A year ago today, I almost lost my friend, Kate, to a ruptured brain aneurysm. There were some close calls, but by some miracle she was sent back to us. Only a very small percentage of people survive a subarachnoid hemorrhage. The thing about being one of a few when it comes to something like this is that although it truly is a blessing, it doesn’t come without its challenges as well.

Recovery for Kate has been a full-time job, and even a year later she is still dealing with significant physical and cognitive difficulties. Although to the untrained eye, when you look at Kate you might not notice any major lasting effects, make no mistake they are there. Much like the invisible scars from emotional abuse or trauma, the physical and emotional impacts of what happened to Kate are visible to those closest to her.

What happened to Kate was a trauma that changed her life forever. She has had to come to terms with the fact that her life will never be the same. In addition to dealing with her recovery, she has also had to work hard to advocate for the care she needs being that survival from this kind of brain injury is rare. Since she has been home, there have been many times when doctors told her they simply didn’t know what to do or how to deal with the physical and cognitive impacts of her injury.

Those who know Kate know how fiercely independent she is, and that is why I’m reaching out for help on her behalf. Kate still has an open aneurysm and is continuously being monitored, and as of last week things are medically stable. She very much wants to find a way to return to doing what she loves working in the wine and hospitality industry in her beloved Sonoma County community. She has grown up in Sonoma County, and has developed valuable lifelong friendships and a network of people who know what she is capable of and the best opportunity to regain some of that independence by being able to return to work in some capacity again.

She isn’t there yet, and has applied for social security, but is in need of some financial help until that comes through in the coming months. She has family living outside of California, but moving out of state at this crucial time in her recovery and having to start from scratch with new doctors and a new care team, not to mention being somewhere unfamiliar to her would be extremely difficult for her continued recovery.

Anything you able to donate to help her until her social security comes through will help. If you are not able to donate, if you could please share this it would be a great help as well. Thank you for your time and attention.

Take care,

Kate’s friend, Melinda