Support Haley's Recovery from Surgery

Hi Friends,

Haley needs our help.

On January 31st, Haley went in for a routine outpatient liposuction procedure, to help alleviate some of the chronic back pain she has been dealing with. (Some of you may recall the month last year where she was unable to work after severely injuring her back - this procedure was supposed to help stop that from happening again.) While she seemed to be recovering normally at first, it became clear that something was very wrong after about 48 hours. She went back to the clinic to get checked out on February 2nd.

Warning: Graphic medical details follow for the next paragraph.

At the clinic, they couldn't get any blood pressure reading on her and called an ambulance. She was rushed to the ICU, where surgeons found a severe infection in her abdomen. It took two extensive surgeries to clear out all of the infection, which also resulted in most of the soft tissue on her abdomen also being removed. She has another surgery to get through today, which will verify that the infection is gone. Once that procedure is complete, she will be sent to the burn ward for skin grafts.

When she was brought in to the hospital and throughout the evening of Feb 2, it was serious enough that the surgeon was not certain she would make it. Yesterday and today, she has shown slow but steady improvement. She has been kept unconscious this whole time to minimize the amount of pain that she has to experience. As I am writing this (10am on Feb 4), we don't have much more information than that, though we will keep everyone updated as things progress.

Because she is still in the middle of getting surgeries, we don't know for sure what the road to recovery is going to look like. The best estimate we have been given is that once she has the grafts done, it will be at least six months to a year of healing and physical therapy before she will be able to work again.

As many of you know, Haley is a tattoo artist. She is self employed, which means that she doesn't have PTO or disability leave to draw on during this time. While she does have some savings, this will not get her through the next year. Between mortgage payments, taxes, HOA fees, food and other necessities, she will need around $50,000 to get through a year without working. This does not take into account medical bills, since we don't know what that will even look like yet.

If you are reading this, you very likely already know Haley. You know that she is, above all else, a loyal, amazing, supportive friend. Every single one of her friends has a story about a time that she stepped up and helped them out of a tight spot. She is an amazingly gifted artist. She does her best to uplift everyone around her, whether they are her friends, clients, or just people she is interacting with in her day to day life.

It doesn't often happen that we are able to give back to those who support us, but Haley needs our help now. Anything you can afford to give is extremely appreciated and goes towards making sure that she can get through her needed recovery and back to her normal life as quickly and easily as is possible, under the circumstances. If you can't give, please spread the word.

Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of all of our hearts.