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Shannon Middaugh is a private person. She doesn't like to talk about herself or her problems.
But she's making an exception because it may be the only way to raise the money for her and two family members to fly to the Mayo Hospital in Rochester, Minn.
Middaugh, 29, has cerebral palsy, a medical condition that affects control of her muscles. It has caused one of her hips to be totally dislocated and another to be 25 percent dislocated. She is taking medication to relieve some of the pain she has felt for some time.
"It's been giving me pains all day," she said Monday. She deals with the pain as best she can and -Êat times -Êcan deal with it only with the help of her roommate, Ruby.
"She does a lot for me," Middaugh said.
Cardinal Center Adult Services Quality Coordinator Sue Ford said Middaugh's doctor, Dr. W. Joseph Absi, recommended the Mayo Hospital for the operation because the operation is very complicated and precise. "They're talking about cutting segments out of her bones and realigning them," Ford said.
"It's not going to guarantee she'll walk again but it's her best chance at walking again. All she wants is a fighting chance to walk again."
Middaugh said she wasn't nervous, except for when they stick an I-V in her arm. With a smile, she said she may scream then.
The first trip Middaugh makes to the Mayo Hospital will be for an evaluation. She will return home and then fly back for the surgery. After surgery, she will recover in Minnesota until she's able to travel again and then will stay at the Cardinal Center to recuperate until she's able to move back to her Eastgate Apartment.
No dates for the surgery have been set, but Middaugh and Ford hope it will be soon. "It's all depending on the money coming in," Ford said.
After Middaugh pays her deductible, Medicare will pay the rest of the hospital expenses. But Medicare won't pay for her flight to Minnesota or the hotel rooms. And, never having flown before, she only agreed to go by plane if two family members went with her. It is too far to drive, Ford said.
Middaugh works at the Cardinal Center in the manufacturing area but doesn't make enough to pay the expenses she will incur to travel to Minnesota. Her parents have recently been ill and cannot afford to contribute enough. Her sister is trying to hold a fund-raiser in Elkhart at her job.
Only $750 has been raised so far. A request has been sent to the Kosciusko County Foundation for $1,000 but that hasn't been approved yet. They hope to raise at least $5,000. Even if they are $1,000 off, Ford said they will still schedule Middaugh's plans. At the latest, she said, she hopes the surgery will be in the fall.
"I don't want Shannon to wait too much longer because she's in so much pain," Ford said.
Anyone who wishes to contribute money to help Middaugh may send their donation to Shannon Middaugh c/o Kosciusko County Foundation, 117 W. Center St., Warsaw, or call 267-1901.
