Help support Tasha with her hospital bills

Tasha Giacomazzi is organising this fundraiser.

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For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Tasha. An animal lover, an animal advocate, my life pretty much revolves around them. My husband is my favorite person in the whole world, but animals are my favorite thing. Though I shouldn't call them a thing, cuz they're beings really, with such extraordinary things to teach us. Back in 2004, when I was 23 years old my high school sweetheart Justin & I founded Family Dogs New Life Shelter, a no-kill dog rescue shelter in Portland OR. In 2016 we purchased a small farm that is now home to 43 rescue animals ranging from turtles & chickens to cows, and just recently we have began the exciting process of partnering with Lee & the Asher House to create New Life Asher House- a sanctuary for unwanted animals of all species. Like I said, the main thing to know about me is that my life pretty much revolves around animals.

I suppose the second fun fact to know about me is that I have the mouth of a sailor, surely the result of being raised by a Navy Veteran and a mother with Choctaw Indian genes who could match him word for word.

And the 3rd, and maybe most important thing to know is that I am filled with gratitude. Gratitude for this life I have been able to build, for the ability to do the work that brings me so much joy and for the opportunity to sit here typing today, asking you for help.

On Nov. 22nd I was admitted to the hospital when an MRI and CT scan revealed that I had suffered a stroke in my right temporal lobe, caused by a blood clot in the carotid artery in my neck blocking off much of the blood flow to my right brain. Shocking, I know. How does a young, very healthy person have a stroke... AND not even know it? Truth is, I think I did know it. I just thought I could power through it. Tough it out. I had been having a weird intense pain in my head for 2 weeks, but I thought it was just a really bad headache that wouldn't go away. When other symptoms started piling on I decided it was time to go in and get it checked out. A couple of days, and many tests later and the doctors were just as confused as when I arrived...not only because I somehow avoided any major deficits, but also because they could find no clear cause. Well, clearly the stroke was caused by the clot but why the clot? They settled on a rare condition called Spontaneous Internal Carotid Artery Dissection, as it is the leading cause of stokes in people under the age of 45.

Now that I am home from the hospital I am faced with a few hurdles; I am so fortunate to have suffered a stroke in the best possible place of the brain to have one (yay!) and am so lucky to have avoided any major physical deficits, I just have some minor cognitive ones (did I mention gratitude?) but I have a slow road of healing, a lot of resting ahead and that damn headache is still lingering- ranging from a dull irritant to...well, imagine what a swollen brain with a bit of edema feels like. Okay don't because it's really no fun. The biggest hurdle however is the stress of the hospital bill. Unfortunately, I did not have health care coverage. In hindsight that is feeling a bit careless, but let me tell ya, a non-profit worker's salary doesn't really pad the wallet. I did get things rolling right away on health insurance coverage, and that goes into effect next month.

Even with the uninsured discount offered by the hospital my medical bills are $16,900. There will also be follow up visits with my vascular surgeon and primary care doctor, plus one of the medications I am now on is $500 a month. These three things will fall before my new health coverage kicks in on Jan. 1st and that is why I set the GoFundMe goal for $18,000.

By now you have probably learned another thing about me... I am an open book. Some people say I drag things on and on. So this is more like an open novel. But come on, cut me some slack. I've been laying on the couch under a pile of dogs for the better part of 2 weeks and I'm getting bored.

Thank you a million times over for all of the love and support you have already shown me.