GoFundMe Started for Volcano’s Jeremy Damron to Have Emergency Surgery

Jeremy Damron, frontman of Kentucky hardcore band Volcano (featuring members of Sanguisugabogg), has been dealing with a shitty condition called degenerative disc disease (DDD). The poor dude has been dealing with this for over 10 years, and he’s now set to have an emergency spinal surgery for something called a post-lumbar implant fusion (PILF). Not only does that sound extreme but it also sounds fuckin expensive. Both are true.

I’m no doctor, but a description of his condition was included in the GoFundMe started to help support his surgery and recovery costs. The procedure has a minimum of a year recovery time, so a lot of support will definitely be needed.

The GoFundMe describes Damron’s health struggles as such:

Due to extreme nerve pain, drop foot, and severe inflammatory arthritis in the joints and discs in his lower lumbar spine, Jeremy is unable to work consistently. After years of bearing through it, it’s the worst it’s ever been, and he can barely function.

With these issues, he has not been able to sleep for more that 2-3 hours without interruption. He cannot physically play with, nor pick up, his son, which has been taking a large toll on Jeremy’s emotional health, as he is an active, playful father. He is not able to coach his students and 14-year-old daughter in kickboxing. He has missed his students’ fights. Also, after playing one show, his doctor suggested that he refrain from performing with his band Volcano until they can find better pain management or come up with a fix. He cannot tattoo or be present to manage the fully-staffed tattoo business that he owns. He cannot work for more than an hour at a time, and most of his recent work is large scale and requires multiple hour sessions. The money is just not there for the existing medical costs, nor for the bill that is expected to come concerning the next route of recovery.

So far, he has had a microdiscectomy in 2013 for a herniated disc, three years before the issues became unbearable again. He has been prescribed NSAIDs only, which is like a Band-Aid for this painful issue.

He has had numerous spinal injections of not only nerve block anesthetic, but also steroid injections. These caused little to no relief and were extremely painful. He has tried both physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments with no relief, sometimes the procedures and trials making the issues worse.

The next step in recovery is to visit the CPI INSTITUTE for stemcell injections. This is one of the only soft tissue regenerative options we have in the world. About 90% of people with the same exact injuries and issues experience tremendous relief and usually fix these issues within six months.

Let us help our big dog get through this and heal from this awful disease.

Shortly after the fundraising page was created, Damron met with a neurosurgeon and was able to offer this update:

Jeremy met with a neurosurgeon this morning at tristate neurosurgical associates & is being admitted this afternoon for emergent care to the Gateway complex. He’ll get a round to fresh scans and bloodwork tonight before landing himself in an OR early tomorrow morning for a PLIF (posterior lumbar implant fusion). Unfortunately after this emergency procedure, Jeremy will no longer be eligible for stem cell therapy. The shifted severity of his condition and overall risk of irreparable damage and paralysis has made this the only option. Let’s shift the support to help Jeremy and his family recover from invasive spine surgery. It will most likely take about 1 years for a full recovery.

We will keep everyone updated as things progress & thank you again to anyone and everyone that’s been checking in, helping out & moving us along this process. We are so grateful for everyone’s support!

At the time of this publication, the GoFundMe has raised $16,612 of its intended $25,000 goal.