A young man in his thirties will have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to undergo a delicate procedure in France to cure a very rare disease, called Tarlov cyst, which cannot be treated here.
Émerick Bélanger, 31 years old from Laurier-Station, has been going through a real ordeal since a Tarlov cyst formed six years ago in the lower part of his spine, causing him debilitating pain.
These cysts are pockets filled with cerebrospinal fluid that can compress surrounding nerve fibers and cause neurological symptoms. According to the Tarlov Cyst Association, many cases are asymptomatic, but when pain appears, it can be debilitating and ruin the quality of life of the affected person.
Emerick’s Tarlov cyst is visible at the bottom of the spine. This is the big white spot. It is over 11 cm.
Photo provided by Émerick Bélanger
This is the case of Émerick, who has even been disabled for three years.
Migraines, loss of strength and numbness in the left leg, back pain, vomiting caused by suffering and motor problems have been part of his daily life for several years.
“For three or four years, I have had no quality of life. Just moving makes me vomit in pain,” he says.
Long medical investigations
It took three years before Emerick’s doctors discovered what was causing him the pain.
“One of the surgeons I saw told me to retire. I was 29,” adds Émerick, who was a computer technician before becoming disabled.
He explains that this disease does not operate in Quebec, since specialists told him that it carried too many risks, such as an even more serious recurrence of the disease. Here, he is condemned to stuff himself with drugs to “survive” the disease.
Find your life before
However, this is not the future the young man wants and he is ready to pay more than $75,000 to get his life back.
He is followed at MEDICIA, a private clinic specializing in spine in Nîmes, France. His operation will take place on March 12 and will be carried out by the Dr Guillaume Gras-Combe at the Neuroscience clinic.
“The neurosurgeon there told me it was an operation he had already done ten times. There have been no recurrences among these cases and he said his patients have returned to between 80 and 100 percent of their capacity. When he told me that, I was quite happy,” says Émerick.
Émerick’s brother and sister, Cindy and Michaël, are tired of seeing him suffer and have created a crowdfunding campaign on the GoFundMe platform.
The goal is to raise $90,000, a sum estimated at the moment and which would be used to cover the surgical procedure, plane tickets, medical follow-ups and living expenses during his stay in France which will be about three weeks. He will be accompanied by his mother.