Fat Black Queer Artist at Risk of Losing Sight
Donation protected
“Chad-Henry is a gift to us all, and now we can be a support to him. His consistent love, humor, brilliance and insight through the writings he provides daily on his social media is critical...and my analysis and lens are forever shaped by his generous willingness to teach me daily.” Maureen Benson
WHY CHAD-HENRY (ME) NEED YOUR HELP
There is no other way to say it, these past three months have been hell. This from someone who came of age in NYC at the height of the AIDS Crisis. During this time, I have had 50 doctor’s appointments, inserted 5,000 eye drops (1,000 painful), only to watch 2 left-eye corneal transplants* fail. In all I have had 7 corneal transplants, the most recent, 12/01/2020, four days before my 50th birthday. There are no statistics on the viability of a 7th corneal transplant. We are flying blind.
Fortunately, my Medicaid coverage has been extended and is covering 100% of surgery and follow-up visits. (Shout out to Obama!) Where I run into problems is with pharmaceuticals. For the next year I will be on several steroid, antibiotic, and anti-rejection eye drops. Given my history, it is highly unlikely generic optical drugs covered by Medicaid will be enough. My best chance to prevent rejection and regain sight is to have a compounding pharmacy make these specifically for me. These drugs are not cheap, initially costing around $400 a week and requiring upfront payment.
This is where you come in. With no money coming in, limited savings, and lots of money going out, my healing and restoration requires your generosity. Donations will be used to cover living expenses, medications, and the occasional trip to Sizzlers if they ever reopen. I spent the first 30 years of my life doing everything I could not to see my reflection. I now love it and hope to see it for many more years. Please contribute if possible. Please share whether you contribute or not. To date I’d estimate 1/3 of funds initially raised was from people with whom I have no relationship. Thanks for your continued support. I hope to see me soon.
* Each of these corneas belonged to someone who meant something to someone. This is not lost on me. To them I say, I thank you. Blessed are you who mourn; may you be comforted. Blessed are you who grieve, may you be consoled.
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“Chad Goller-Sojourner is the most honestly breathtaking voice to grace the page in a long while: One of his gifts is playfulness in the midst of grief and it is a beautiful thing to behold. “Tara Hardy,
WHO CHAD-HENRY’S BIO SAYS HE IS.
Chad-Henry is a Seattle-based solo-performer, writer, humorist, and storyteller. His work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and featured on NPR. His chapbook “Born One Thousand Years Too Early: Fat, Dark-Skinned, Gay and Adopted by White Folks - A Fragmentary Journey Towards Alignment,” has been described as poignant, chilling, and prophetic.
With playful humor and sharp observance, Chad-Henry’s work takes audiences on an intense and insightful journey, along the way unpacking the mother lode of identity construction. Ultimately demonstrating how even the most painful of experiences can be reclaimed, transformed, and accepted for what they are: the building blocks of our unique identities.
At times funny, biting and somber the following groundbreaking and crushingly honest autobiographical solo performances have transported audiences to a time and place showered in such vivid detail it is as if he personally invited you into his past, to experience his life first hand. All you need to do is show up.
“Every 3.5 days someone makes their way to the George Washington Bridge’s pedestrian walkway to attempt or complete suicide. The only barrier between them and the Hudson River 25 stories below is a waist-high metal handrail. The fall takes less than 3 seconds, at more than 55-miles per hour, creating 30,000 pounds of force on impact. I am standing on its edge, having come, so I might crash to Earth and go home to Jesus.”
“After staring down the barrel of the officer’s gun incident, I decided it was time to ditch the 1976 Gold Mercury Grand Marquis in favor a car that screamed both white and non-threating. In 1990 when it came to screaming white and non-threating, there was no better car than the Subaru Justy.”
“I am a sixteen-year-old gay black boy, who’s been known to heat canned goods with hot running water and a hair dryer, weigh himself at least five times a day, and once ate five semi-frozen Hostess snack pies in under thirty minutes - ice crystals and all.”
Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black Boy
WHY CHAD-HENRY (ME) NEED YOUR HELP
There is no other way to say it, these past three months have been hell. This from someone who came of age in NYC at the height of the AIDS Crisis. During this time, I have had 50 doctor’s appointments, inserted 5,000 eye drops (1,000 painful), only to watch 2 left-eye corneal transplants* fail. In all I have had 7 corneal transplants, the most recent, 12/01/2020, four days before my 50th birthday. There are no statistics on the viability of a 7th corneal transplant. We are flying blind.
Fortunately, my Medicaid coverage has been extended and is covering 100% of surgery and follow-up visits. (Shout out to Obama!) Where I run into problems is with pharmaceuticals. For the next year I will be on several steroid, antibiotic, and anti-rejection eye drops. Given my history, it is highly unlikely generic optical drugs covered by Medicaid will be enough. My best chance to prevent rejection and regain sight is to have a compounding pharmacy make these specifically for me. These drugs are not cheap, initially costing around $400 a week and requiring upfront payment.
This is where you come in. With no money coming in, limited savings, and lots of money going out, my healing and restoration requires your generosity. Donations will be used to cover living expenses, medications, and the occasional trip to Sizzlers if they ever reopen. I spent the first 30 years of my life doing everything I could not to see my reflection. I now love it and hope to see it for many more years. Please contribute if possible. Please share whether you contribute or not. To date I’d estimate 1/3 of funds initially raised was from people with whom I have no relationship. Thanks for your continued support. I hope to see me soon.
* Each of these corneas belonged to someone who meant something to someone. This is not lost on me. To them I say, I thank you. Blessed are you who mourn; may you be comforted. Blessed are you who grieve, may you be consoled.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Chad Goller-Sojourner is the most honestly breathtaking voice to grace the page in a long while: One of his gifts is playfulness in the midst of grief and it is a beautiful thing to behold. “Tara Hardy,
WHO CHAD-HENRY’S BIO SAYS HE IS.
Chad-Henry is a Seattle-based solo-performer, writer, humorist, and storyteller. His work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and featured on NPR. His chapbook “Born One Thousand Years Too Early: Fat, Dark-Skinned, Gay and Adopted by White Folks - A Fragmentary Journey Towards Alignment,” has been described as poignant, chilling, and prophetic.
With playful humor and sharp observance, Chad-Henry’s work takes audiences on an intense and insightful journey, along the way unpacking the mother lode of identity construction. Ultimately demonstrating how even the most painful of experiences can be reclaimed, transformed, and accepted for what they are: the building blocks of our unique identities.
At times funny, biting and somber the following groundbreaking and crushingly honest autobiographical solo performances have transported audiences to a time and place showered in such vivid detail it is as if he personally invited you into his past, to experience his life first hand. All you need to do is show up.
“Every 3.5 days someone makes their way to the George Washington Bridge’s pedestrian walkway to attempt or complete suicide. The only barrier between them and the Hudson River 25 stories below is a waist-high metal handrail. The fall takes less than 3 seconds, at more than 55-miles per hour, creating 30,000 pounds of force on impact. I am standing on its edge, having come, so I might crash to Earth and go home to Jesus.”
“After staring down the barrel of the officer’s gun incident, I decided it was time to ditch the 1976 Gold Mercury Grand Marquis in favor a car that screamed both white and non-threating. In 1990 when it came to screaming white and non-threating, there was no better car than the Subaru Justy.”
“I am a sixteen-year-old gay black boy, who’s been known to heat canned goods with hot running water and a hair dryer, weigh himself at least five times a day, and once ate five semi-frozen Hostess snack pies in under thirty minutes - ice crystals and all.”
Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black BoyOrganizer
Chad Goller-Sojourner
Organizer
Seattle, WA