Help Shatia and Family

This fundraiser is for Shatia Freeman, her wife Chelsea Freeman and daughter London (8).

Shatia was diagnosed in 2018 at the age of 30 with progressive systemic scleroderma after she started being symptomatic gradually in 2015. She was told then that this diagnosis normally has a life expectancy of about 10 years. Since then Shatia has worked tirelessly to provide for her family in any way that she could after being denied disability due to her age.

She has been lucky enough to be able to join the Happy Dirt family where they have worked to curate a position that she is still able to perform even in her declining health and with losing a large amount of her mobility.

Having worked at Happy Dirt since July of 2020, Shatia’s presence has been impactful to the team in numerous ways. Not only has she been integral to the growth of the freight program and scaling of operations, she’s also been a huge part of curating company culture. Despite her health, Shatia brings her spark of positivity and her commitment to the hustle to everything she does at work.

Whether she’s helping to plan a party or talking about the newest Harry Potter gear, Shatia never fails to put a smile on her coworkers’ faces and make everyone feel loved and appreciated. She’s also, hands down, the perpetual nominee for best-dressed in the office.

Outside of work, Shatia loves video games, sneakers and fashion. Shatia is an avid reader (literally has probably read more books than anyone you know), loves music and exudes with pride in her NY roots. Her greatest love, though, is family, most especially her loving wife Chelsea and daughter London. Shatia is most happy when traveling to see family- being surrounded by music, games, laughter and dancing with her loved ones.

Even as her illness progressed and Shatia has continued to lose mobility and stamina, she is still the life of the party. She gets the dance floor going, leads games, and is always hyping up everyone around her and encouraging them to enjoy themselves.

Recently Shatia has been hospitalized due to severe complications for the progression of the illness, which include lung failure & congenital heart failure. She has now been entered into a program that will provide her palliative care at home in addition to hospice care.

While Shatia is receiving a high level of care, it comes with a lot of expenses. One of Shatia’s recent hospital visits was $15,000, and the costs are mounting. As her family spends time with her in this transition, income is extremely limited. It is our hope that this fundraiser can help to ease some of the financial burden the Freeman family faces.

Shatia and her family are hoping to receive support for assistance with medical bills, co-pays, and household needs in order to assist with her care and transition. She and her family would like to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation for all of the kind words, cards, thoughts, prayers, visits, and donations at this time.