Our brilliant friend Cari is in urgent need of help to continue taking care of herself while whacking through a thicket of challenges.

A gifted communicator who performs high-profile legal discovery work, for the past few years, she has faced a daunting variety of difficult-to-diagnose health challenges, perhaps connected to long Covid: brain fog, cognitive issues, extreme fatigue. Through multiple hospitalizations, misdiagnoses and medication changes, Cari still managed to hold down demanding jobs at top-tier law firms. But late last year, these health issues caught up with her, making it impossible for her to work. Without a job, she also lost her health benefits, and then, her initial disability claim was denied.

Those of us who know Cari have every confidence she will fight through this. She has engaged a pro bono attorney in her quest for disability benefits, and a great team of doctors. But she needs help paying her expenses in the months it will take to get well enough to work again: rent, medical bills, basic living costs.

You’ve probably heard other stories like Cari’s…because one of the worst Catch-22s of our often-dysfunctional health system is that when you lose your job, you lose your insurance, just when you need it most. Because the social security benefits you then need immediately, take time to qualify for- perhaps even more so in today’s chaotic governmental environment. Because stable housing is absolutely essential to good mental health, and yet extremely difficult to hold onto when you hit a rough patch.

Most of us have had moments in our lives when we needed help, moments when one thing made all the difference in helping us take that first step back toward where we wanted to go.

If one of us were in need, she would probably be the one writing this.

Some of us know enough people who can give us that help, but Cari doesn’t—without you. Anything you can contribute will be part of making that difference, so thank you sincerely from the fans of team Cari.