SUPPORT BARBS RECOVERY AFTER HER STROKE

Hi! I'm Barb Sage with Whimsy Key West and Sacred Space Gallery here in Key West Florida. I have been a resident on the island for 25+ years and not a day goes by that I'm not incredibly grateful that this is my home. You may know me from doing marketing on the island here for 15 years with companies such as Danger Charters, Lazy Dog, Wecycle Bicycles, Aqua, Grand Cafe, Pirate Scooters and many more over the years. In the last 5-6 years I have been building my art buisness Whimsy Key West so you may know my bright artwork from shows, events and markets all over the island. I also own Sacred Space Gallery with my partner Lucy Hawk Art where we carry 28 local female artists. Or you may know me from my resin classes. Essentially, I'm always doing something and you could know me from anywhere.

In short, I had a stroke in February and am raising money to help pay for my accumulated medical bills & living expenses.

In length with all the nitty gritty details:

One year ago, almost to the day, began what has been the hardest year of my life. I broke my leg last July and was on crutches for many months. This injury prevented me from being able to set up at local events & markets which is where I make the majority of my income. I did a huge art sale during that time with the thought that would pay my bills and get me through, which it did. However, that injury put my in a negative place financially, running through almost all of my savings, and was incredibly challenging mentally. Before my leg was fully healed (I was still wearing a brace) Lucy and I had the opportunity to move the our gallery Sacred Space downtown to Southard Street. We tackled a complete build out & remodel that we did ourselves during December & January of 2023. The time commitment of opening the gallery prevented me from doing events & markets over those 2 months which are some of the best money making months in the entire year.

At the beginning of February, about 2 weeks after we opened our new gallery, I had a significant stroke and was airlifted to the ICU in Miami. I lost all of my motor functions on the left side of my body and was told that they might not ever come back. Once released from the hospital, I went on to do months of physical, occupational and speech therapy. I did as much of these therapies as my insurance would cover and then I was financially forced to stop. That being said, I am lucky that my physical abilities are almost completely back to normal. That being said, I still have no feeling on the left side of my body - it basically feels like that whole side is just asleep. Physically from the outside, I look like myself, however my brain & mental abilities have gone to hell in a hand basket. I can only work 4 hours or so due to exhaustion from the stroke. Having a conversation feels like I have run a mile, my memory is very unreliable, and I am exhausted all of the time. Everything makes me tired and I sleep as much as possible. On top of these physical issues, I went into a really bad depression after I got out of the hospital which I have never felt before. I have been in a really dark place, not wanting to do anything to better myself besides sleep. About a month ago I started mental health therapy and have really seen a significant improvement. Although I do not feel totally like myself, I am getting there.

I am still waiting to have surgery to put a stint in, as they think I have a full blockage in my carotid artery, this is a very crucial procedure. Twice I have gone up and the preliminary appointments & procedures have been cancelled due to insurance issues. August 16th is my scheduled angiogram with the neurologist and then we can plan for the stint to be put in and anything else that needs to happen.

Ive kept telling myself to just get through the next thing and it will be fine, but now I have spent my whole savings just living and i’m scared. I’ve added everything up so far and am trying to raise $30,000 for the medical bills. I’ve tried so hard to not ask for financial support because of my pride but I am out of options at this point. It’s time to put my pride aside and ask for help. If Ive learned anything over the past year is that it’s ok to ask for help and I am not alone in this. I have no clue at this point how much more I will need to raise once this is done but I figured this is a starting point.