Sleepless in Astoria
Donation protected
Each time a doctor looks at me suspiciously and says, "You're so young to have these problems--- what have you been up to?", I can only answer truthfully. The combination of poverty and family court has been wearing down my GI tract since as early as I can remember. "Uhh...oh", he usually replies.
Now a member of the 'twenty-somethings', I managed to escape the grips of my youth. However, poverty and gastrointestial tumlult followed me to New York City--- land of reasonably priced rent and plentiful public restrooms.
After more than two decades of sleepless nights, countless hospital visits and much, much emotional and physical torment, I'm done. I have decided to undergo surgery in hopes of finding out what it's like to be normal. Okay, maybe not normal, but...not needing to be ten feet from a bathroom at all times.
On May 10, I will be having intestinal surgery to correct diverticulitis and better manage my IBS. I'm too short for all those intestines anyway...
I am a full time student at Brooklyn College and a part time bar tender at a craft beer bar in my neighborhood. So, I'm broke. Like Ramen noodles broke.
This surgery will bankrupt me, but I guess I'm willing to risk it. My childhood was an aria of anxiety, my teenaged years a triumph of will. But I'm tired of fighting. I just want to live now. So, I'm willing to bet on my seasoned resourcefulness and, more importantly, the kindness of strangers.
I am a woman of modest expectation, so please don't think that 5 dollars doesn't help. It helps more than you could ever know.
Sincerely,
Sarah
Now a member of the 'twenty-somethings', I managed to escape the grips of my youth. However, poverty and gastrointestial tumlult followed me to New York City--- land of reasonably priced rent and plentiful public restrooms.
After more than two decades of sleepless nights, countless hospital visits and much, much emotional and physical torment, I'm done. I have decided to undergo surgery in hopes of finding out what it's like to be normal. Okay, maybe not normal, but...not needing to be ten feet from a bathroom at all times.
On May 10, I will be having intestinal surgery to correct diverticulitis and better manage my IBS. I'm too short for all those intestines anyway...
I am a full time student at Brooklyn College and a part time bar tender at a craft beer bar in my neighborhood. So, I'm broke. Like Ramen noodles broke.
This surgery will bankrupt me, but I guess I'm willing to risk it. My childhood was an aria of anxiety, my teenaged years a triumph of will. But I'm tired of fighting. I just want to live now. So, I'm willing to bet on my seasoned resourcefulness and, more importantly, the kindness of strangers.
I am a woman of modest expectation, so please don't think that 5 dollars doesn't help. It helps more than you could ever know.
Sincerely,
Sarah
Organizer
Sarah Riccio
Organizer
Astoria, NY