Support Courtney as she heals from major surgery

Let's top up Courtney's bank account as she prepares for a risky, emergency surgery to remove a large lipoma on her neck so she can rest & recover without any financial stress!

Courtney & I met on Twitter last year & she immediately stood out as a force to be reckoned with. Last fall, just as she was settling into a new position as a social worker working in mental health & addictions outreach, she noticed a suspicious lump growing on the side of her neck. Her initial attempts to have the lump investigated were brushed off but as each day passed, the size & weight of the lump continued to grow.

Courtney spent months being told it was nothing and she would require cosmetic plastic surgery that she'd have to pay out of pocket for. Despite the lack of concern from medical professionals, she continued to advocate for a CT & after 6 months, she finally had one. When the results came in, it was determined that the growth was beginning to displace a major muscle and two veins, including her jugular which is now compressed under the pressure.

Though determined non-malignant, it was decided that the lipoma will need to be removed by the head and neck cancer team because of it's complexity. After a week, Courtney had yet to be contacted to arrange a consult & when she call to inquire she was informed that it would be weeks before they would be in touch. Even a visit to the ER failed to get her any further in hopes of having the lump removed.

Fortunately, Courtney's karma stepped in. A physician friend made a few calls on her behalf & she was connected with a great surgeon who shared her concerns & immediately booked her for surgery on his next available date. She's been warned that she can expect permanent nerve damage & because it's been allowed to grow, there's a possibility that it'll impact the range of motion in her right (dominant) arm as well as the use of her vocal chords.

At this point, the surgeon believes she'll be off work for 2-4 weeks at least so it would be great if her community could top of her bank account so she can focus on healing. Courtney needs to be back in the community doing what she does best asap

A little more about Courtney

Courtney is one of those authentic community builders who goes above & beyond in both her work ethic & personal commitment to introducing a harm reduction lens to how we support our community members who've been left behind.

She & her sidekick Kip (the pug) returned to NL last year so she could share her vast learnings from the front lines of Ottawa's drug/opioid crisis response in order to inform the growing one we're facing in NL.