Financial Help for Colleen and Charlie

I started this GoFundMe in 2020 to help me pay my medical bills from the breast biopsy and breast surgery. I still owe just over $7,000 for those medical payments, but now I owe so much more.

I was in a car accident in September of 2019 and since then I have incurred over $20,000 in medical bills for doctor visits, spinal injections, physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, and therapeutic massage. This is *after* health insurance covered their portion.

My beautiful Charlie Bear needed surgery this last July and just recently had an ear infection. Both of these medical expenses total over $2,000 which I still owe.

I have been suffering with serious anxiety and depression stemming from PTSD for decades now, but the last few years have really taken a toll on me from financial insecurity, to medical issues, to the recent death of my father, and the overall stress from living in the year 2022. I have worked tirelessly for years doing trauma work, taking a myriad of medications, and participating daily in multiple stress reduction practices; however, none of this has been easy and my mental health has definitely suffered as a result.

I am asking for your help in getting me to a financial baseline. I need assistance to cover all of my medical bills, Charlie's medical bills, rent, food, Charlie's food, heating and electricity, phone and Internet, gas, car maintenance, health insurance, and all the other aspects of just getting by.

I wanted to include all these photos to show that I am still managing and Charlie and I are still happy and mostly healthy. The top photo was taken just yesterday, Christmas!, and two were taken this year: on my birthday at my book release at the Mercury Cafe, and Charlie looking fancy this fall. The other photo shows me a year after my breast surgery and cancer free just after my yearly mammogram.

I know times are tough for everyone, and I truly appreciate anything you can give: $10 is a few gallons of gas; $75 is food for nearly two months for Charlie; $350 is my monthly grocery bill (including toiletries, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies); $1,350 covers rent for a month; $15,000 covers my current medical bills. Every dollar is used to help me support myself and Charlie. Please donate whatever you can and share this link with your friends, colleagues, and family. Thank you so much and here's to a much better 2023!