My name is Alexa, and Karla and I share a brain cell. That's what we think, anyway.

Karla Nelson-Kunzman has been my best friend since law school. We were essentially inseparable for those 3 years. When we graduated, we moved to different sides of the state to start our careers.

In 2020, while COVID happened to the world, it really happened to Karla. Since then, she has experienced a myriad of medical issues. I've plagiarized part of her mother (Paula's) synopsis here:

"After undergoing multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, and referrals to numerous specialists, Karla was finally diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in 2023. In September of 2024, Karla had her first hip replacement when it was determined that her joints had undergone significant damage from the autoimmune disease.

Karla was most recently hospitalized in March and April of 2025 with sepsis from double-pneumonia. This developed from a parainfluenza infection, which to most people would just manifest as a common cold. Unfortunately, her body cannot fight infections and illnesses as well as it should due to her immunocompromised state.

After recovering from her most recent bout of sepsis in April, Karla never seemed to fully recover, and she continued to experience worsening symptoms in the months that followed. In August, Karla's health rapidly declined, and she began to struggle with significant shortness of breath, fainting, and cardiac issues. She was referred to additional specialists in Sioux Falls before eventually being referred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester."

Karla has been back and forth to the Mayo Clinic for weeks now trying to get answers. For as long as I've known Karla, she has been headstrong, witty, independent, and proud. She is finally getting the answers to what is going on with her, but her medical and travel expenses are adding up rather quickly. She would never ask for help, so I'm asking for her.

Please consider donating anything to help Karla as she gets to the bottom of what is going on with her health--to show her that we love her, and we are here for her, always.

For more updates on her health at Mayo, here is the Caring Bridge: https://www.caringbridge.org/site/0e3450b6-ae24-11f0-b842-f58ccef5c383?coauthor=true&fbclid=IwY2xjawNkuUpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE3Z3hiRnRFWFVxeU5PcEV6AR6_qbU5Y8ZN-ViFykR4uNL9qsF3kbcjXHk4fBfvGAPH6kOryHZhLB82lfaoLA_aem_fDVAfSo-ErcZ_Goeh3gK-Q