Help Lynx Survive Severe ME CFS

**As of July 27, 2025, all the money raised through this crowdfunding campaign has been used for essential caregiving costs. Lynx's savings account is at zero.**

LYNX NEEDS OUR HELP

Lynx Mitchell is living with severe ME/CFS, a debilitating disease that has left her completely bedridden, in constant pain, and in need of 24/7 care. She is currently hospitalized, homeless, and completely out of money. We’re raising $2,500/month to help ensure Lynx receives the skilled care-giving she urgently needs.

WHY MONTHLY GIVING MATTERS

One of the best ways to support Lynx is with a recurring donation. Even $5/month makes a meaningful impact.

Monthly donors are the foundation of Lynx’s support network. Knowing there’s steady support helps Lynx’s family plan ahead and ensures that Lynx receives consistent, life-saving care. Please consider setting up a recurring donation. Whatever amount you are able to give truly helps.

THE BACKSTORY

In May 2019, Lynx began experiencing severe exhaustion. Physical and mental activity – even mild activities like listening to a podcast or standing up to prepare a meal – drained her energy for hours. On January 8th, 2020, Lynx caught the stomach flu and her energy never fully recovered. She was forced to stop working, stay in bed 24/7, and deplete her savings to cover basic necessities. Within the year, she required significant care from her family just to survive.

IMPACT OF THE DISEASE

ME/CFS is a complex, serious, and debilitating illness that affects multiple systems of the body. It’s characterized by profound exhaustion that can last for hours, days, or weeks. The symptoms Lynx experiences are extremely intense. She cannot sit up, speak, read, listen to speech, or concentrate for long periods. She’s unable to bathe herself and wears diapers. She’s forced to lie still and quiet in a dark room to avoid debilitating cognitive and sensory overload. Even the sound of birds chirping or the smell of scented body products causes her pain.

In addition to ME/CFS, Lynx suffers from:

Lynx’s family has recently made contact with a leading expert in ME/CFS and hopes that his consultation will be supportive to Lynx’s condition.

WHY WE ARE FUNDRAISING

Lynx’s financial situation is extremely precarious. After almost 5 years of unpaid labor from her mom and grandma, in addition to thousands of hours of paid caregiving by in-home professionals, Lynx’s savings have been completely emptied. She no longer has the funds to afford the essential caregiving that keeps her alive. Unfortunately, Lynx’s needs are so significant that no hospital or nursing facility can meet her extensive caregiving needs. This is why she requires additional caregiving hours every day.

There is a gap of $2,500/month between what Lynx receives in social security disability insurance and what Lynx needs. This amount is the out-of-pocket cost of retaining a full-time skilled caregiver, which is absolutely essential. On her own, Lynx cannot turn over, eat, take medicine, or use the bathroom.

We’re asking for your help – whether through a generous one-time gift or by becoming a monthly donor – to provide Lynx with the intensive caregiving she needs to survive.

LYNX’S JOURNEY

For those who have followed Lynx’s story, you’ll know this incredible community raised funds in the summer of 2024 for a medical flight from South Carolina to Massachusetts. This move was part of a long-term plan to access better health insurance, ME/CFS specific medical treatments and subsidized accessible housing.

For the past year, Lynx has been living outside of Boston with her grandmother, who provided her with a significant amount of daily caregiving. Lynx’s grandmother is no longer physically able to continue that role. Lynx was admitted to the hospital in late May with the intention of seeking medical treatment and emergency social services. She remains hospitalized without any stable housing to return to, and awaits placement from a nursing facility that can safely house her.

LYNX IS...

Lynx is a college graduate, fiercely independent, and passionate about disability advocacy. She began this work by advocating for herself: while in college, she lost the ability to type on a laptop without painful health repercussions, so she worked with Accessibility Services to get assistive technology that allowed her to finish her degree. After graduation, she worked as a caseworker for disabled clients until her own disability forced her to resign.

Lynx is deeply creative and expressive, a talented writer, and an avid reader. When she first became ill, reading novels was her escape – but now, her reading and writing is limited to short notes.

She also loved to dance, and was very involved in the blues/swing scene in college. It’s heartbreaking for us that she can no longer express herself in that way.

Lynx has been forced to put her entire life on hold while enduring debilitating symptoms, isolation, and a health care system that doesn’t support her.

PLEASE HELP

We love Lynx. That’s why you’re reading this. Her courage and determination are why we keep fighting alongside her. She’s not giving up – so we won’t either.

If you’re able, please make a donation, share this fundraiser with someone new, or consider signing up as a monthly donor. Every bit helps!

With love and gratitude,

Lynx’s Support Team