Help Ray Recover

Hi, I'm Rae! You might also know me as Rose Butch.

I'm starting this GoFundMe on behalf of my friend Ray McEachern, who recently experienced a terrible accident and injury.

If you've been around the queer nightlife scene in East Van in the past few years, you've seen Ray. At events, they work the door and coatcheck, create unique photo booths, and run around taking photos and video to document performers and audiences alike. Behind the scenes, Ray is the one making sure that performers are fed (and always being mindful of dietary requirements), lending a hand with props or costumes, offering to help wherever they can.

With over a decade of trans advocacy under their belt, Ray is one of our community's non-binary and transmasc role models. There is probably way more that Ray does for us than we may even notice.

This past Wednesday, May 29th, Ray fell from a ladder in their studio and landed on their face and wrist. While they were cleared of any head or neck injuries aside from wounds on their face, Ray suffered a painful, complex fracture in their right wrist - their dominant hand - which will require surgery to insert steel plates. As I'm writing this, Ray is at home, still waiting for this surgery.

As a self-employed professional artist who relies on their body and hands to make work, this is a significant setback for Ray.

The timing is terrible too, as Ray was just taking time off to recover from a gender-affirming surgery, and was looking forward to getting back to work again to make up for income lost and the financial strain accrued during their recovery time.

Ray is trans, disabled and already lives with chronic pain. They receive financial assistance for their housing, however they do not have extended healthcare benefits, and there is no timeline on their recovery from this injury, especially given the nature of their disability - Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - which affects all of their body's connective tissues.

We do not know when Ray will be able to return to work, and I do not want them to have to deal with the emotional distress of worrying about money while recovering from an already distressing injury.

I'm calling on our community to rally around Ray, and love and support them like they have supported and celebrated us. Ray is one of the most generous people that I know, and is also so modest - they do not often toot their own horn, and they always give without expectation of anything in return. It is our turn to give back.

The money raised from this GoFundMe will help to cover bills, (including bills that were accrued during Ray's previous surgery recovery), pay for transportation while they cannot drive, feed Ray and their dogs, cover pain-management medicine, therapy, and appointments with specialists during their recovery.

I would love for Ray to have relief and peace of mind, and to take the time that they need to take care of their body and fully recover.

Thank you so much for your generosity,

Rae

Cover photo by Dayna F (@3berrysmash)