Earlier this year my best friend of 10 years and counting, Brie, dealt with COVID-19 AND being out of work for 2 weeks because of that. A few weeks later she noticed a lump in her neck and went in to have it checked out. During that visit they found 3 lumps in her throat/neck and they wanted to take a better look at them. The preliminary testing pointed towards something like Hashimoto's Disease; which can sometimes show itself after a virus. The doctor did more tests and she got more results; including a diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer. 

Her oncologist is suggesting surgery (scheduled for January 11th) to remove her entire thyroid and with it, her thyroid tumor, T-pain (yes she named her thyroid tumor, it's Brie, we all knew she would name it let's be honest.) Following surgery she will be out of work so she can recover; her recovery time is estimated at anywhere between 2-7 weeks. But of course, it doesn't end there, Brie will need to receive (expensive) radiation treatments after her surgery and then will be taking medication for the rest of her life to replace the natural hormones her Thyroid would normally supply.  Brie will be out work for a long time to recover from surgery and then will be having to cover co-pays and other costs for her treatment.

If you know Brie, you know she is not the type to ask for help, she is the one you call when you NEED help. For 10 years she has been putting up with me! Honestly she deserves something for that in itself. But on a more serious note, I do not want to see my best friend struggle because of this; she is resilient and has CRUSHED everything life has thrown at her so far. Nobody ~deserves~ to go through this, but Brie of all people REALLY does not deserve this. She is genuinely the light of my life and the closest best friend I have ever had. We have gone through the good, bad, and ugly together.  The least I could do in this situation is ask for you all to help her, because the last thing she should have to deal with, on top of thyroid cancer, is financially struggling because of it. Luckily I will have a month off of work unexpectedly and will be able to visit her while she is recovering, but she is missing out on multiple paychecks, and lots of kisses from lots of animals. If you didn't already know, Brie works at Vale Park Animal Hospital and chose a career path where she could work with and help animals because that is just who she is. She is a helpful, caring, funny, sarcastic, quirky, adorable human being and deserves some help right now. Even if you cannot donate much, anything will help her at this time. Brie is the strongest person I have ever met, and I have no doubt she will make it through this, especially if we can help her cover some of these costs!

This eviction is an expensive one, T-pain the Thyroid Tumor,  but you will NOT be missed when you are gone!