Help Caramel Knowledge Recover

Hello, I'm Paul and I'm fundraising for my best friend Caramel Knowledge who we all know and love. She's dealing with a lot of past and future medical expenses and UPS lost $2k worth of her stuff. In her words:

The past two years have been a very mixed bag of awesome and WTF.

UPS Lost My Package - $2000

Early in 2023, UPS lost a huge package of $2,000 worth of costume items, mermaid tails, jewelry, shoes, a custom Mermaid Tiara, etc. I was trying to ship it back home after filming Merpeople, a documentary series on Netflix, and to have these things just gone is devastating. I am so lucky I got to be on Merpeople, but this hurt. After several months of back and forth and fighting with Shipstation and UPS, they sent the sender $100 for the loss. As you’ll read further, I don’t think that I’ll even be able to replace these items, as all money I receive will go to medical bills.

Medical Expenses - $4,000-?

In May 2023, I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids that have caused a hernia and diastasis recti, plus precancerous cells (that I have been watching and waiting for the past 15 years). Due to the size, location, and abnormal shape of my uterus, I need to have an open hysterectomy to remove everything except my ovaries.

I currently owe $2,000 for the outpatient procedure and MRIs back in July. I have not yet received an estimate for the upcoming procedure in October – the procedure may only cost $650 out of pocket, but this will not include the 2-3 day hospital stay, anesthesia, follow-up appointments, or physical therapy. Once I receive an estimate, I will update this.

Tenant Nightmare

My sister and I bought a property a few years ago. We are dealing with ongoing Tenant issues that we aren’t allowed to disclose yet because of ongoing litigation, just know it is costing us a huge amount of money we don’t have.

Mental Health Issues

I’ve exhausted my FMLA on my mental health. I am missing much-needed care for my mental health in dealing with normal life—and what’s happening right now is far from normal life.

Employment

I’m no longer making income from massage or burlesque. My sister is working multiple doubles to try and compensate for the lost income. We no longer have savings, and this is not sustainable.

My current Job has a disability policy, but it only pays 60% of my pay.

In Conclusion

The reasons I haven’t asked for help earlier is—it’s really hard. I’ve prided myself on making my own way. But I need help. 2022 and 2023 have been some of the most rewarding, but also the most difficult years I’ve lived through.

Any and all help is truly appreciated.

Here’s my wishlist if you would rather send items to help in my recovery versus sending money:

Amazon Wishlist