About Julian Bonnet
My name is Julian Bonnet and I am 28 years old. I have lived in Puerto Rico my entire life. I worked for six years in the health field as a certified massage therapist, personal trainer, and kinesiologist. These skills allowed me to give back to the community of health professionals who gave up their time to heal others. Surfing and salsa dancing are also passions of mine. I am a professional musician and studied jazz performance at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. I also have an associate's degree in science from the American University of Puerto Rico.
Living an active lifestyle is extremely importatant; I cannot imagine living a life without my passions, especially music. Unfortunately, seven years ago my life began to change drastically. I began to feel my pelvic bones shift causing multiple pinched nerves and one of my legs to be shorter than the other. The combination of these changes in my body put me in constant pain and eventually I could no longer surf, salsa, or even practice my profession. When I could not handle the pain any longer, I knew I needed professional help. I began to visit many doctors in Puerto Rico, Finland, and the United States and it took several visits to each country to properly diagnose my medical condition. Finally, about four months ago, I was diagnosed with Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction in Gainesville, Georgia.
Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction is a disorder that affects the sacroiliac joint. This joint connects the sacrum to the ilium found at the base of the spine. More specifically this disorder causes the spine to twist and the pelvic bones to be dislocated. Eventually the spine twists so severely that your whole body becomes malaligned. Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction can cause other medical complications in the reproductive system, gastrointestinal system, and your emotional well being.
My disorder can be corrected by a simple surgery that will repair the malalignment in my body. This surgery consists of two sets of pins set in the ilium going through to the sacrum which will fixate the two together. Once the pins are placed, there will no longer be irregular movement. Over time, I will heal enough to be able to move and walk normally. If I do not have this surgery soon, I will be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of my life.
Currently, I am doing all I can to stay in physical therapy to try and keep my pelvic bones in place. Even then, the therapist can only keep them in place with a high medical grade tape that keeps my pelvic bones from dislodging from my spine. Your contributions will allow me to get this life saving surgery and restore my hopes of living a normal life again.
What I Need & What You'll Get
My surgery is $17,000. This surgery will ensure that I can walk, play music, dance, and practice massage therapy again. I want to offer you some special gifts for contributing to my surgery. Please look to the right of this page to see the perks of donating certain amounts towards my cause.
If I do not reach my goal of $17,000, your contributions will still go towards my surgery at Northeast Georiga Medical Center, and I will continue to fight for my life until I reach the total amount I need.
Can't donate? Please Pray
I want people to know that I value prayer, so even if you cannot contribute through funds, please spread my story to others and continue to pray for me. Thank you for any and all types of support you can contribute.
--
UPDATE: Just wanted to update everyone and let them know that thanks to all of your love, prayer, support and contributions Julian was able to have his surgery yesterday (4/26/2012) morning and is now in recovery. We had more money come in from this campaing than it says, but a lot of people mailed us checks. Please feel free to continue to support him by sharing his story and encourage others to donate because he now will need money to make it through the next 8 weeks of rehab.
God bless you all!
