Our good friend Spaniard, aka Steven Valentine, is suffering & is in need of help.

On May 17th, he is going to be flying out to The Chiari Institute in New York, a one-of-a-kind world-class facility whose sole mission is to treat Chiari Brain Malformations & traumatic brain injuries (TBI), which is what Spaniard has. At the institute, he'll undergo a week of tests and then be scheduled for another brain surgery soon after - his fifth!! - bringing his total of surgeries and procedures to nine. The costs of the trip, as well as the medical bills, are enormous and to help Spaniard in his time of need, two benefits are going to be held. 

The first is in Bend, Oregon on Friday evening May 14th at the Midtown Music Hall Annex Room. There will be a silent auction of signed MMA gear from the likes of fighters such as Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Ed Herman, Chris Leben, Chael Sonnen, and others. There will also be live music from Hip Hop group "Mindscape" & blues funk band "Absofreakinlutely", along with food and drinks all night.

The Midtown Annex room is located at 51 NW Greenwood Ave in Bend Oregon,

with the doors opening at 6 PM

Then on Saturday May 15th, Ultimate Combat Sports (UCS) will be holding "Mayhem - Rides, Bikes & Live Cage Fights" at the Salem Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion (2330 17th St NE). Instead of charging for admission or parking for the all-day Car & Motorcycle show, the UCS will be taking donations for Spaniard. The auto & motorcycle show starts at 10 and runs to 4 PM. More info at unitedcombatsports.com.

MORE ON SPANIARD's BRAIN PROBLEMS

Spaniards brain problems started in 2003 when he was training for his first MMA fight under JT Taylor with such training partners as current UFC fighter John Gunderson, Bend legend Justin "The Hawk" Hawes, Ryan "Big Chief" Newton & Nick Gilardi, as well as trips to train with Ed Herman and Chris Leben at Team Quest. As Spaniard puts it... "I was a boxer before, boxed 11 times, and I wanted to fight. I was training hard and I got rocked real hard, and I had to go to the hospital, and I got a concussion. They called me back and they said 'we found something... fluid in the middle of your spinal opening, a cyst that's getting bigger and providing pressure on your brain from the inside, crushing your brain from the inside out so we have to put a shunt in." The doctors in Bend diagnosed him with Cavum Septum Vergae (which turned out to be the wrong diagnosis) and operated, putting in a VP shunt to drain the fluid. In 2005 the problems continued however with pain, headaches, nausea... The shunt became clogged, infected, and Spaniard contracted Spinal Meningitis. He needed "revisions" to repair the shunt and after his third such revision, he had a stroke that caused damage on the left side of his body. "I don't know how I made it through the pain? Some days I don't even remember, I just tried to breathe and get through each and every single breath."

Finally, Spaniard was sent to the hospital at UC Davis to have an emergency shunt revision, but doctors there found his ventricles, which normally are filled with cerebrospinal fluid, had collapsed. This is called Slit Ventricle Syndrome. Again Spaniard..." They didn't want to touch my shunt because my ventricles were the size of a piece of paper. And with Slit Ventricle Syndrome and they were like 'For you to be able to walk and talk is a miracle'. They said I had a Chiari Type 1 Brain Malformation, which means the back of my brain is swollen into the spinal cavity and causes pressure and does all these other things in the spinal cord. So they go and do a decompression surgery where they remove the back part of my skull and the top two spinal bones and then they send me on my way. They don't do anything about the shunt that's blocked or my ventricles that are collapsed, because they don't want to touch it. So I have a shunt that's collapsed and the ventricles are collapsed, nobody wants to touch it because of the situation. My decompression surgery, they butchered me. The problem with Chiari Malformations and the decompression surgery is that so many doctors don't know what they're doing. It's just horrible treatment all over. And your infection rate is through the roof. "

Spaniard and his son "Lil Danger"

The effects from this last surgery have been more than severe for Spaniard. The damage from his previous stroke has returned with all the inherent shaking, tremors, and slurred speech, accompanied by what is already excruciating pain from his brain issues. Coupled with this is that Spaniard also has an auto-immune disease, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, in which his liver, heart and all my major organs are affected. Spaniard says... "I went in my last surgery in February and my spine leaked; they did a spinal patch and I got really, really sick. They had to put me under due to my heart rate and I died from the sedation because my body couldn't handle the meds. They put me in the ICU and it was pretty bad. I was in so much pain I could barely walk or talk. Now, I have to do IV infusions for the pain and to keep me from having seizures because my blood pressure is high and they're worried about me having a seizure. If I have a seizure they're worried my heart won't withstand it. My blood counts are low and my body is just at the brink. Mentally I'm exhausted. I've been so isolated in California and away from everyone I know and love that it's tested everything inside of me. I'm lucky to have the sport of Mixed Martial Arts to stay busy and keep me focused on other things; a lot of fighters and family call me daily giving me inspiring words, especially my brothers Ryan Newton and Nick Gilardi. I don't think I would be able to do this without them." 

It is with all these problems and complications that the renowned Chiari Institute has now taken on Spaniard's case which offers him a real fighting chance. "I'm trying to go to the clinic that has the lowest infection rate in the nation... better surgeries and better surgical teams that knows what the F**k they're doing about these brain injuries."

We can all help Spaniard get there by taking part and donating at either of the two benefit shows being held for him on May 14th and May 15th. The May 14th benefit will be held at the Midtown Music Hall Annex Room, located at 51 NW Greenwood Ave in Bend Oregon, with the doors opening at 6 PM.

On May 15th, UCS presents "Mayhem - Rides, Bikes & Live Cage Fights" at the Oregon State Fairgrounds Pavilion (2330 17th St NE, Salem - enter the Pavilion from Sunnyview RD NE). The auto & motorcycle show starts at 10 and runs to 4 PM. The doors will reopen at 5:30 for the cage fights. More info at unitedcombatsports.com