Hi there. This is Dani. I'm a singer-songwriter living in Key West, Florida. I make music and art for a living.

This is where it gets hard. I have problems asking for help. And I need help.

I'm about to go through neck surgery. This is happening Monday, April 3rd. I have osteophytes in my neck, a fancy word for bone spurs. For the last 3 1/2 years I've had difficulty with pain, numbness and weakness in my left arm. Medical procedures and prescriptions have helped alleviate some of that pain however the nerves are still being affected and damaged by the bone spurs. This is causing my left arm to become progressively weaker and I have to take more medication to keep the pain away. Unfortunately, I have to have surgery to solve the problem and now is the time.

I do have insurance but not a lot of savings. I've been trying to calculate my out-of-pocket costs for surgery, anesthesia, medicines, etc. I'm going to try to find funding in other ways as well but I wanted to put this out there. Any little amount helps. The money goes to fund my surgery and all that entails plus medications and loss of wages and tips.

I have a very good surgeon and the surgery will be done in Miami. It's outpatient surgery so I should be home Monday night. My dear brother will be driving me around. I won't be able to lift anything or perform so I will be losing some money as well. Recovery could be a few weeks.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm sort of dashing this off. There's a lot more going on in the background that I can't talk about right now but there's hope and light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you for your help. Your friendship and love mean the world to me. If you can't help monetarily I thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

Love, Dani