Help me stay above water in my fight with cancer

Most of you know me as Shannon or momma, ren folk know me as Charity Goodluck, pirates as OSHA. I'm a wardrobe technician at Tournament of Kings, a player at ren faires, a guildie among the pirates, and a mom figure to many, mother to one.

Here's the breakdown of what's going on:

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On 4/19/2023 I found a lump.

On 5/30/2023 I was given a diagnostic mammogram where they found TWO suspected cancer tumors in my left breast.

On 6/8/2023 I had 2 biopsies performed on the suspected cancer tumors.

On 6/22/2023 I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the breast.

On 7/1/2023 I was told that I would likely only need the bilateral mastectomy I desired, and not radiation or chemo, a quick recovery and return to work within 2 months. This was because the tumors were small, and my lymph nodes weren't swollen when palpitated.

On 8/15/2023 I underwent surgery for a bilateral mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy.

On 8/28/2023 I was informed that they found cancer in one of the biopsied lymph nodes.

And finally on 9/8/2023 I was told I would need 4 chemo sessions, spaced 3 weeks apart, starting in the first week of October and going through December, followed by 6 weeks of radiation.

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The good news (and if you know me, you know I love a silver lining) is that I have fantastic insurance through my union, and a wonderful job to return to.

The bad news, is that FMLA only covers 12 weeks of absence before my amazing job is no longer reserved for me to return to, and would also end my insurance covered through the union, necessitating a switch to COBRA (worth it, but not cheap).

If I CAN return to work before my FMLA runs out, I will be working reduced hours on top of working NO hours for over a month, and bills and grocery needs will start to pile up the longer this goes on. I'm scared. I have a 14 year old kid and myself to take care of financially, and right now, the future is looking a little bleak.

I was asked to start a GoFundMe so my friends, family, coworkers, and pirates can come together, as my village, my crew, my framily, to help me through this. It feels uncomfortable to ask, but the need is there and only getting more intense as time goes on, so I'm swallowing my pride.

Thank you for reading, thank you for wanting to help, thank you for sharing this or contributing, thank you for being part of my village.