Help Nick Stay Healthy in His Next Move!

One of the kindest people we all know needs our love and support. Got anything you can spare for our fave brewer, mind expander, a true West Seattle legend? Any bit helps, plus we don’t really want him back here talking about his possible song titles, do we?

Straight from the horse's _̶_̶a̶s̶s̶_̶_̶ mouth:

Greetings from NZ all - I have some really shitty news: after receiving two exciting job offers from two great breweries here, Venue Manager for Three Sisters' new taproom in Wellington and Head Brewer for Shining Peak in New Plymouth, respectively, I have been denied a work visa on medical grounds. WTF you say?, yeah same here!

So what's the deal? Well, Crohn's disease. Although I am in remission and doing the best I've ever done disease-wise, having been prescribed Rinvoq since last August, New Zealand's health assessor has decided that over the usual five-year work visa timeframe my medication is too expensive and places too high a burden on the healthcare system. Okay, understandable.

However, Rinvoq (though still expensive here) is much cheaper in NZ than in the US so I offered to pay for it out of pocket to alleviate any burden on the healthcare system...nope, an individual's ability to self-fund has no bearing on immigration's determination. Well shit, that makes little sense to me. What if I were to be granted a work visa with a more limited timeframe, say 2-3 years instead of 5? No sir. Well damn, what if my US gastro specialist caring for me since 2011 writes a letter outlining that although Rinvoq is expensive, it's cheaper than alternatives that take up hospital space and nursing hours, I am at no risk of needing surgery, and I'm responding exceptionally well to this therapy. No. No. and uhhh oh yeah, No.

So although immigration NZ took 9 weeks to deny my application I now find myself with only 3 weeks to pack it up and head for greener pastures. Where's that? No idea. The reality of the situation is that I've spent my savings making this move, and the medication I was able to bring with me is almost gone. Healthcare costs in the US for someone with an autoimmune disease are unaffordable as I'm sure too many of you know first-hand. Rinvoq costs between $6,600 to over $8,400 for a 30-day supply without insurance in the US. I aim to buy some here to tide me over if I am able to, as it's about a quarter of the cost USD.

I hate asking for monetary assistance from anyone. I carry deep shame around it. Eric, amazing human that he is, offered to set one of these GoFundMe deals up. I will use any proceeds donated for two things and two things only - to help fund my medication and to relocate. I'm not sure where I'll end up but I am exploring returning to school in Europe. If all else fails, I'll catch ya'll on the west side!

Thank you for your love and support, it means the world to me.

xoxo

Nick M.