauderdale and 40 miles north of Miami. Both have International Airports and Cleveland Clinic, Weston has Pectus Excavatum patients from around the world.
Because of my age, 63 years of my Pectus Excavatum, which was the size of about one-third the depth it is at age 18, is extremely deep. (see attached photos)
Dr. Sheffield has done people in their late 70's and early 80's. I only wish I could have had surgery at an early age. Pectus has made my life a living psychological and embarrassing hell.
I have POTS and fibromyalgia. I also have a major very rare spine disease called Klippel-Feil. There are less than 5,000 known cases world-wide. Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS) is a rather rare disorder that impacts your spinal bone growth and many other body parts. It caused me to lose all my teeth by age 36. KFS also causes limited range of motion in my neck and Low hairline at the back of your head with a shorter neck. The size and shape difference between the two sides of your face. My face doesn't match each side and I have instability of my upper cervical spine where it connects to my skull. KFS also involved many other parts of my body. This includes my heart and lungs, mouth, eyes and ears, muscles and nerves, spinal cord and other bones. KFS affects my kidneys, causing total kidney failure at age 56, requiring dialysis for three days on a ventilator to save my life. I enow have stage three kidney disease as a result.
I also have Spinal stenosis, Spinal scoliosis, and osteoarthritis. I will explain each condition.
Spinal stenosis the space inside my backbone is too small. This puts pressure my spinal cord and nerves that travel through the spine. I have Spinal stenosis in the lower back and the neck. I experience pain, tingling, numbness and muscle weakness. My symptoms have gotten worse over time. The Spinal stenosis my neck causes numbness, tingling and weakness in my hands, legs, feet and arms. I have problems with walking and my balance is off. I have neck pain and problems with my bowels and bladder.
Scoliosis do to a person? With most scoliosis cases, the spine will rotate or twist in addition to curving side to side. This causes the ribs or muscles on one side of the body to stick out farther than those on the other side.
The condition is characterized by the breakdown of cartilage, the tough but flexible tissue that covers the ends of the bones at the joints and allows smooth joint movements. One or more parts of the body can be affected, most often the hands, shoulders, spine, knees, or hips.
Osteoarthritis usually develops slowly, causing pain, stiffness, and restricted movement as the condition gets worse. Areas of bone no longer cushioned by cartilage rub against each other and start to break down. Further damage is caused as the body attempts to repair and rebuild these tissues. The immune system, which plays a role in healing injuries, targets these areas, and its response leads to inflammation of the joint tissues. Abnormal growths of bone (osteophytes) and other tissue can also occur, and may be visible as enlarged joints. Enlargement of the joints of the fingers is especially noticeable.
People with osteoarthritis typically experience stiffness following periods of inactivity such as upon awakening or rising from a chair; the stiffness usually improves as they move around. In some affected individuals, the condition never causes major problems. In others, severe osteoarthritis can impair mobility and the ability to perform daily tasks, affecting quality of life and increasing the risk of other health conditions such as cardiovascular disease.
Add in a painful joint disorder called osteoarthritis around the areas of fused bone and painful involuntary tensing of the neck muscles called cervical dystonia. I have had my cervical dystonia treated with 300 units of Botox every three months for ten years. Without the Botox, my head would lay to the left shoulder completely unable to hold my head up in a normal position.
I was born with cervical spinal bones in my neck fused at C-3 & C-4. This results in a shorter neck, low hairline, and limited mobility of the Cervical spine and entire spine. I have had a loss of height starting at age 40, with a loss from 6 feet to 5 feet 6 1/2 inches, loss of all Discs, and major back pain. Because of the height loss, and flared ribs, my stomach looks horrible, as all my soft organs are crowded into my stomach causing a major pot belly.
KFS causes weight loss without trying at times, going down to 140 lbs and weight gain taking me to as high as 240 lbs. This 100-pound swing causes havoc on your body. I have gone through the weight gain/loss at least 15 times over my life. KFS is a genetic condition. It’s congenital, meaning the disorder was present while I was in the womb and at birth. KFS also most likely caused my Pectus Excavatum. There is no cure for KFS.
Pectus Excavatum is killing me and I am going through the pre-surgical testing. I am being crushed and my bones are breaking. A rib broke in my back at age 43, just by pushing on a shelving unit. Since September 2022, my Clavicles and left shoulder blade have broken and are not repairable breaks, due to the severity of the breaks. My lungs are an extra six inches long and my left lung is smashed against my heart which has moved into the left lung space. I keep getting pneumonia that is extremely difficult to cure because of the chest bones crowding out my lungs. I have cracks in my sternum.
That is my story and NUSS surgery is a "maybe," at this point. My Pectus Excavatum has made my life a living hell and my take my life very soon as the bones are crushing my chest, heart and lungs.
Thank you for reading.

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