Dear friends,
Our friend Coco got very sick in 2016, severely limiting her ability to earn a living for her family. During the pandemic her daughter had a Covid-related stroke. Both Coco and her daughter need daily care and Coco has regular appointments for cancer, serious intestinal trauma and a spinal fracture. Her two younger sons both suffer from autoimmune diseases. Life is pretty much a round of medical appointments, and, as it’s the U.S..requires payments for monthly medical insurance, doctor’s visits, and co-payments for medication. But Coco and her family have been hanging on.
Every dollar they raise helps to cover all medical expenses.
Farah Mendelsohn and Ellen Kushner
(The above has been lightly edited as our needs have become slightly less with the help of all of you!)
Hi. I am Coco & I really need your help. I have been struggling with medical issues since 2016 when a tumor was found in my uterus & I had to have a complete hysterectomy. The hysterectomy led to a tilted bladder, which led to chronic kidney infections, which led to more hospitalisations than I can count.
⭐ On the advice of a friend I will add here that my needs are urgent at this time and...
1. GFM does take a percentage - the platform needs to have funds to keep running
2. It takes at least 14 days to get your GFM donations deposited into my own account
3. Because I am struggling with urgent daily financial needs, I am posting other methods by which donations can be made, which make the funds available immediately, if you choose to do it that way instead. Of course, it is entirely up to you how to donate. GFM donations will reach me eventually & be very helpful.
Here are alternatives which will get me the funds immediately:
Venmo @coco-pazzo
CashApp $CocoPazzo
Anyone wanting to use PayPal or Zelle will need to message me from here & I will send you that information. It is against GFM rules to post email addresses here.⭐
Jumping to the most recent issues, I have been dealing with stomach cancer, a fracture in my spine (I’ve just undergone a second surgery for it, and more are lined up for when I recover from this one). So far this year (2024) I've spent about 8 weeks in hospital. Yes, you read that right: I was hospitalised for double pneumonia in February. A CT scan for the pneumonia led to the discovery of malignant nodules on my thyroid gland. A week's stay in ICU after a thyroidectomy led to another hospital stay when it was discovered I had been infected with ESBL (a superbug in the eColi family, known to be passed around in hospital settings when a patient has an IV or a catheter.).
Along with my own illnesses, I have 3 children who are under medical care. I have POA for my daughter, who was left permanently disabled by a stroke brought on by COVID in April 2020. She has neurological deficiencies, cardiac issues, partial paralysis, aphasia, Type1 diabetes. She is on physical/occupational therapy. My youngest son has not truly recovered from 2 concussions in January. The other suffers from autoimmune illness and is under treatment. They have both been hospitalised lately, so must do their studies online.
I have always been the main bread winner in the family. But finally my brutal cascade of illnesses has rendered me unable either to run my catering company or to work as a personal chef. Although I have been doing what I can with small remote jobs, I am not earning enough to keep things going. Thankfully, the family has been able to cover housing & utilities, but that leaves out health insurance premiums, medical co-pays (including endless prescriptions for 5 people), car maintenance, car insurance and gasoline to numerous medical appointments every week.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this & thank you for your donation of any size, or for sharing this request with big-hearted friends like yourself.
Coco
Please note that this fundraiser was started in fall of 2023. $4000+ of the donations shown above were made before the end of 2023. That money was spent on medical copays, late bills, gasoline, & groceries.