Help give Kassandra her last wishes

Hi everyone, My name is Nicole Nakahara, and I am fundraising on behalf of my best friend Kassandra Shore. Kassandra has been battling a myriad of diseases and chronic illnesses for some of her childhood years as well as all of her adult years. She suffers from a genetic condition known as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, as well as conditions called POTS, RCVS, MCAS, gastroparesis, among others. In the last year, she has gone from emergency hospitalization to emergency hospitalization. She has dealt with everything from the most excruciatingly painful thunderclap headaches from a condition called RCVS to a blood clot in her heart, leading to open heart surgery. Then when she wasn’t even done recovering from all that, she got a pulmonary embolism. She almost died from malnutrition only to be given a little bit of hope when she got her feeding tube that things would get better. And for a while, they did. Now, her oxygen is dipping into frighteningly low levels, even sometimes while she is wearing her oxygen. She and I decided to take a girls’ trip for her 30th birthday, and she ended up in the hospital getting emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction. Thank the Lord she made it out of her surgery, but as hard as it is for me to say - Kassandra’s body has not been doing very well for a while now, and things have been shutting down over time, but now things seem to be deteriorating at an even faster rate. Kassandra has made the very brave and courageous decision to not pursue any more answers/ treatments as well as to eventually come off of the many current treatments she is on so that she can go peacefully at home with her family and closest friends on as much of her own terms as possible. Kassandra’s mom, Ellen, has dedicated her life to caring for her daughter. I have had the pleasure of watching their relationship firsthand and it is just so incredibly precious. Ellen works more hours than most of us could ever imagine as a court reporter trying to make ends meet for her and Kassandra. Kassandra and her mom want to spend as much time together in these final days as possible. If Ellen doesn’t take work, as an independent contractor, she doesn’t get paid, which, in turn, means the monthly rent and bills don’t get paid either. Kassandra is the most radiantly beautiful person inside and out I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She has a heart bigger than she is and a mind brighter than most people I know. I’ve never connected with someone so fast in my entire life and our friendship means more to me than words can express. I want everyone to understand that her body is completely shutting down and she is in more pain than anyone could ever imagine and she can not continue to live like this and she would just like to live these final days with the people she loves the most not going to 5-7 doctors appointments a week in between hospital stays where none of us can visit due to COVID. Many of you have been asking what you can do to help during this very difficult time and something that would really help is donations to help go towards the many medical and living expenses that have been and continue to pile up for she and her mom. These donations will allow she and her mom to spend quality “guilt-free” time as well as also help her to fulfill some of her last wishes that she has. The money that we fundraise here will not only help pay for the rent and other monthly bills but it will also help her mom to be able to start making a dent in the debt she has accumulated over the years to keep Kassandra alive, after she passes. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. If you are not in the position to give at this time that is completely understandable. Sharing this on your social media helps out so much as well. It’s with a heavy heart that I send this out. Thank you to each and every one of you for your support. It means everything to Kassandra and her family. Nicole Nakahara