Austin service industry alums, one of our own is in dire straits and she needs your help. Shelby Mohica is currently hospitalized and fighting for her life with end-stage liver failure, waiting on a liver transplant. Luckily, the doctors say she is high up on the transplant list, but there are no guarantees.

Shelby and her family need her community to rally around her now more than ever. Unfortunately, just a short time ago, Shelby lost her job, and with it, her health insurance. Her medical costs are astronomical, and she can't do it without our help.

If you've ever met her, then I'm sure you're aware that to know Shelby is to love her. For many years, Shelby was an East Side staple behind the bar at Takoba (it's where we met, actually!), and I don't think a soul passed through that place without her weaseling her way into their heart. Nowadays, when she's not being a doting mother to her children, she's cheering on her beloved New Orleans Saints or talking smack in her fantasy football league. Shelby is a fierce, bubbly, football-loving, freakin' hilarious, shining light of a human, and the world is a much better place with her in it.

Since Shelby lost her job, her husband, Jeremy, has been the sole bread-winner in their household, and now he's having to take off work to be by Shelby's side in the hospital. Between living expenses for an entire family and the exorbitant hospital costs, Jeremy is being stretched to the brink.

If you can find it in your heart to help Shelby and her family, please donate to this GoFundMe I've started. Any amount helps! Whether you know Shelby from her service industry days, one of her (many) other life adventures, or you don't know her at all, this is such an important cause and crucial to Shelby's survival. Lastly, please check back periodically, as I will use this site to keep everyone updated.

Thank you so, so much, everyone. Here's to Shelby fighting the good fight!

Xoxo,

Kristen