Support Coco and her family during this crisis

After already living a complicated life with ongoing medical conditions, Coco was given two serious diagnoses early this summer. One of them, Antiphosolipid Antigen Syndrome, is an incurable condition that causes a high risk of blood clots, strokes, heart attacks and aneurysms. In addition to the Plaquenil and five other medications she’s on she will have to be on blood thinners for the rest of her life and be subjected to constant blood monitoring. She’s currently hospitalized due to a blocked duct in her gallbladder and the shared cystic duct with the liver. Her liver isn’t functioning as it should she is in excruciating pain.

She entered the hospital last Tuesday and was initially released last Friday, only to return this Tuesday where she remains. To alleviate her suffering, she needs surgery to remove the blockages and her diseased gallbladder.

Coco has an extreme needle phobia causing unrelenting anxiety and debilitating panic attacks at each visit due to the never ending amount of blood tests she has endure. One of her conditions, a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome causes her skin to be very thin, delicate, and sensitive, making needles very painful and IVs most times unsuccessful as her veins blow out almost immediately, this equals repeated attempts causing unbearable panic and distress.

In the past week, she's had dozens needles and iv attempts for blood tests, procedures and medications, living her worst nightmare. She has spoken to her doctors and requested to start to process of medically assisted suicide as she sees this being a new constant in her life going forward. It’s a long process that needs to be evaluated but she says her quality of life going forward is so diminished and she’s too tired and traumatized to go on.

Coco was always a fighter, known for her resilience. She's the rock of her family, but unfortunately, her family's financial situation is far from secure. As the main breadwinner or her family, she was unfortunately laid off over 6 months ago due to a slow market and hasn't been able to find work since. The stress and sever depression while also raising two special needs children has exhausted her mental and physical health.

The financial instability makes it extremely difficult to meet the family’s basic needs, in addition to the fact that she must now go on a very strict and costly diet to avoid even more excruciating pain of gallbladder attacks and hospitalizations. The current wait list for removal is months out.

In the meantime we immediately need funds to pay for food (including the currently cost prohibitive diet she needs to be on), back bills and debt that we have accrued due to our inability to cover all the costs associated with daily life.

Thank you so much. This has been a very difficult past few months for us.

Sincerely, Rich (Coco's husband), & friends and family