Hi, everyone! Thank you very much for taking the time to read my story.

My name is Catherine LaCroix. Many of you know me on Discord as Lynx, or through books and streams as one-half of DoubleBlind with my husband, Ry.

What Happened?

In November, I started having severe chest pains that disrupted my work, sleep, and day-to-day activities. After consulting with a doctor, it was chalked up to "indigestion," and I was put on Omeprazole for a month. Unfortunately, the pain continued and worsened in December, then peaked in January. I didn't sleep for 48 hours due to the pain and asked Ry to take me to the ER on January 2nd.

I was admitted to the hospital and stayed for four nights and five days.

After an extensive CT scan, MRI, endoscopy, and stomach emptying test, I was diagnosed with "gastroparesis." My stomach is "critically slow" in digesting food. This is commonly seen in patients with diabetes, but I've never had diabetes, nor have I ever been at risk. Unfortunately, that still leaves the question of "why" this is happening.

Why GoFundMe?

With the diagnosis has come a slew of life changes. Six small meals a day instead of three. No more caffeine, which means no more coffee. No more alcohol, which means no more wine. And, most difficult to adjust to thus far, I had to stop taking my insomnia medication because it has the potential to worsen or cause gastroparesis.

I'm a freelance writer and overbooked on work. Unfortunately, that means no PTO, and taking more commissions right now will only hurt me in the coming months. But every day I need to take time to heal, meal prep, or go to the doctor is a day that I fall behind on bills. I have more appointments with a new GI coming up in two weeks, and each one will be $140, not including the second endoscopy I'll need to make sure the medications and new diet are working.

I will still be working on commissions and catching up on writing chapters of Everyone's a Catgirl!, Of Trails and Snails, and The Chronicles of Faylon: Saahira. But I'd also like to be able to take time to adjust to the lack of insomnia medication (I haven't slept well since I came home), meal prep to ensure I'm eating six times a day, and not panic when I need to go to my doctor's appointments, which are an hour away.

Anything helps. A $1 donation goes towards gas. $5 towards groceries. If you can't donate anything, please consider sharing on social media.

Thank you so much for your time, care, kindness, generosity, and love. Despite everything, you make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Thank you with all of my heart.

See you soon.