Fiona’s vocal fold surgery

Hi everyone, I'm Madeline — a good friend of Fiona Gillespie, and a classical singer. We’ve collaborated on many concerts and musical projects together over the past ten years. Fiona is an amazingly versatile artist and musician and works full-time at the intersection of historical performance practice and folk music.

Fiona has a polyp on her vocal folds that likely developed during a long period of singing toward the end of her pregnancy with Geordie (the cutie pictured above). Singing has become increasingly difficult for Fiona over the last year, and after a misdiagnosis, multiple trips to the ENT, and many gig cancellations, her doctor has determined that the polyp must be surgically removed if Fiona wants to be able to sing again without permanent damage. Loss of your instrument is a devastating outcome for a professional musician, so of course Fiona will be going through with the surgery. No part of this process is covered by insurance. After talking with Fiona about her plan going forward, I decided to reach out to our community to help her raise money before her surgery on September 6th in Chicago. The procedure itself costs $6500, and she also needs to pay for travel, housing, and voice therapy. On top of this expense, Fiona has had to cancel thousands of dollars in work because of her injury.

Any amount you can give will help! Thank you all so much for your generosity!