Katy's Brain Surgery & Recovery

Hi all of you. I am Delia, Katy's cousin. Many of you I know and many of you I have heard about through Katy's stories throughout the years.

On August 7th, we took Katy into the ER after some worrying symptoms of extreme fatigue, loss of balance, right side immobility, and loss of speech. After a CT scan and MRI, we were told Katy was bleeding in a very deep part of her brain and having a stroke. The scans showed that she had bled before in the same area a month prior, so this was the second stroke in 4 weeks. After further evaluation of the cause of the spontaneous hemorrhaging she was found to have a Cavernous Malformation.

Cavernous Malformations (malformations of the blood vessels in the brain or spinal cord) occur in 1 in 500 people. The chances of them bleeding are between 1 - 5%, the chances of them bleeding twice are close to zero.

Katy spent two nights in the hospital to stabilize before going home to rest and start the healing process before next steps could be taken.

After meeting with a neurosurgeon, it was determined that the Cavernous Malformation needs to be removed before it bleeds again and causes further damage of paralysis, permanent brain damage, or in the worst case scenario, death. The craniotomy will be scheduled in the first weeks of October.

The invasive surgery will be a minimum of 5 hours, followed by 5 days in ICU and then 2-3 weeks of rehabilitation in the hospital. Once she returns home, she will be bed bound for 3 months and not be back to her normal self for at least 4-6 months. She will also need ongoing physical, occupational and speech therapy during this time and most likely, months after.

Katy is a self- employed single mother. Her son Mickey is 7 years old and her baby business, Matcha Freak, was established last year.

She has been a part of the Portland food & beverage community for the past 10 years and absolutely loves the people that she is in touch with every day. During the pandemic, she dedicated countless hours fighting for the rights of her community, leading the Independent Restaurant Alliance of Oregon & Portland Independent Restaurant Alliance. Her work resulted in legislation both on a state and local level that aided our small businesses during that really tough time. Now it's our turn to help her.

Your donations, big or small, can make a world of difference to help cover both medical and living costs during the 6 months she will be unable to work. Your generosity will allow Katy to focus on recovering, resting and healing. Turns out brains need LOTS of rest! If you are able, please share with your friends and the Portland community.

We appreciate you all and your support!