Medical expenses for dare

Hi all, dare has been living with severe chronic illness as an uninsured artist for a long time. They've recently received costly new diagnostics and treatments. Please contribute to help cover their ongoing medical expenses. Summary of costs below.

dare demonstrates a lot of generosity in how they share their life's work and art. Let's show them some tangible care. All contributions and shares are appreciated. Please read on for their story.

Summary

Lab test: $500

Medical equipment: $700

6 months of consultation: $900

6 months of medicine, herbs & supplements: $3600

Estimated gofundme processing fees: $240

The monthly costs continue indefinitely, and there are many other financial impacts like lost capacity/time to work/earn. Any help towards surpassing our goal is greatly appreciated. If you prefer venmo, you can send to @dare-sohei

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Hello, this is dare from Animist Arts and formerly bodyaltar.org

You may have read some of my writings online in social media land or from my substack https://thenightgarden.substack.com/

or seen my free videos and podcasts on youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH9iC_l6heUv6wP2P60MsVqKSHOJYbrZA

Since after the first covid vaccine many of my auto-immune and co-infections flared and did not regulate themselves. I have had a pre existing mystery condition for my whole life, without any safety net of family, inherited wealth, or health insurance.

From age 28-31 I focused on managing severe IBS-C-D symptoms that were killing me. Once I had those in order, or so I thought, I contracted valley fever on a trip from San Francisco where I lived at the time to Los Angeles to help a friend help their ailing mother. I was 32. Valley fever is a fungal pneumonia whose symptoms appear like that of a bad flu or cold, and it almost killed me within less than two weeks. Because it is not a virus or bacteria based illness, the z-pack I was given at the walk-in clinic did not help me. When I returned to the clinic, their machines told them that if I didn't go to the ER immediately, I would likely die of oxygen deprivation during sleep.

I spent a week in the hospital, losing over 100 pounds of bodyweight and suffering severe post sickness neurological and metabolic effects. I was effectively homeless at this time. After more than a year of suffering cognitive decline, I procured illegal testosterone injections which improved my quality of life. I was able to use this hormonal boost to begin to sort out the accumulated issues of my life and childhood. Over the course of the next few years I did enormous personal, psychological and spiritual work, to deal with my karma, my ancestral karma. Valley fever is something that is usually only contracted by and becomes deadly in people with severely damaged immune function in the first place.

I eventually moved back to Portland around age 37 or 38, where I had previously lived for a few years in my early twenties. I lost access to testosterone and many of the adjunctive therapies I had access to in the bay area. During this period post-pneumonia and post-testosterone, many of my pre-existing symptoms were manageable, but growing stronger over time, unbeknownst to me consciously.

That is, until my immune system was introduced to the covid vaccine and boosters. This was in the spring of 2021, I was 41.

Since then, my health spiraled out of control again, but I could sort of manage the emotional and cognitive stress with all of my somatics, trauma and nondual practices. Truthfully I was drowning and each day was a growing nightmare. This continued through Jan 2022, when I finally found a naturopath that was a good fit and we began to take tests and experiment with various months-long protocols.

My health and symptoms have improved since Jan 2022, they are better than they were after the vaccine, but I am effectively disabled or partially disabled due to symptom load and management.

Recently I took a specific $500 urine test which came back with very high amounts of gliotoxins and other issues, meaning, the pre-existing conditions that have plagued me for years, way before I knew any of this medical knowledge, are still present and rooted in my system. They are likely now resistant to prescription medication, because I have taken long stints of fluconazole and nystatin over the years to deal with the pneumonia, etc. I have a few co-infections, viruses and perhaps otherwise, that are continually adding to the biochemical load in my system.

My doctor assures me I am doing everything correctly, which is personally validating and some small comfort in this competitively ableist, gaslight-y society.

Currently I am now going to be on a rotating set of supplements, herbs and nutraceuticals, as well as an even more restricted diet than I have been eating for the past 13 years.

I am attempting to restructure my life and finances, my career and living situation. My symptoms include but are not limited to: chronic pain, chronic fatigue, severely impaired brain function, cognition and attention span, histamine reactivity, digestive issues, and impaired immune function. I recently got covid and recovered, but it is unknown what that did to my system long term.

As someone who practices nondual intimacy and play with what is, including sickness, trauma, pain and death, I have struggled with wondering how I should proceed. In some ways, death would be a relief. Yet in other ways, I want to keep trying to help our collective with the gifts I inherited. All in all, I’m not consciously throwing in the towel, or giving into apathy, nihilism, or salvational thinking. I think we should all try to do what’s good-enough, and that includes surviving, even though we all know that death is inevitable and that our species has created a perfect storm of inequality and ecocide.

Costs accrued and ongoing

I will only be speaking specifically about 2023. I have been doing this since Jan 2022.

single item costs since jan 2023

lab test: $500

new hepa filter: $100

new hepa vacuum: $200

food lost because i can longer eat it: $100+

specialized cleaning and storage supplies: $400 and counting

Ongoing and monthly costs

consultations $75-150 each month, ongoing

medicines, herbs, supplements: $500 or more each month, ongoing, costs raising monthly

lost income due to symptoms: unfathomable lol