Our Advocacy
The Yardeh Hope 4 Life Foundation, Inc. recruits and organizes adhesion related disorder patients as well as their family members, friends, caregivers, and doctors To raise their voices and become actively involved in advocating for (i.e., better access to insurance and medication) and to recognize abdominal adhesion as a chronic disease, (i.e., National Institutes of Health). Yardeh Hope 4 Life Foundation engages unique Communications campaigns (i.e., Y.H.4.L.F awareness week, PSAs, etc.) build support and awareness. Through our educational-workshops, training, and social services, our community outreach program is set-up to meet each individual need. We tailored to their unique needs, strength, and other strategies for our disadvantage families.
The Courageous awaits a Cure
​
Yardeh Hope 4 Life Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that my mother and I started to increase public awareness about Adhesion Related Disease (ARD), which includes Abdominal and Pelvic Adhesions.
The idea for the foundation materialized out of desperation for answers about my condition. After suffering through chronic abdominal pain throughout my twenties and thereafter and finding no relief even after many surgical procedures to remove uterine fibroids, I searched unsuccessfully for existing research on ARD to find a cure. Years
later, more fibroids (tumor) led to additional surgeries but the pain continued. On a sunny day in July 2009, during one of my doctor visits, I was advised that I needed yet another surgery. Had surgery in July, and by November of 2009, I had a full bowel obstruction, which changed my life forever.
Since then, my life has consisted of hospital stays, ER visits, and many restless days and excruciatingly painful and sleepless nights. I have visited several hospitals in multiple states seeking help to ease my chronic pain, but none has made a difference.
After many inquiries and online research, I have come to realize that adhesion are a widespread problem. Many people who have abdominal surgery go on to develop adhesion. There are also different levels of adhesion, where some people suffer from it, while others may not have any issues. Unfortunately for me, I fall within the end-stage of ARD. My condition is severe, and I have been told by doctors that there is nothing they can do to help me other than to prescribe more medication to ease my pain.
There are brilliant doctors in this great nation, but none is willing to operate further on me at this stage of adhesion. I am now dependent on daily medications and am given an IV of morphine among other medications with each visit to the ER for partial and sometimes full bowel obstruction. Yardeh Hope 4 Life Foundation, Inc., was created to increase awareness about ARD and educate the public through community outreach and workshops to share access to available resources—even if limited—to help sufferers better cope with the condition. It is my hope that doctors and researchers will come together to find solutions—preferably a cure—to provide better medical treatment for sufferers and to recognize Abdominal Pelvic Adhesion/Adhesion Related Disorder as a chronic disease.
This would help to make it possible for funding to be made available for research, which would be the beginning of the long-awaited support that ARD patients, survivors, and caregivers need to feel that they are not invisible or alone in their silent suffering.
My name is Rayshell A Anderson and I am a sufferer of Adhesion Related Disorder (ARD). I was diagnosed with Chronic Abdominal Adhesion about 12yrs ago. I have had over 50 hospital admissions & more than 10 surgeries. It all started back in 1997 when I had a partial hysterectomy surgery due to cervical cancer. A year later I had surgery to remove a cyst from my ovary, which lead to another surgery five years later to remove my left Ovary. My emergency room visits and hospital stays, became more frequent as well as the pain and nausea that I had to endured.
Being in chronic pain and unable to perform my daily activities include missing work consistently stressed me daily. The fear of not knowing what exactly was wrong with me and not getting help started to affect my life. Just when I thought that things couldn’t get any worse, I was told that I had to have my large Colon remove. After that surgery in 2008, my health took a turn for the worse. In 2009, I had an Exploratory Surgery to remove Adhesion, due to a bowel obstruction. It took many years living in excruciating pain to finally get diagnosed with Chronic Abdominal Adhesion. No human should have to go through what I have been through.
My journey has been inhumane. Due to the late diagnosed, yet again, I had another surgery due to bowel obstruction and my right ovary being removed. A year later more surgeries to remove Adhesion and Mesh. My health took the turn for the worse. In 2017, I had another bowel obstruction surgery and removal of more adhesion. To add to my failing health, I got diagnosed with Motility syndrome, a perforated segment of small bowel with fibrous adhesion Adhesive disease of the abdomen, and Vertigo. I constantly have chronic pain, and nausea, vomiting, and pulling sensations.
My reason for telling my story is, I want others to understand that a less invasive surgery should take precedence over a major surgery, to help prevent the likelihood of Chronic Scar Tissue.
​