It's official: I need a new spine! Since having my head pulled off with my spinal column still attached, Mortal Kombat style, and dropping it into a cool robot body apparently isn't possible, a very lovely team of neurosurgeons and nurses are going to remove 3 of the bogus discs in my neck, replace them with durable synthetic spacers, and slap on a titanium bracket and 8 screws to keep everything nice and stable.

This whole situation is painful, overwhelming, and expensive. The procedure, anesthesia, and resulting inpatient treatment alone costs around $150K. The recovery process requires things like cervical collars, stabilizing pillows, wound care, and a fun assortment of drugs and medical devices as I spend the first 4-6 weeks following surgery recovering.

I'm lucky (for lack of a better word) to have insurance that will cover most of the hospital related costs. We're on our own for everything not covered, though. On top of whatever out-of-pocket expenses I incur from surgery/hospitalization, I'm also dedicating my entire summer to recovery, which means I'll be unable to do any extra work or catch up on art to supplement our income like I normally do in the summer. The costs for meals and care supplies keep going up. I have the most amazing support system at home, and I would love to take as much of the financial burden of my care off their shoulders as possible.

Poppy, Ryan, and I appreciate you all so much for reading this far and considering chipping in!