Imagine waking up one day to what feels like someone stabbing you repeatedly in the face, each strike more intense than the last- in your forehead, your jaw, your eye, your lips, your mouth. Then the shocks start coming- what feel like volts of electricity coursing through one side of your face. And when the storm quiets, and the stabbing stops, you’re left with a dull, aching pain that persists until the next attack, leaving you vulnerable to any trigger- a simple breeze, a light touch, a bite of food, a kiss from a loved one . . .
That’s what life has been like every day for Amy Tomasulo since 2001.
Amy is one of roughly 400,000 people in the US who suffers from TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA (tri-GEM-uh-nul nuh-RAL-zhuh), a nerve disorder doctors classify as one of the worst pains known to mankind. Others simply call it “the suicide disease.” Trigeminal neuralgia strikes without warning, there are few truly effective treatments, and it is absolutely incurable.
That’s why we started “Laugh Your Face Off,” a comedy fundraiser to benefit The Facial Pain Research Foundation (facingfacialpain.org). After a successful debut in 2015, we’ve raised over $2.6M.
This is one of the few groups in America funding research for a CURE, and they’re getting close. They’re either funding or supporting research projects focusing on repairing the fragile coating of a nerve, deciphering the role DNA plays in facial pain, using stem cells to rebuild and repair the nerve, and mapping pain pathways to the brain in order to block pain signals. If successful, these therapies have the potential to impact not just those who suffer from trigeminal neuralgia, but those who suffer from ANY nerve pain.
Please join us for a great night of comedy to benefit a great cause.
Sincerely,
Pat and Amy Tomasulo