Support Graceyn Myers

Horses have always been a big part of my life. I can vividly remember being 3 years old and passing a horse farm, begging my mom to stop and let me watch them. My mom did even better than that, she pulled up to the farm and asked the owner if I could ride. I did and ended up falling in love with it.

Growing up, I continued to ride, trying all different types from jumping to pleasure. It was not until I was 8 years old that I found out what barrel racing was. I fell in love with it. Being so young, horses fueled my confidence & made me feel powerful. Horses taught me kindness and unconditional love. Every weekend I was at a horse show with my horse, Cinnabar. By the age of 13 I had gotten to experience showing at the state fair as well as many county fairs.

While warming my horse up before a show, his back legs got stuck in the mud. This caused him to flip forward, landing on top of me. This sudden, significant impact caused the first of what would become many traumatic brain injuries (TBI), changing my life forever. I never thought that the many times I had fallen off, hitting my head and getting back on would affect my life so much. Since this has happened, I have dealt with migraines, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and often passing out. I have seen numerous Neurologists, Cardiologists, Therapists & Psychiatrists, all without answers or just adding a new medication to the list. The only thing the doctors agree on is that I have Post Traumatic Concussion Syndrome, although none have offered a solution. I went through the rest of my High School years feeling depressed and isolated. I was in cosmetology school and lost complete interest in my schoolwork. I stopped talking to my friends and stopped doing what I loved most of all, riding horses. My senior year, I switched to online classes due to anxiety, almost not graduating.

After another year of dealing with this, it was only going to get worse. After a long day of kayaking, we decided to stop and get food. While waiting for a friend to get into her kayak, I was hit by a boat on the right side of my head. Thankfully, I was able to push the boat away, keeping it from running me over completely. That next morning was the first time I had ever been admitted into the hospital due to my mental health. The anger I started to feel was even more foreign than the anger and sadness I had already been experiencing. I was no longer that fun person everyone wanted to be around.

Matters only worsened in April of 2024. At a festival, we decided to find a seat at a restaurant. We walked upstairs to find a table. As soon as I reached the room upstairs, I turned around and got assaulted. I was confused and not even really realizing what was happening, yelled at the woman to get away from me. She then proceeded to grab me by my hair and take me to the ground, repeatedly punching and kicking me in the head, worsening the damage that had already been done. What the woman did not know, I was not her actual target.

After years of trying to get help and never feeling like I was being heard, I was ready to give up. Fortunately, in researching different holistic treatment options, my mom discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). We learned that HBOT has been extremely successful in treating people who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Concussion Syndrome. In many cases, HBOT has improved the client’s migraines, speech, thinking (cognition), memory, anxiety, depression, physical healing, etc. We learned that there is a facility right here in Northwest Ohio that we can go to called Sara’s Garden. Sara’s Garden is a non-profit center that specializes in working with clients with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).

Unfortunately, in the United States insurance companies do not recognize HBOT as being therapeutic for the treatment of TBI and Post Traumatic Concussion Syndrome and will therefore not cover the cost of the treatments. That is why we could really use your help. I would like to go to Sara’s Garden in Wauseon, Ohio for HBOT treatments. HBOT for my condition is only $100 per treatment at Sara’s Garden (as opposed to $1,500-2,500 per treatment at a hospital). However, since our plan is to receive at least 40 HBOT treatments (twice a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks) adding up to $4,000 that cost adds up quickly. Sara’s Garden knows and understands the financial strain these costs can put on a family. That is why they have a sponsorship program available to assist with the cost of treatments.

If you could assist us with the cost (or even just part of the cost) of a single $100 treatment it would help reduce our overall expenses greatly. 100% of the funds received will go into an account in my name and will be used solely for my treatments. Any contribution made would be considered a tax-deductible donation as Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) non-profit facility. Checks can be made out to Sara’s Garden with my name on a sheet of paper accompanying the check. Please do not write my name directly on the check. You can also donate online via credit card by clicking on the DONATE NOW button below.

Thank you for considering sponsoring my treatments in helping me to better my life.

Graceyn Myers