Support for Novi

This account is being set up to help Novi, my dear friend, alleviate financial stress in this time she has.  Novi was reluctant to start this gofundme but I believe there are many who want to support her as she navigates how she wants to spend the time that she still has. 

 

Her health journey has been a big part of her life story these last 7 years but it does not define her, she is so much more than this disease, and how it’s drastically changed her life, future dreams and physical capabilities. 

For those who don’t know Novi well, she was raised in Dixon, California and spent her youth with her family on an almond orchard, participating in numerous sports and creative outlets such as piano, painting, and learning languages. Novi moved to the Netherlands to return to her paternal roots, where she spent nearly a decade there as an English teacher, a translator, yoga instructor, traveling, and giving her friendship and love to countless humans.

 

In 2015, at twenty-seven years old, while
living in Rotterdam, Novi was first diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Novi was presented with the nauseating prognosis of living six weeks if treatment was not promptly initiated. Thus began Novi’s seven-year battle to elongate her timeline and soak in every experience she could. 

Novi’s initial cancer diagnoses was followed by heavy chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant using her own stem cells. Novi was declared in remission. Two years went by, and tragically she relapsed when she was thirty years old. Miraculously her older sister was a perfect march to be her Stemcell donor, thus she left Rotterdam and came back to California in hopes of being cured. 

With great success, Novi’s sister’s stem cells held the cancer at bay for four years while she got to help raise her two nieces, attend her younger brother’s wedding, travel, cultivate new friendships, teach yoga again and spend time with all of those that she loves. Novi also became the proud dog mom of her Golden Retriever, Dutch. Life after transplant came with many challenges, one being a life-altering condition called Graft Verse Host Disease. It’s only been within the last few months has a sense of normalcy in her body been regained. To say this woman has gone through a lot in this lifetime is an understatement, and yet she continues to bravely say yes and celebrate the devastating moments as well as the beautiful ones. 

 

All this to say, on March 30, 2022, Novi was presented with another timeframe of life expectancy, six months to a year. Novi will not be pursuing any more medical interventions. Instead she is choosing quality time with loved ones as her priority. She desires to spend the remaining time in her body doing things that bring her joy. These things include buying a surfboard and wet suit to continue to find freedom in the ocean, immersing in the healing elements of all bodies of water, spending quality time with her loved ones in beautiful locations, and sharing delicious meals with her people. As well as healing therapies in the form of  holistic treatments such as acupuncture, reiki, and massage therapy to name a few. 

 

Humbly, Novi has agreed to this fundraiser and is deeply grateful for the opportunity to be free of unnecessary financial stress.  Thank you for loving and supporting her in this time to live her life the fullest.