2 years ago, D’Lacie sustained an injury during a rafting trip that was misdiagnosed in the early stages and worsened over the next 6 months. During a mild whitewater transition, a filled heavy duty cooler smashed into D’Lacie’s pelvis and destroyed her sacroiliac joint at the base of her spine. After a year of physical therapy, massage, rehab, and chiropractic attempts to repair it, they finally received an accurate diagnosis. Most of the care leading up the diagnosis was out of pocket. With the guidance of an excellent team of doctors and physical therapists, they finally received a referral for MRI imaging of the joint. The imaging plus that of expert use of an ultrasound wand, revealed:

A broken facet on the right side of the L5 vertebra

An 8mm tear in the L5/S1 disc, and herniation into the spinal canal displacing the S1 nerve root

Torn sacrospinous, grade 2

Torn deep multifidi, grade 3

Torn lumbosacral, grade 3

Torn erector spinae

To those who understand the medical explanation, this is a seriously debilitating injury. Many of these tears were extensive and on both sides of the joint. Due to the location of the injury, the lack of blood flow and the space available, most of this is irreparable with any type of surgical intervention. Most insurance wouldn’t cover the repair, even if it was possible. Without any intervention, this injury would have left D’Lacie with no choice but to quit her career permanently and likely disabled for the rest of her life.

Luckily, their team of doctors and physical therapists devised a plan for recovery that would promote the active lifestyle that both she and Tobias enjoy. But, only the microdiscectomy for the herniated disc was covered by insurance. Everything else was out of pocket and D’Lacie continued working through excruciating pain up until the day before stem cell injections on September 9th, 2024. Surgery happened 10 days after that, and a necessary 2 months off of work followed the procedures. Paid Leave Oregon only paid out $178 per week for the required 8-week medical leave.

The medical bills stacked up:

$5,000 for stem cell injections to allow the torn ligaments and muscles to heal properly

$8,000 chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, spinal injections for pain, medications, and supplements

Plus rent, car payments, utilities, and lost wages for taking 2 months off of work.

Many of these expenses went onto credit cards because there was no other option.

As soon as D'Lacie began her recovery process, Tobias experienced a significant tear of the meniscus on his left knee. After attempting to rehabilitate himself and reduce his physical output, the nagging injury forced him to see a doctor and have an MRI done to accurately assess the damage. Wear and tear had taken their toll after many long years of athletic activity, and the surgeon said it would be best to remove the flap of tissue that was causing all the problems. This was inconvenient to say the least, given the amount of planning and work that needed to be done for the yurt project. 8 weeks of recovery and physical therapy ensured the injury would not produce any chronic problems, but it weakened his morale and added another challenge to the mix of already challenging circumstances.

As Tobias and D'Lacie were taking time to mend their bodies and recover physically, they found out that their landlord was going to sell the property where they currently lived. As of January 2025, their housing dilemma became urgent as the land owner solidified their plans to sell the property in Portland. This meant they would have to find a new place to live with less than six months notice. In order to avoid losing the yurt, where they had been living, urgent decisions had to be made and put into action. They were unable to find an adequate place to move the yurt within the city, so the larger and more expensive plan had to go into motion- purchasing a bare lot of land deconstructing the yurt piece by piece and and reconstructing it on our land. They were unable to afford to purchase a home in the inflated market of the entire Portland area, due to the costly medical expense associate with her spinal injury. However, they were able to find a small piece of property out near Clatskanie, Oregon, towards the coast, on Highway 30.

With both Tobias and D’Lacie rehabilitating injuries and struggling financially, D’Lacie started offering a special deal on Gift Cards for her tattooing. They were able to raise enough funds for the downpayment on the property in Clatskanie totaling $27,000. This was no small feat for her astounding clientele to muster. With the help, and pre-purchase of already scheduled tattoo appointments, they were able to close on the property and secure a place for the yurt to land. The purchase of the $10,000 modified shipping container would provide the pathway to transition the yurt to it’s new home near the coast.

As D'Lacie hustled to make ends meet, Tobias was busy finishing Grad school for his Masters in Mental Health Counseling. While finishing the academic portion, he was also working LOTS of unpaid hours at two internships, to acquire the required amount of clinical hours to become an Associate Counselor. He was working 12 hour days, learning the ropes of addiction counseling and doing his best to do the job well, despite the chaos and instability happening all around him.

With the land purchased, and shipping container secured, deconstruction of the yurt began in earnest. Now technically homeless, they looked to their community again for support. With the generosity of a couple of close friends, Tobias, D’Lacie, Marla the dog, and Alabama the cat were sheltered during the summer while their home was in suspension. Living out of a duffel bag never really feels like home though. They feel like they are perpetually in-transition and exhausted from the last year of strenuous activities. Their home was packed tightly into a box and waiting to be rebuilt, but money and resources were delayed.

In July, D’Lacie’s dad was in a serious motorcycle accident, which required time and resources to be diverted. Her parents’ community has generously supported them through that awful nightmare and Chuck is on the road to recovery and a much needed retirement from the workforce.

September marked the beginning of construction, starting with the platform. Even though many of their supplies were carefully cleaned and packed into the container, construction still costs money. Money for help with the foundational platform, money for repairing pieces that were broken, and biggest of all, money for the transition to off-grid. While the yurt is paid for, the electrical system is not.

The property out in Clatskanie is already frosting over at night, meaning, they need heat immediately. The yurt has already been outfitted for the pellet stove that they have been using for the past 7 years, but the pellet stove requires power for the high efficiency heat that it provides. With medical debt still in tow, they now need to purchase a solar set up to get power online. A small but adequate solar set up will cost about $14,000 to set it up themselves. The property is on a slope, and they have a perfect place for the panels but they will need some strong friends to help carry the racks and panels up the slope manually since it is not accessible by truck.

This is a colossal undertaking. Both Tobias and D’Lacie are exhausted and at their wits end. D’Lacie has been working nearly full time at her job. Often heading directly out to work on the property to put in 12 hour workdays of manual labor in between shifts at the tattoo studio. Tobias has been making multiple trips back forth with people and supplies to perpetuate progress. Tobias also bears the brunt of the physical tasks that D’Lacie is unable to do with the current state of her pelvis.

They need your help.

Both Tobias and D’Lacie have made it their mission to provide a safe place for healing in their respective careers and there is so much at stake. Now they need provisions to create a safe place for them to rest and heal, also.

We must raise $20,000 to make their home liveable and to be able to get their heads above water financially. They are working hard every day to make ends meet, but they need our help to recover from the disastrous and strenuous past year.

If 100 people could donate $100 we would already be halfway to their goal.

If you can’t make a donation today, please share this post. It is difficult to ask for help with so much going on in the world. This would be such a grand gesture to help them through this monumental situation. We will continue to share updates as things progress. In gratitude, thank you so much to everyone who has already donated or come out to the property to lend a hand.