After seven long years living in "immense pain," two weeks could make all the difference to Jacqui Scott's life.
The Napier woman needs $86,000 to pay for and secure a "tentative" appointment in America on March 5, needed to remove two surgical meshes which have caused countless health issues.
She was fitted with the mesh after an attack and rape at her home in 2005, but 12 months later began to notice debilitating pain followed by other symptoms including a compromised immune system, bouts of shingles, teeth and hair loss, severe depression and incontinence.
One of the devices causing problems was a Prolift Total Pelvic Floor Repair System, the biggest ever made, which has six "arms" and can grow into bone. She was the only person in New Zealand to have that particular make and nobody here was qualified to extract it.
Looking for answers, she requested her medical records and did some extensive online research. She discovered the implants were on US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) list of medical devices that have caused adverse events.