April Story Spotlight: Sydney McFerrin

At just 16, Sydney McFerrin has lived through a medical nightmare no one should ever endure. What began as a routine jaw surgery at 15 spiraled into an unknown mystery filled with unbearable pain, a shifting jaw, shattered teeth, and rare complications no doctor can explain. Despite dozens of procedures and treatments, including a 15-hour total jaw replacement, nothing has helped.

Sydney is also completely resistant to pain management. The highest doses of medications, even those used to put adults to sleep for surgery, have been trialed and failed. Not only do they not relieve her pain, but they have zero effect. While most people would be unconscious, Sydney remains fully awake, walking, and talking, as if nothing was ever given.

Her case has been shared across the states, presented at medical conferences, and reviewed by top doctors-and still, no answers. She sleeps no more than three hours a night, lives in constant, excruciating pain, and has been forced to step away from school and the normal life a teen should have. The medical trauma have both physically and emotionally deeply affected her, yet through it all, she keeps fighting.

Sydney is a strong young woman surviving the unthinkable, with such a positive spirit that stuns everyone around her. Now headed to Mayo Clinic in Florida, Sydney continues her battle against the unknown.