Calla's Healing Through Ovarian Cancer

Friends, family, and compassionate individuals,

I hope this message finds you well and in good spirits.

My name is Mino. I am reaching out to the world with a heavy and hopeful heart on behalf of my partner, comrade, and best friend Calla Leftwich, who in May of 2023 was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer at just 33 years old.

Calla is a soft soul, moving gently through the world with a keen eye and a calculated rhythm. She is a dancer, a healer, an artist, and a caretaker. Calla is a critical figure working at This is a Bookstore/Bookbug. She holds a long-established and vital role within the world of literature, having devoted her entire life to the written word and the culture surrounding it. She speaks through poetry, motion, and fiber. Many hearts and many paws rely on her uncanny ability to perceive a problem and intrinsically understand what needs to be done to fix it.

If you know Calla then you already understand how rare she is.

While the cancer is advanced, we have had the privilege of working with an incredible team of women at the West Michigan Cancer Center to take the necessary steps toward treatment. In just a month since diagnosis, Calla has already undergone a wide series of imaging and treatments, culminating in a unilateral oophorectomy that removed most of the cancer, but also took one of her ovaries. Calla has had no intention of letting her injury get the better of her, however. Every day since the surgery she has pushed herself to move, walk, and do more than she had the previous day, and the results of her stubborn resilience show brighter with every passing moment.

While I am stunned just to type the words out and see them in front of me, Calla herself has been a vision of strength, fortitude, and grace moving through these very uncertain times. In her own words, “This isn’t so much a battle, it is a metamorphosis.”

Even with the confidence Calla holds during this endeavor, there are still many hurdles ahead. As she recovers from surgery, Calla is also preparing to start chemotherapy on Monday, June 12th. There will be 6 total chemo infusions, each separated by 3 weeks, clocking a total of 4 months of treatment.

This will be an incredibly taxing time for Calla, both physically and emotionally. During this time, Calla will be very limited in her ability to work (although we all know she’s going to try). She will be focusing her energy on healing as efficiently as possible so as to mitigate the side effects of chemo and clear a path for regaining her strength in the future. We expect significant weakness and fatigue, and there are many precautions and lifestyle changes we will have to take on. At the same time that all of this is happening, we will be moving houses within the city.

While we would like to be able to handle this situation independently, it has become evident that we cannot navigate this wholly on our own. I have good and consistent work, however my income is not sufficient to cover the expenses for us both. This in mind, I am humbly reaching out to our community and asking for support. I set up this GoFundMe on behalf of Calla in an effort to help clear the path that she must traverse during the final months of 2023. The funds raised by this campaign will go directly to Calla, and will help to cover her expenses such as rent, utilities and other bills, medical care, groceries, cat supplies, and quality-of-life/comfort items such as wigs, blankets, and books.

No contribution is too small, and every amount is that much less weight that Calla has to shoulder as she grows into her new form. If you aren’t able to contribute financially, your emotional support is just as important. Calla will always benefit from visits and texts, love and invitation, prayers and intention. She loves to swap art and energy. You can also contribute by sharing this campaign with your friends and family, or by checking out her amazon wishlist (of course, if you can purchase an item from somewhere other than Amazon that is all the better).

I thank you for taking the time to read this and for your generosity. I am dedicated to seeing that Calla survives and thrives, and nothing is more important to me. I do not want to live in a world without her, my heart’s heart.

We will continually update this campaign as her treatments progress.

Warmly and with love,

Mino