Help Carol after brain hemorrhage & studio theft

Our very dear friend, Carol, suffered two terrible tragedies last month. On August 17th, in the middle of the night, she began experiencing an excruciating headache and was rushed to the ER. An initial CT scan revealed a bleed in her brain. She was transferred to the Neurocritical Care Unit at Providence St. Vincent Hospital where she spent nearly two weeks in the NCCU. After multiple angiograms and CT scans, it was determined that she had suffered a life threatening subarachnoid hemorrhage, a bleed in the space between the brain and the tissue covering the brain. She is recovering at home now, but is not yet able to return to work.

Just one week after she was released from the hospital, her studio was broken into. Carol’s safe containing all her raw materials- gold, silver, gemstones- was stolen. Carol is an independent artist who makes one of a kind jewelry. This is Carol’s livelihood. Many of these gemstones were rare, hand selected, hand cut stones; some with immense sentimental and monetary value. Replacing these materials will cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Carol makes her living selling her work at fine art shows around the country.

She missed two important shows while she was in the hospital, which was a huge financial setback. As an independent artist and small business owner, this is an immense blow to Carol, at an extremely vulnerable time on her road to recovery after suffering a major health event. To suffer a brain hemorrhage is enough for one lifetime. To compound that with being robbed of the materials needed to make her living, is almost too much to bear. Her will is strong, and her attitude is positive. She is determined - “I will persevere” was uttered just a day after the discovery of the break in.

Carol is a loving, generous and compassionate person, and she could use support right now. She is expected to make a full recovery, but we are unsure when she will be back in her studio to create her incredible jewelry. If you are able to donate funds, that will go a long way to helping her get back to work, when the time comes; as well as supporting her through these months while she is still recovering. We all think Carol is an amazing person, and we are so grateful for anything you might be able to contribute to her healing.

Carol in her booth last summer