Help Natalie Douglas Get Well. For Good!

Dear family, friends, and colleagues,

Some of you may know that our beloved Natalie Douglas has been fighting hernias and bowel obstructions since the late 90s, thanks to a burst appendix and the infection that followed. After 6 mostly emergency operations over the course of a few years, Natalie underwent an extensive surgery in 2002 that seemed to be the answer…for a while. However, in 2021, Natalie began having some painful episodes, leading up to one in April 2022, when she was taken to the ER at Lenox Hill Hospital and had a successful emergency surgery. We knew then that emergency surgery was only going to be a temporary fix, and over the last six months, Natalie unfortunately has been enduring new painful episodes. Now, after losing a total of 70 pounds under doctor’s orders, she is scheduled for the surgeries that hopefully will end this pain once and for all.

On Monday, March 17, Natalie will undergo two operations: one to repair the abdominal wall and another to get rid of scar tissue from the previous surgeries and tighten the loose skin to basically build her a new torso. The recovery from these extensive surgeries is at least 6 weeks, during which Natalie will be entirely unable to work as her abdominal core (which of course is the foundation of vocal breath support) mends.

Now, here’s where you come in!

1) Though these surgeries have been in the works for over a year, Natalie’s had two recent surgical dates canceled (the surgeons’ conflicts, not hers). Due to these postponements, she’s had to push back or turn down gigs for weeks at a time on & off since mid-November. We’ve been living on mostly my income as a personal trainer and off our savings, but the postponements have eaten into a lot of what we had saved, and we will wind up well short of about $20,000 in unanticipated lost income. Fortunately, the March 17th surgical date is (so far) confirmed and her pre-op testing & clearance has gone through, so she should be well on the road to recovery very soon!

2) Despite being medically necessary, the tummy reconstruction portion of the surgery is not covered under insurance (grrrrr) and will cost $9,000. However, it is a MUST. Without this surgery, the tissue and skin will pull on the new abdominal wall, quickly allowing new hernias and obstructions.

I can cover half of the cost of the second surgery myself, so we are trying to raise $24,500.

If you’ve ever met Natalie, you know it’s not necessarily in her nature to ask for help; she’s definitely more the type to find a way to get things done independently. However, given these unexpected delays (and our delightfully expensive health care system), we thought this might be the time to see if our community could potentially help out. Btw, we’re well aware this is a financially challenging time for everybody, to put it mildly, so we completely understand if you’ve nothing to spare. Your best wishes and healing vibes sent her way will still be greatly appreciated. And thanks for all the love you’ve given to Natalie (and me!) over the years, and thank you so much for your support in getting our Natalie back on stage soon!

Many thanks,

Her intrepid husband Billy Joe Young

P.S. Many thanks to Kevin Alvey for the wonderful photo.