Emma "Aimee" Rivera Recovery Fund

Dear friends, this fund is to support Emma Rivera, known to many of us as "Aimee", who has privately been battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer. Her friends are now taking this plea to the community due to the worsening financial crisis resulting from her illness. We want her to focus 100% on her recovery!

Emma is a beloved Pilates, Barre, and movement instructor extraordinaire, but she has not been able to work since February due to the severity of her symptoms and repeated hospitalizations. For several months before this she began suffering constant pain while doctors were unable to identify the problem. It took until mid-March of this year to get a diagnosis and another three months of battling insurance bureaucracy before she could receive treatment. In the meantime, hospital bills piled up daily.

Even though Emma is currently kicking cancer's ass and has made it through chemotherapy, she will undergo major surgery this week, followed by an unknown recovery period. We hope this fund can help ease some of the burden of Emma's astronomical bills.

Emma is a South Bronx native who attended SUNY Purchase and spent years working with homeless and mentally ill adults, then homeless and at-risk youth with HIV and AIDS, advocating for their housing and healthcare rights. She then moved on to N.Y.P. Hospital's Rehab Medicine Clinic, where the physical therapists she worked with introduced her to Pilates. She fell in love with it, and trained fiercely to become a strong, skilled and creative practitioner. Through teaching physical movement, Emma found a new path to helping others and spreading positivity and health.

Emma, aka Aimee, is the most precious friend, sister, tia, and teacher to so many. To know this woman is to love her beyond words, and if you haven't yet met her, we can tell you she is one of those rare beings that brings only light and joy into the world. We can't wait to see her back to moving, dancing, and doing the work she loves, which has helped and inspired so many people.

Thank you to all for your kind support!