Requesting Community Support

Dear Community

As some of you know, last July, I was diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia. It was a surreal moment for myself and my family, especially since the previous three years of my life had been primarily dedicated to counseling and offering support to the Cancer Community in Washington State. With the diagnosis came a fair amount of uncertainty: how would my body react to the treatment, how would I pay for all of this, and how would this affect my work and life moving forward?

Now, on the other side of treatment, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. In September, after the treatment ended, there was thankfully no detectible Cancer left in my blood. Over the fall, however, I developed intestinal inflammation that is still affecting my digestion, my spleen is still swollen, and my energy has not fully recovered. This means that I need to return to Brooklyn for further studies. On top of the health stress, my finances have taken a huge hit. Due to my reduced work hours during treatment and the extra out-of-pocket health expenses, I have incurred over $25,000 in debt. My nuclear family has helped as much as they can, and now it is clear that I need to turn to my larger community to ask for a little financial support.

It has been a ceremony unto itself to get to the point where I feel comfortable enough to make this request. It has required moving through an incredible amount of bodily and ego-based constriction, which in many moments has taken the form of shame and self-criticism. However, there have also been moments when I have been able to hold the self-judgment with curiosity and compassion. In these moments, my breath and body open into a place of clarity and receptivity. In these moments, I see the tremendous amount of love and life force I have invested in supporting the healing and development of those I have been able to touch through my hands, my play, my gifts, my love, and my therapeutic work (counseling, coaching, guiding, and leading groups); much of which for the last twelve years I have offered at discounted prices for those in need, and in some cases have given away for free. In such moments, I am filled with the knowing that it is more than okay to ask for support and that the act alone may be a crucial step in my healing process.

The soul medicine I have found through the experience of cancer has awakened in me an ancient truth encapsulated in the Zulu and South African philosophy of Ubuntu-I am because We are. I can’t do this alone (none of us can), and trying to might actually be killing me. The support I have received and continue to receive has made me realize that my life is not just my own but is also my communities, and in that knowing my prayer moving forward is to continue to serve my community to the best of my ability. At this moment, any help you can offer me on the financial front would be more than appreciated. And as always, your love and prayers are welcome!

My goal here is to raise $25,000 to bring my debt down to a manageable level for myself. I have broken down four types of possible support:

Tier 1-$100. At this level, my spirit will visit you in a dream. I will be wearing a pair of sparkly chaps and a cosmic cowboy hat, and I will make you one hundred balloon animals that will turn into your spirit guides. This wild pack of beastlings will unleash a creative force in you that will touch all aspects of your life in ways you never imagined.

Tier 2-$200. At this level, the Angel of Good Fortune will visit you in your dreams, offering you two hundred firm yet loving spanks on your behind. This will clear your energy body and create the space for health and abundance in 2024.

Tier 3-$300. At this level and beyond, my spirit will streak the ancestor's fire, singing your name with glee. It is a universal law that when a name is summoned at the sacred fire, that person will receive anything they desire.

Tier 4. Surprise me, and you shall be surprised!