Please Help Kimberly Fight Cancer❣️

This is my amazing friend Kimber.

I first met Kimber when she became my coworker at Kairos where we advocated for children with mental health care needs.

In a wedding card to her and Gary, a friend described Kimberly perfectly, saying;

“The thing you soon realize about Kimber is that she is far from ordinary. She is magic. She can make you laugh when you want to cry; make something fun out of the depths of despair, and turn tragedy into a lesson you are somehow glad you learned."

Her husband of 7 years says this of her:

“My wife is the most compassionate human being I have ever known. She is always quick to smile and offer a hand to someone in need.”

I have to say, I agree.

In addition to regularly volunteering, Kimberly has made a profession out of her caring and desire to help others and serve her community. This lady is known for having a big heart.

A lifelong animal lover, Kimber worked at the Humane Society of Santa Clara and volunteered at the Wildlife Center in Santa Clara, and the Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose, California. These experiences led her to work as a veterinarian assistant for eight years.

She continued her career in Alaska working for STAR (Standing Together Against Rape). There she helped adults and child victims of rape, incest, and sexual abuse. Kimberly also worked with the Anchorage Police Department's Special Victims Unit and provided crisis intervention and counseling to victims of violent crime.

Kimber & her beautiful daughter, Alexandria.

Kimber recently learned she has Uterine Cancer. Her doctors have found a mass in her uterus. They were convinced enough to prepare Kimberly for the strong likelihood that it is cancer. However, Kimberly needs to get a biopsy and hysteroscopy done to obtain an "official" cancer diagnosis. Then, she will then need to have a radical hysterectomy.

Since it appears she has had this for a long time, she must get it done before it metastasizes and needs chemotherapy. We pray and trust this is not already the case.

The problem is that she and her husband didn't quite qualify for Oregon Health Plan, and they do not come anywhere close to being able to afford a paid health plan - the cost is almost more than their monthly income.

It has been a struggle for them to meet out-of-pocket medical expenses over the years, even when she was working. The medical expenses were plenty just for her husband, and are now compounded by her illnesses. Gary is disabled due to COPD.

Since losing her job because of Covid shutdowns in 2020, Kimberly has worked as a freelance graphic artist, book publisher, author, and caregiver to help make ends meet.

But, on her doctor's advice, Kimberly recently had to quit working due to serious (blood clots) and other life-threatening complications of Long-Haul Covid, combined with the likelihood she has uterine cancer.

Over the past few weeks, Kimberly has diligently spent hours seeking financial aid to get the needed treatment and surgeries. Recently she was blessed with a breakthrough!

Providence Hospital is willing to help with some of the costs of her surgeries. However, the fees for the anesthesia, anesthesiologists, and surgeons for the two surgeries will not be covered. These costs alone will be in the thousands. This is in addition to the thousands of dollars in medical bills already accrued over the past few months which financial aid will also not cover or help with.

The stress of the diagnoses, the long road to wellness that lies before her, combined with the accumulating debt have been a lot to take, but Kimberly remains happy, smiling (even laughing) and flowing in gratitude for all the prayers, kindness, and contributions. All of these things are helping her to stay positive.

I am asking for donations to help my friend with the current and rising medical debts she is accruing.

Would you please consider helping Kimberly, if you can?

Please know that EVERY bit helps, donations large and small are all GREATLY appreciated.

We sincerely thank you in advance for your prayers and kindness.