Dear Kind Souls and Beautiful Strangers,

My name is Cherie Pearlanne Shanholtz, and I reach out to you today with a heart heavy beyond words and a soul weighed down by desperation and hope. I have been fighting an incredibly difficult battle with obesity, insulin resistance, and Metabolic Syndrome—conditions that have threatened to steal my health and my life.At my heaviest, I weighed 480 pounds. Through sheer determination and relentless effort, I managed to reduce my weight to 145 pounds—a number I have not seen on a scale since I was 8 years old. This transformation was nothing short of a miracle for me, a testament to the strength and will I have poured into reclaiming my health.But despite all my efforts, these conditions make it biologically impossible to sustain or continue this progress without critical medical treatment. GLP-1 medications have become my lifeline, the only thing that keeps my body responsive and allows me to finally make progress where I could not before. Their impact on my health is profound—yet the staggering cost of these medications threatens to take away everything I have fought for.I have reached out to many organizations and companies in search of help, including Lilly Cares Foundation, Town & Country Compounding Pharmacy, the Patient Assistance Network Foundation (PAN), and various insurance providers. I am currently on PAN Foundation’s waiting list, but they are locked up tight and closed, with no clear indication of when—or if—they will open and have funds again. The last time they opened, the funds ran out in under two hours, leaving many of us still waiting in limbo.This plea is incredibly difficult for me to make. I don’t have any family that can help me, and I am usually the one offering help and support to others. Now, to find myself embarrassed and ashamed to ask for the same is heartbreaking. But today, I have no choice but to turn to you—kind souls and beautiful strangers—asking for your compassion and generosity to help me cover the enormous costs of my medication and related medical expenses.Your donation, no matter how small, will breathe hope into my life. If you cannot give financially, please share my story. Knowing I am not alone in this fight gives me strength when I feel utterly crushed.Thank you sincerely for your compassion, empathy, and generosity now and always. With your help, I can keep fighting—not just for weight loss, but for the chance to truly live.With all my heart,

Cherie Pearlanne Shanholtz