Need Help in Getting to Phoenix Letter
Hello, and first of all, thank you so very much for taking the time to read my letter.
So, where to begin?
Let me try to explain my situation and what I am trying to accomplish. In a nutshell, I am trying to get to Phoenix. So what, you say.
Well, for you, it is not a big deal, but for me, it is.
Let me give you some background information and you will have a better idea of where I am coming from. Then, this will hopefully
make more since to you as to why this is such a big deal to me and not something easily done for me.
Before you read my story below, let me preface this by saying that the purpose of this letter is to find someone that can help me on my
quest to get to Phoenix. Please help me in my endeavor to get to Phoenix. Have a compassionate and understanding heart as you read
this. I am trying my best to pour out my thoughts and feelings and hope that this story that I am telling you makes sense to you. We are
all in this world together. We should be here to help one another. I have helped many people over the years and never asked anything
in return except for their friendship. I am now pouring out my heart here on these pages to hopefully find someone that understands my
situation and can help me. I do not know of any other way than this to find someone that can help me. So, please, please do read this
story, and I hope it does speak to you and you can help me. I know I am saying help me to get to Phoenix, but, it is not just me, but me
and my significant other, Connie. But, Connie is not the problem to get to Phoenix, the only problem is me. Connie would love to go to
Phoenix, and has wanted to for many years as her daughter lives there and she is going to have a baby here in October of 2009. Connie
would so love to be in Phoenix by the time the baby is here. Crystal, Connie’s daughter, moved to Phoenix in 2005. She met someone
there, and the got married and now are going to have a baby and Connie would like to be there for that. I have always wanted to go to
Phoenix, ever since Connie’s daughter, Crystal, moved there. But, I have not given it serious thought until now. Now, I too want to
move to Phoenix. And, I know, call me crazy, but I do love the heat and hate the winters here in Colorado. I get cold ever so easily and
I know I would love the heat there in Phoenix. I even asked Connie would she like to stay here in Colorado or move to Phoenix. She
started to cry and she said she wanted to move to Phoenix. So, this stayed with me. I knew she wanted to move to Phoenix. But, I was
too afraid. And, when you read the story below, you will see why. Then, at the end of the story, I will get back to this.
I will start from the beginning and try my best to explain my situation.
This all started when I was small. I always got a bunch of ear infections in my left ear and went to the Dr and he would treat it, and the
infection would go away. But, then, the infection would eventually return. The regular Dr could not figure out why the infections
would keep on returning. So, I eventually went to go to see an ear specialist. He diagnosed my condition as having cholesteatoma in
my left ear. Basically, cholesteatoma is a cyst, or skin that grows where it is not supposed to in the ear and so it grows and becomes
infected. So, I had to have surgery to remove the cyst. They removed my ear drum, and the three little bones that were in there. That
seemed to have worked for awhile. But, this necessitated that I had to see this ear Dr specialist and he was SO very mean to me from
the beginning from when I 1st saw him. He was not kind nor compassionate to me at all. . If I ever had any discomfort or dizziness, he
would belittle me and not take me serious. He would tell me to shut up and get me so very upset. So, I got ever so fearful of ever going
to see him. Anytime I would have problems with my left ear, whether an infection, or strange discharge or whatever, I would get ever
so afraid because I knew I would have to go see him again.
So, like I say, anytime I would get blood or any problems with my left ear, I would cry as I knew that I would have to go see the ear
specialist again. This went on for several years. Then, when I was I think 14 or so, I had to have another major surgery on my left ear
again. This time, they did what they called a mastoidectomy. This is where they remove part of the temporal bone behind the ear that
has open air containing spaces where the cysts can hide. They were hoping this surgery would once and for all get rid of my ear
infections.
This last surgery seemed to have done the trick. Until, I was about 16 or so, and I noticed a funny discharge coming from my left ear.
Since I had been so traumatized when I was smaller and knowing I would have to see the ear specialist again, I tried to ignore the
discharge.
This went on for a couple of weeks. Then, what happened is that I went into the bathroom and felt “funny”. Then, I got a major dizzy
attack. I could not even stand up with out falling over. The only way it would stop is if I kept my head down. So, wow, was I so very
scared as I knew I would now have to go see the ear Dr. again.
When I went to see him, he told my I had what they called a fistula. From what I remember, a fistula is like a small opening in one of
my semi circular canals in my left ear. He gave me an option to have surgery, or not. I decided not to, as I was so afraid of getting
dizzy and of seeing him again.

So, for about the next 20 years or so, I did not do anything with my left ear. Even though it was now like a big cavity in there from the
last surgery, it really did need to be kept clean. But, as you know, I was so traumatized when I was small, that I was just too fearful of
going and seeing the ear Dr. and keeping it clean.
But, eventually, the wax build up started to bother me. My left ear started to make clicking noises. This got progressively worse to the
point that it caused me to lose my job. I was so afraid of what was going on with my left ear that it got to the point of not only did I
lose my job, but that I would now no longer leave my home town. I was so afraid that something would happen and I would get dizzy.
This went on for several months. I tried my best to keep this a secret from everyone. But, they knew something was wrong as I would
not go with them to functions, especially if it was outside the city. Or, in another city. I started to withdraw more and more.
But, let me back up a bit. Before my ear started to bother me, I had met someone. Her name is Connie.
We met about 2 years before my ear started to bother me. Then, at that time, I had no problems going anywhere. I could go anywhere
and any place. But, two years later, when I started to have problems with my left ear, I no longer would. Connie and everyone else
knew there was something going on, but, they did not know what.
The fear of getting dizzy and what was going on with my left ear was so over powering. It caused me to eventually withdraw into my
home. I would not even leave the house.
It started out at 1st that I would not leave my town, and then eventually not my house.
Then, after seeing Connie for 2 years, and not being able to handle this anymore by myself, I confided to Connie as to what was going
on with me and I had her move in with me to help me.
We searched my hometown to see if we could find a compassionate ear specialist to look at my left ear. I was so afraid. I was very
afraid as I did not know what was going on with my left ear. It had been 20 years since it was last looked at. I had no idea if there was
another infection in there. Was the cholesteatoma back? What was causing the clicking noises? Would I get dizzy when I see the ear
Dr?
I had so many thoughts racing through my mind. When I went to see the ear Dr. and explained to him what was going on and what my
fears where, he understood. He was so very kind and compassionate. I thought to myself, wow, what a difference. Here was not only a
Dr, but a human being. Here was a Dr. who actually has feelings and treats you as you want to be treated. He was so very kind, and
sweet and compassionate. He understood my fears and worked with me. My 1st appointment with him he just cleaned it just a little bit
and checked to make sure that I was not getting dizzy or anything. He could not do much, as there was just too much wax in my left
ear. So, he wanted to soften it up. So, he wanted me to put some drops in my left ear to help loosen it up in there.
Of course, again, I was so focused on if this was going to make me dizzy or not. It did not, of course. At the time, however, I did not
know that. So, I did the drops, and I was supposed to see him the next day. However, that night I got a major panic attack. I “thought” I
was getting dizzy. I was not, I was just so worked up about seeing him and doing the drops in my left ear. I even called an ambulance. I
was able to calm myself down, and when they came, I told them that I do not need to go to the hospital. They checked to make sure
that I was OK and then they left. I had a xanax (tranquilizer) from my Mom to help calm me down. But, I only took just a small
amount in case it made me dizzy. So, you see how focused I am on this dizzy situation. So, needless to say, I did not see the ear Dr. the
next day.
Several days went by, I did the drops, and finally got the courage to go and see the ear Dr.
When I went and saw him, he laid me down, and noticed that I had used the drops and made the comment that now it would be much
easier for him to get the wax out now that it was softer now.
Apparently after all this time, the wax had hardened so much in there that the drops would help to soften it in there to help the wax
come out easier.
I also now remember too that when my left ear was clicking and all, I would notice that the wax in my left ear was dark. And, there
was a clear fluid discharge and the black wax that I would get out had a bad odor to it. So, I was so afraid that after all these years that I
had a major infection and that there was fluid coming out because the infection had gone to my brain. Now, don’t laugh, I am serious. I
was so afraid as I did not know what was going on with my left ear.
So, getting back to when the ear Dr had me laying down and he was cleaning out my left ear. I just closed my eyes and prayed that
everything would be OK. I was shaking like a leaf. He was able to get quite a bit out, and I did not get dizzy. Yea!

Let me pause here for a moment and let me say that I am trying my best to get my story out. I do hope my story here makes sense. This
has been a long battle. I am trying my best to put this in a way that makes sense. I am trying to go through all what happened and trying
to remember all of the details here. So, forgive me if I am not quite making sense at times or seem to be jumping around just a bit. As
this story unfolds as I type it here, I am remembering things that I forgot to mention earlier. So, forgive me and bear with me if I do
jump around a bit.
So, over the course of the next several years, I continued to see the ear dr. He continued to clean out the wax little by little over the
years. Just to let you know, my left ear was infected and there was some cholesteatoma in there, but the ear Dr. was able to remove it.
Things were going great. I was able to slowly but surely get more and more courage to leave my house for longer and longer periods of
time. The more cleaned out my left ear got, the better I felt and the longer time I spent away from home. Things went along great until
August of 2003. I was babysitting for some friends of mine and I tilted my head up and I got dizzy. Whoa. That surprised me. I of
course panicked and I called Connie to come and get me and take me to the emergency department at the hospital. The only time I got
dizzy was when I tilted my head up. So, I was so confused as to what was causing this. The ear Dr. was taking care of my left ear. I
was keeping it clean and healthy, so could not understand this. I could not understand why this was happening.
So, at the hospital, I waited for quite a while before I finally saw someone. By the time I did see someone, the dizziness was gone. It
never did return.
That is, until January of 2008. This time, I was laying in bed, asleep when I was awaken by a sensation that I was getting dizzy. I
thought to myself, no, this is just my imagination. But, if this was my imagination, then, it would have not woken me up. So, to check,
I laid on my right side, and seemed to be OK. Then, I went onto my left side, and was OK, but, then, when I went back to my right side
again, it hit me! I got dizzy! I thought, no, this can’t be happening! After all of this time and keeping my ear clean, this just can’t be
happening! So, I got up, and waited till the morning to let Connie know what was going on with me. We called the ear Dr. this time
and found out that what I was experiencing is called Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. I thought to myself, what in the heck is
that? And, what it is, is from what I understand, dizziness caused by Tiny calcium "stones" inside your inner ear canals help you keep
your balance. Normally, when you move a certain way, such as when you stand up or turn your head, these stones move around. But
things like infection or inflammation can stop the stones from moving as they should. This sends a false message to your brain and
affects your balance. This is according to Web MD. So, this is what caused my dizziness in January of 2008. So, then, this is also what
happened to me in August of 2003 when I got dizzy which I did not know at the time.
In order to treat this, I had to go to the Dr’s office and guess what? In order to treat this and get rid of it, they had to put me in the
position that made me dizzy! Wow! Talk about being ever so scared. Here is the one thing that I was so very afraid to experience and
they had to make me experience the dizziness in order to get rid of it! They had to do a procedure called Epley's maneuver. This
procedure repositions the calcium stones in my ear so that it does not cause me to get dizzy anymore. They had to do it 3 times, but, it
did get rid of the problem. I did fine for several months, but, it did come back a few times since January of 2008. We did the Epley
maneuver whenever it would bother me, and it got rid of the dizziness. But, like I say, it was so very frightening to me when I would
get these dizzy spells as I would have to be put in the position that would cause me to get dizzy.
Things went well until June of 2009. I got another slight attack of dizziness. I only got dizzy when I tilted my head up. So, we did the
Epley maneuver again, and this time, it worked really fast and got rid of the dizziness. I have not had any problems since.
To this point, I think we are all caught up to today. I hope I have given you a good insight as to what has happened to me to this point.
And, you now know why I need help in getting to Phoenix.
Me and Connie need help in getting jobs, getting our stuff moved there, finding a place, all of the normal things.
I am hoping there are compassionate people out there that can make my dream of wanting to move to Phoenix a reality. I need help in
getting there. I don’t want to be on the road and then I get a panic attack or get a dizzy attack and then panic about that. For, I am afraid
that if something like that happens, I will kill myself to end the fear, the panic, the worry. The problems that I have had with my left ear
have emotionally scarred me. I worry about getting dizzy, I worry about the change in elevation, all of these stupid things that no one
else worries about. I need someone to help me, to let me know that changes in altitude and everything else will NOT trigger any dizzy
spells that going from 5000 feet to 7800 feet and then back down to 1000 in Phoenix will not affect my ears at all. I mean, I have when
I was younger gone to Iowa, which is lower in elevation and I have gone over trail ridge which is over 12,000 feet. And, I did not
notice any difference. But, still, when you have gone through all what I have, you worry about stupid things like that. I was born and
raised here in Longmont Colorado, so, I do not have any idea how I will feel in Phoenix, being lower in elevation. I need to find people
that have travelled at different elevation that are in the know that can tell me that the changes in elevation won’t affect me in bad ways
at all. That, being in Phoenix I will notice that I will have more energy since they are lower in elevation. Hey, I am trying to reach out
here. I am pleading for help.

Please, there has to be people out there in this world that still have a compassionate heart. That, can relate with what I am going
through and can help me to get to Phoenix safe and sound and that all of my stressing over this and my anxieties and not sleeping well
and not eating well is all for nothing. That I am worry about all of this for no reason.
I do not know what else to say. I hope all what I have said has made sense to you. I am just trying to reach out the best way that I know
how to. I am trying to seek people that can make this dream of mine a reality. Please, reach into your soul, your heart, and help me to
get to Phoenix. I would hope that there are still kind people out there that can help, as I would help anyone in return if anyone asked me
for help.
Thank you so very much for reading my story. It is from the heart, explained as best as I can. I wish I was a writer, as I worry now that
even doing this, it won’t happen. That, there are people out there that will read this and it won’t make sense, or whatever. I am not sure
how this will be received. Please, please do respond and please, do be kind. I am just simply asking for help in getting to Phoenix but
in my case, it is a special request because of what all I have been through and why for me, this is a very big deal for me.
Before I close, I wanted to get back to what I mentioned earlier close to the beginning of my letter to you. I did want to finish up the
conversation about when I was telling you about that Connie wanted to move to Phoenix, especially now with her daughter having the
baby and all.
So, for the 1st time in about ten years, I left Longmont. I went to Denver to prove to Connie that I so badly wanted to move to Phoenix.
And, a few days later I went to Boulder for the 1st time in about ten years as well. So, you see, I am so very serious and want to so very
badly move to Phoenix. But, as you know, going to Denver or Boulder is nothing like going to Phoenix.
So, please, please, in closing, make this happen for me and Connie. Like I have mentioned earlier in my story, we are all in this world
together. We should all be there for each other and help one another. I am trying to find people that can help me and Connie and get us
to Phoenix. With your help and generosity, this can happen for us. I do want to thank you so very much for reading my story to you.
Thank you so very much for your help.
Take care and God Bless
Sincerely,
Jeff McBride
2211 Whistler Dr
Longmont, Colorado, 80504
720-213-4057
help@helpusgettophoenix.com
www.helpusgettophoenix.com
http://www.facebook.com/helpusgettophoenix
http://www.myspace.com/helpusgettophoenix
Short Bio:
Please help us move to Phoenix. Here is the website to go to that will give you more background information on what I am
trying to do. I hope this will make sense to you. I am not a writer nor web designer. Thank you so very much for taking the
time to read it. We are trying to find sweet, kind caring and compassionate people out there than can make this happen. The
web site to go to is www.helpusgettophoenix.com. Again, thank you so very much for taking the time to read this. You take
care and have a great day and thank you so much for all of your help!