Help Kate Cover Critical Medical Expenses

Hi everyone,

Kate here. If you didn’t know already, it’s been a rough year health-wise! I’ve struggled with some heart issues for a few years now, but starting in late December of 2024, I started experiencing a whole host of new symptoms that affect my heart, head, breathing, and potentially my circulatory and nervous systems.

The inconsistency of symptoms in response to triggers has so far baffled doctors and made this difficult to diagnose or even begin treating. Our first attempts at treating it led to an emergency visit when my blood pressure temporarily dropped to critically low levels.

My most recent major episode landed me in the ER in Oregon while visiting family, and due to fairly constant headaches and the development of migraines and some other issues, both my PCP and an internal specialist are calling for a brain MRI.

This fund is to being set up primarily to help with these two major expenses. My recent ER bill is over $2,500 and the upcoming MRI will be around $2,000. (This is with insurance!) My goal is to raise $5,000 to help cover a portion of the total remaining costs for 2025.

I have already invested several thousand dollars into medical bills this year and plan on continuing to invest more, but I am still nowhere close to being able to cover my total out-of-pocket costs for the year and it looks like I’m going to hit all the way up to that number. If, for any reason, there are leftover funds, they will go to future health bills or other health needs as they arise.

Most of my days now are affected by my health in some way or another. I never know what each day will bring, and it often makes it hard to work, hard to take dance classes or leave my house, or simply hard to function. Honestly, some days have been downright scary.

We aren’t sure what’s causing any of this yet (looking at different forms of dysautonomia), but it’s been bad enough that I’ve felt compelled to pack things up and head into emergency services on several occasions. So far this year I’ve had several emergency care trips, made a 911 call for paramedics, wore a heart monitor, and have undergone a lot of blood work and other tests on top of many appointments.

If you could help me cover these costs by donating $100 or whatever you can afford, you'd help me get through this difficult season. I appreciate any help you can give! My hope is that with my upcoming tests, we’ll finally have some answers so we can start treatment and prevention plans and avoid future emergencies. (And I can get back to dancing and circus!)