Help Tae Thrive During Health Challenges

TL;DR - Tae needs to take an indefinite period of time (at least 3 mo) off of work to undergo a series of invasive surgical procedures related to complications from multiple sclerosis. Funds raised will go toward rent and bills to ensure a stress-free recovery for TJ. Thank you for helping us through this time!

THE LONG VERSION

To know Tae Jones is to love Tae Jones. Whether they've been your sober bartender, queer mechanic, ____ball coach, trans fashion icon, #1 doobie roller, karaoke crush -- Tae wears many hats, and always with flair.

They also live with the autoimmune condition multiple sclerosis (MS). MS affects Tae's everyday life in numerous ways that often go unseen by many. I encourage anyone who loves someone with MS to take a moment to learn a little bit about it here .

And you can hear directly from Tae about their personal experience with Relapsing Remitting MS in a zine they've written.

We'll send a digital version to all GFM donors, and if you want a physical copy, you can come grab one at a benefit party we're throwing here in Portland. (Details below.)

Recently, Tae was abruptly confronted with a new challenge related to living with MS. In early October, they'll start a series of surgical procedures that could span over the next year or two. The first few months will be the most intensive, and are all we can really plan for right now. The rest of the timeline for this process will depend on how well Tae heals in between procedures. And because Tae has MS, minimizing stress is crucial to supporting their autoimmune health and recovery!

On the other side of this, Tae has many things to look forward to. For one thing, less pain! These surgeries will rehabilitate one major source of Tae's chronic pain. They'll get to go back to shakin' the mocktails they designed at the job they love. They'll finally land that gig dancing at the Stud. Who knows?!

We are so grateful for Tae's wonderful community, including their friends / coworkers at Güero whose support has included guaranteeing that Tae's job is secure, and will be right there waiting for them when they're healthy and ready to go back to work, as well as volunteering to coordinate a benefit party to close out the season at their beautiful summer pop-up, Farag's.

If you're in Portland and free on Monday September 30th from 5pm-9pm, please come and enjoy some divine drinks and eats with us. Proceeds from the party will all go to helping Tae through this.

We know that these are lean times for all, and yet we also know that we must take care of us. Support for people living with disabilities in the United States' healthcare system is severely lacking and convoluted. If you'd like to learn more about what I mean by this, I recommend this quick clip, courtesy of John Oliver:

We're asking for help from our loved ones to ensure Tae can spend at least the next few months recovering without worry. Thank you so much for giving and/or sharing this ask for support. We love you!

Love, Kathryn (Tae's partner) & Tae