Helping a Fabulous Human Endure Cancer

Hello, everybody. This is a fundraiser for our beloved Sharita.

Just before last Christmas, Sharita's family drove through a blizzard to reach the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Over the next four days, we sheltered at an AirBnB as she endured a series of MRIs and biopsies. And on December 29, 2022, we received confirmation of what we had feared: a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a rare (and incurable) form of blood cancer. Think of it as leukemia's terrible, terrible cousin.

Sharita is currently undergoing treatment at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial, under the care of Dr. Jayesh Mehta. Treatments are hard, but the stem cell transplant scheduled for later this year will be even harder; she'll be in the hospital for a month, unable to see her two daughters (Zoe, 9; Ava, 11) as her immune system grows back (hopefully). And after that? A lifetime of "maintenance therapy" to keep it all in remission.

Her insurance, meanwhile, has already denied coverage of various procedures (for example, because they find them "redundant"). But over time, we know that the bills will certainly be in the tens of thousands of dollars. This will be a lifelong process. And it'll be terrifying. But we'll take all the help we can get.

[Edit, 18 April 2023: Good news! We've received a grant to cover some of the medical expenses. We've actually lowered the original fundraising goal - from $25K to $15K - to reflect that. However, there will still be a lot of out-of-pocket, medical, and general expenses. In addition, Sharita would like - before her stem cell transplant in Fall 2023 - to enjoy a summer making memories with her children. Your donation will also help to provide Sharita with this precious time. )

None of us want to be here, rattling a tin cup on the internet. But that's the world we live in. Sharita deserves so much more quality time beyond her first 38 years, to continue living the life in which she'd already done so much: kissing giraffes in Kenya, ziplining in Costa Rica, travelling (solo!) to Burning Man. And we're sorry that you have to meet Sharita now - and not as she ate countless bowls of soup in Iceland, attended endless concerts throughout her beloved Chicago, or took road trips to see the stars.

Thank you very much.

P.S. To Dave Matthews and Trent Reznor, if they see this: she's one of your greatest fans.