Community Support For New Life Of Service!

Hi, I’m Sasha. I’m writing to you with a request for community support on the other side of a 13 year neurological illness.

Five years ago I began to emerge, slowly, from what I call my nightmare, upside down life. After being a dancer, working actor, and social human with big plans, I was hit with what doctors could only explain as ‘Vertigo’ or Labyrithitis. It’s an umbrella for a whole host of debilitating symptoms that left me bedridden and eventually using a wheelchair for the better part of 13 years. The cause was suspected to be a car accident, but tests couldn’t give a definitive answer. Because of some tiny fibers in my spinal chord believed to be frayed and torn, my brain stopped understanding my body in space, a deeply alarming reality to be faced with every day. I was only able to function physically at about 15% capacity, with spotty cognitive capabilities and little relief from physical distress. The use of strong sedatives gave me windows of relief and ability where the illusion of a more ‘regular life’ returned, but were unsustainable long term. My rollercoaster journey through the medical system was filled with confusion and disappointment, with experimental treatments and drugs failing and diagnoses’ fluctuating between the many specialists. My full life of possibility seemed to have completely ended.

Needless to say, it was a devastating adjustment after planning for the life I thought I would have as an artist and performer.

After 12 years, and without explanation, my symptoms began to lift, and I continue to learn how to readjust physically and emotionally to life after thinking it was all over. While art is still very much a passion and a big part of my life and identity, my experience has shifted me into pursuing a career focused on what I find most meaningful in life; helping others who find themselves just as upside down as I was. To make meaning of my own incomprehensible experience and recovery, my true desire is to pay it forward with a career of service.

Whether it’s a new diagnosis, a chronic condition, a loss, transition into palliative care, or maybe just the more subtle changes of a life in constant flux and transformation, I am dedicated to helping others through such difficult times. With careful consideration I’ve come to find that insight coaching with a focus on somatics is a wonderful fit for my ideology, experience, and skill set. I know that if I had been in contact with a person who had the capacity and training for experiential empathy, my experience of illness might have been richer, or simply more manageable.

In short, we need each other, in honesty and vulnerability, when faced with life’s challenges. I want to be this kind of creative collaborator with those facing their own unique crises. It is my deep desire and true passion to help others live examined lives, full of personal progress and empowerment; making deeper meaning of all experiences and stages, challenges and opportunities, at any age or stage. Big world change is systemic, and I hope to contribute with my small, whole-hearted offerings of psycho-social support.

I’ve completed the first portion of my schooling for coaching at Adler Graduate Professional School. There are three more sections of coursework left to complete in order to receive my certification. Because coursework at this school does not qualify for student loans, I am asking for your generous support towards my tuition, as well as one month’s time off of work to focus on my studies and the basics of building a business (website, social media and the beginnings of finding and booking clients, etc).

I’ve quite literally gotten back on my feet physically but getting on my feet financially and reaching my goal will not be possible without your help.

Here’s what I’m asking from you…

Semester 2 – $1,300

Semester 3 – $1,895

Semester 4 (practicum qualifications and supervision) - $3,250

Cost of living for one month - $2000

Total – $8,445

You can further help me build an artful coaching practice by contacting me for coaching sessions! The course requires that a certain number of coaching hours accumulated must be free, solely for the purpose of practice, so be in touch if you or anyone you know would like to have a generative, thoughtful conversation about…anything! We can explore possibilities together!

If you can contribute, thank you for helping me to utilize my gifts and experiences in order to make the world a better place for you! I plan to make this second chance at a life count in some big ways. Thank you for being part of this contribution!