Helping a Healer to Heal

Earlier this year, a good friend broke her leg while traveling for work. It was a bad break in her knee joint and required immediate surgery. This accident has temporarily derailed many aspects of her life, as you can imagine. So, I asked her if I could let me help her by starting this campaign.

For more than 10 years, she’s been finding ways to use mindfulness and trauma-informed care to support others’ mental health and wellness. She has focused particularly on helping queer, Black folks, like her, who face myriad obstacles and layers of trauma. She’s done great work and she has big plans for spreading her reach and deepening her impact — but for now she’s had to put that dream on hold.

She’s taken three months since her accident to heal enough just to start physical therapy. She lives alone and struggles to complete everyday takes around the house. She experiences significant discomfort and pain that significantly disturbs her sleep. And she deals with the mental stress that comes from being thrust into this situation without warning.

Because she does a combination of part-time and freelance work, she was not covered for short-term disability compensation. Additionally, she was unable to continue her part-time job that required her to work in person. Luckily, she's been able to find some limited remote work and be approved for some benefits. But those benefits don't cover past medical bills, pay her rent, or even cover 100% of her medical expenses.

She needs additional support until she can get back on her feet, literally. Based on her prognosis, she expects to start PT in mid-December and to be back to full-time work and covering her monthly expenses again by April 1, 2024. She will probably not fully recover from this injury, nor regain a full range of motion in her knee. But she's not going to let it stop her from reaching her dreams.

She needs our help to get back on her feet and get back on track to realizing this dream. So, I've started to campaign to raise the funds necessary to support her through her recovery. As you can imagine, she was very hesitant to ask others for help. Additionally, she has asked to stay anonymous for personal reasons. So, I'm asking you to help — in any way you can.

Our goal is $11,850. That will pay for $4,350 of existing hospital debt, cover her rent and utilities for four months, and subsidize the medical expenses not covered by Medicaid.

Benchmarks

December 31: $6,900

January 31: $8,550

February 28: $10,200

March 31: $11,850

Our goal for December is ambitious! But we wouldn't be asking if it wasn't needed. We know this can be a financially difficult time of year for some folks, so we welcome your support at any level and hope that you will give according to your means.

How your donation can help:

$1,200 — Rent for one month

$500 — Wheelchair ramp

$100 — Utility bills for one month

$20 — Wheelchair rental for one month

Business owners: If you have a good or service you are willing to donate as an auction item or gifts for our donors, please let me know!

Thanks so much for anything you can do to help out!

Andrew