Sarah Jaymes Craniotomy Recovery

I’m going to be brief and vulnerable.  Neither are easy for me.  This is not ideal for me. Here, writing to you, a mixture of people. You, who have at some point, have become a part of my life. Family, friends, coworkers, friends of friends of friends, and complete strangers. And this writing, it is to simply ask for help. More help. In February, I had my one year check up. Initially, they believed I was exactly where I should be and talk of another procedure was only precautionary. Apparently, however, the results of my angiogram were much more pragmatic. As it led to a meeting of neurologists, presenting me with their proposal of what to do next. My coil did not hold. My aneurysm has grown. And they want to, simply, cut open my head. Pretty immediate. Now, naturally, I’m terrified. Also, this feels so unbelievably unfair. But the thing is, that doesn’t matter in the end because what it’s showing me is the truth. That truth being, I’m a ticking time bomb. An unpredictable expiration. With this kind of heavy news, I ended up taking FMLA from work, which is with no pay. And it’s now been about 3 months. My craniotomy is set for May 8, less than 24 hours from now. I am absolutely desperate for your help, especially on the money side of it. Between the phone bill, car payments, insurances of all kinds and the mother load of all other bills - there’s basic everyday necessities like food, gas, toiletries, etc.. Other costs such as parking fees for hospital stay (which is a pretty penny downtown Chicago), and then aftercare for what might be needed in recovery. I’m not sure what recovery will be like this time. I can safely say, it’ll consist of more time off. More time with no pay and all else mounting. I know my vision has been a problem, so vision therapy complete with new glasses/frames will be needed. But I honestly don’t know what else may be involved. I won’t know until I’m in it, until I've woken up from the craniotomy. Besides time, it’ll be consistently inconsistent. It’ll be heavy, stressful, upsetting, saddening, tiresome, and resentful. Luckily, there's also spurts of progress, happiness, motivation, and gratitude in between. Probably a lot of what it shouldn’t be, but some contributors to these emotions are expected and understood, and others more preventable. And that’s what I’m approaching here. I don’t like leaning so much on money being so important, but right now, it’s a game changer. It’s something that honestly can damage my spirits getting through this.  Whoever joins me on my journey, your support means so much. Any gesture means more to me than you know. A simple share of my GoFundMe, a small donation, large donation, a donation that doesn't involve anything but words of encouragement. These will all impact my future, my recovery, and the new life I am so very excited to begin. With love, Sarah Jaymes Henriksen