<div>SEPTEMBER 2026 UPDATE: 
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<div>My surgeon abruptly quit. My mother has passed away. Surgery is no longer my priority. My priority is surviving and keeping myself housed.
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<div>I am offering refunds to anyone who donated but I require some way to directly return the money to you due to the site's policies.
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<div>The fundraiser is staying up for anyone who wants to help me with living fees. After my mother's death, I inherited her home and all of her bills. I am barely surviving but I am trying. 
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<div>Thank you all and I am sorry.
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<div>Hello and thank you for taking your time to check this out.
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<div>Long story short, I can't eat. I am weak and deficient. I have complications with my throat and I need a surgery I cannot afford.
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<div>The goal for this fundraiser is $13,000, but all I really need is a few thousand before I can go through with fixing this. I can't wait any longer. I'm not physically well.
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<div>In Summary, here's what I need:
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<li>$7,500 for medical fees,
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<li>A minimum of $1,000 dollars for a flight to the surgeon and home,
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<li>Money for medication,
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<li>Money for food, necessities, a place to stay while I am recovering.
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<div>The more detailed version of the story is down here.
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<div>I have had issues with my throat since I was a toddler, and although annoying, it was manageable for some time. It was little things, like food getting stuck in my throat and making me uncomfortable, making myself sick trying to get it out, but it was just a normal day for me back then. I quickly became used to it, because it was pretty much a non-issue.
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<div>Fast-forward to about two years ago. Complications start arising. Pharyngitis and tonsillitis become a 50/50 chance when I start noticing symptoms, because they've become a recurring problem and I know what to expect. One night, I wake up gasping for air because my tonsils have swollen so badly they are blocking my throat and the only way for them to stop is to keep my head at a certain angle. Back then, I had a family doctor, and I saw him maybe 9 hours after I scheduled my appointment. I was scared I was going to suffocate in my sleep before I could see him.
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<div>My tonsils become irregularly large but not dangerous, just uncomfortable. This remains consistent from then forward.
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<div>I am allergy to lawn grass, and cannot escape pollen even inside my own home. This means I am often having allergic reactions. My tonsils being as they are, makes swallowing in general hard and outright leaves me breathless sometimes, but when I'm allergic-- which is most of the time --it's worse. It feels like nothing actually goes down. I keep going. I figured I was just hyperaware of a normal part of my body.
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<div>Fast-forward to the past year. I had to start examining my tonsils, and that's how I found out that the reason I had things getting "stuck in my throat" was actually a longterm issue with my tonsils. When I got infections years back, I noticed holes in my tonsils. These are normal, however, what isn't normal is that these holes reach way down into the tonsil itself beyond my reach but very much within the reach of food, mucus, and general debris. Not only have I realized these holes are a problem, but I have a disturbing amount of tonsil stones that have been there for who knows how long. I move on with my life, and try to get them out when I can.
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<div>Fast forward to now. Every time I eat any food at all-- mashed potatoes, meat, broccoli, bread, anything --it gets stuck. The holes are genuinely so deep I cannot reach them without using tools. There are stones in there that are hard, and sharp, and painful. When they pass, I bleed, and they made the holes bigger. As of now, these holes are so big that I can see them without even needing a light, I can feel water pass through them in great detail, as opposed to only slightly prior. I am unable to clean them myself now. They are not healing. They have been getting bigger all this time, not healing, never healing. I can't eat anything without getting debris trapped in there aside from meal replacement shakes. I'm weak now. I am deficient. I try to see if there's anything I can do, any doctor I can see, because now I can't <em>eat. </em>I'm put on a waitlist, and I have hope. I wait through the first quart of the year, I see a nurse practioner. I get put on another waitlist. I'm tired by now. I don't want to keep living like this. Any attempt at "cleaning" my tonsils makes me ill, and often ends with me projectile vomiting whatever I have managed to eat. I ask how long the waitlist is, they say at minimum 2 years. I can't eat.
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<div>I'm desperate now, I contact a private surgeon, and it's possible! I can get this fixed in less than two weeks, but... it's way out of my budget.
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<div>I live in poverty, and where I live (Prince Edward Island) there is a disturbingly low amount of doctors and low access to healthcare as a whole. My only options are British Columbia, Ontario or Quebec. It will cost me a minimum of a thousand dollars to get to any of these places and back.
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<div>The consultation fee alone is $500 dollars, and the surgery itself is $7000.
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<div>There will likely be medication fees. I am unsure what they will look like.
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<div>I will need to pay for a place to stay, as I am not allowed to return home until I am cleared by the surgeon.
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<div>I will need money for survival on my own.
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<div>I don't quality for any jobs in the job market. I sell my art when I can, and when I succeed I gain about $20.
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<div>I'm disabled, and my mother is, too. She is retired and receives even less money than I do. Currently, she is hospitalized in emergency for the third time in the past year, and that is the best care she can receive.
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<div>I am 22 years old, and she only wants me to prove that I can be independent when she's gone.
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<div>Contacting this surgeon was a big step. Setting this up is a MASSIVE step. I normally give up on things that are bigger than me.
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<div>When misfortune comes for me as it has time and time again, I just push through, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much it hurts. I come out alive, and I never consider making it easier for myself. I've been lucky enough to meet people who noticed this and care about me, and they've taught me that this has to change.
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<div>I want to prove I can ask for help when I need it. I want to prove I can make calls for my own health and wellbeing.
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<div>I need your help for me to follow through with the calls I've made.
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<div>I really hope that kid on the fridge is still in there somewhere, just to let her see how much we've grown. To let her know that I can still be happy like she used to, despite how things have changed.
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Kaitlyn MacCaull

Anonymous

Casey Nullington

Kaiya Z

Xiru Vouni

Ciarra Berkowicz

Georgia Hawkes

Okie Dokie

Pepper W

Twoll .

Help Me Keep My Family Home

Help Me Keep My Family Home

Still $5,712 to go. Help us build momentum.