Support Anne's Journey to Recovery

Story

Due to this injury, Anne is completely unable to work for an unknown amount of time. Holding a camera on her shoulder may never be possible again. Although knowing her, she will find her way back somehow. Medical bills and living expenses are rapidly piling up. Any donation, large or small, will be judiciously helpful for her in this time. Anne’s own words and story: “Vulnerability forward. I have been incredibly private about this journey, out of deep fear that my work and capability in the film industry would be questioned. I’ve suffered in deep physical pain for over two years. Quietly. I’ve fought back countless times and over countless miles. For as much love and loyalty there is in this business, I’ve also witnessed decades of judgment, sexism, and ego driven rumor spreading. I wrapped a show called The Crowded Room in the Fall of 22 with some of my closest friends. Four days later I woke up and my entire left leg was numb. As a long distance runner, and someone who runs primarily for critical mental health maintenance, this was one of the scariest situations life could’ve presented to me. An incredible neurosurgical team at Cedars Sinai repaired this disc in an emergency surgery, stating clearly that I had re-herniated this disc repeatedly carrying heavy gear for over two decades- to the point it had finally tore and expunged itself onto the nerve root. I was presented with a recovery that required an unexplainable amount of dedication and persistence, having been warned that if I didn’t take it seriously, I’d be facing a much greater surgery. Sitting still and not running for months at a time was a challenging I don’t have words for. But I did everything I was told. I waited. I healed. I rested. I sat through our strikes and held hope forward. I walked on trails, walked Wayne, meditated, drained my savings account, sat and sat. And then I was cleared to run. And run, I did. All the way through the back half of our strikes, into 3 more marathons, and my first 50 miler May of this year. I had healed. I was strong. I sat in a real humility I haven’t experienced. And then May 13th: I was rear ended at high speed by an ambulance in NYC. Life stopped again, and as soon as the adrenaline from the accident wore off- I knew my back was injured and in deep trouble. MRI’s showed full re-herniation of the same vertebral areas, but this time with full disc collapse. I fought all summer to heal. Again. I did every physical exercise, PT, injection, body work, bike ride, cold plunge, meditation my medical team and myself could think of. Nothing worked. But I’ll say this: I very much learned how loved I actually am. I let people help me. If you know me, you know: this is an enormous moment of growth for me, and I’m so grateful I could learn this lesson. Understanding that I could not even sit in a chair comfortably for more than a few seconds, I had to make the difficult decision to fuse L5/S1. And as I sit yet again in stillness while these bones grow together- I feel more love and presence in my life than I ever, ever have. I have come to understand that in the face of difficulties you could never imagine, there is also a beautiful you could never imagine. I will be back.”