I sit in front of this screen typing with a
heavy heart,  my mind racing in a million directions and wondering on where to start. Should I begin by telling you about the incredible selfless woman Allie Brown is?  How she gives all of who she is to others including her beloved passengers? Or should I tell you about all of her travels around the world and her love for culture and food? Or maybe I should tell you about her love for animals and how she has volunteered working with rescue dogs?  No! Wait! I'll tell you about her love for all things ocean including snorkeling and diving. How she grew up in Oregon and would surf with her father and sister. Truth is, these are all of the beautiful bits and pieces that make my friend Allie the magical being she is. She is silly, easy going, TOTALLY goofy, intelligent, a lover of wine and Keanu Reeves, she's not into sweets and she fell in love with Devils on Horseback after sampling it on one of her travels. London, Spain, China, Ireland, Australia, France, Turkey are just a few of the places I can think of off the top of my head that Allie has explored. See, Allie's life consists of travel. She not only flies around the world for her personal adventures, she is also a flight attendant.   Well, I guess that's where I will begin... officially. I met Allie in early 2014 at Jetblue  Airways training center. She had left flying for her previous carrier of 3 years and was ready for new adventures with a different airline.  She came to the table with experience, grace and industry knowledge that most in our class lacked. I on the other hand was a newbie to aviation and was clueless if this new career would work for me.  After all, I had a hubby and a one year old baby at home. I decided that it was now or never to explore this new avenue. I was excited and terrified! It also didn't help that I had turned down a job offer with my dream airline who later I came to discover was also Allie's dream airline. My grandmother had a stroke that put her in rehab for almost 2 months and in her absence,  I was the main care taker of my elderly grandfather.  It was a very difficult time but I was grateful that Jetblue  was giving me a chance. After all, this was a newer, young airline who was marching to the beat of its own drum and that was very exciting.   Allie and I hit it off right away along with a few others. Immediately a bond was formed between us and our group grew to five and then about ten. For 3.5 weeks we ate, studied, cried, drank wine, laughed, celebrated small victories, cried a lot more and finally graduated.  Flight attendant training is one of those things that puts you in a high pressure situation and you bond with your peers in a way that I had not experienced.   Allie,  was that person who made sure that I was getting the information, that I was making sense in my brain. She held me when I cried questioning if I had made the right decision to leave my child, when I cried about our dream airline, about my grandparents health issues and reminded me of the many "whys" I was doing this. This mixed bag of emotions is stirred when you are tossed in training.  I had no idea. We graduated and were sent off together as a class to New York City. I had never even been to NYC! Once again, Allie was there to hold my hand and together we met at the airport , hopped in a taxi and we were off to our new part time home. We experienced all of the adventures and woes of being a new flight attendant, financial stress of starting pay, commuting and for me just learning the ropes.  I ate my  very first cannoli, sitting on the steps in Grand Central Station with Allie Brown. It was a whole new world and we were taking it all in. We were fortunate enough to live together and share a room with Andrea our other partner in crime and some of our female classmates were in our same house. During this time I was trying to transfer to the Fort Lauderdale base which is where I live. After a few months, I received my transfer and I left my friends in New York.  The months continue to pass and I stayed in touch with Allie and the rest of our gang. I missed being part of the adventure, exploring the city, eating out, late night laughs and dealing with the insanity that the airline industry can be. I missed my classmates... my other family. The months continue to pass and I was adapting to my new base. I received an unexpected call from Allie, she had received a phone call from OUR dream airline and  was flying for and in person interview.  She was excited, scared, nervous, sad for me and of course afraid of going through the transition again. But, onward she went and of course she got the job!! We cried over the phone with the news.  A few months later she was off to Dallas for training with Southwest for 5.5 weeks!  We spoke a few times during that period but, really you spend every second that you are not in a classroom, studying for the  next days exam. Of course she successfully passed all of her training and graduated. I unfortunately, was unable to attend her graduation because of my own flying schedule but, Andrea and Daniel were both there to pin her wings.  Her Jetblue family was cheering her on! It was after all, her dream airline.  Time passed and  we had periods when we talked more than others. We did our best flying to each other's layovers to spend time together and catch up. We had both made a home for ourselves at our respective airlines . Allie continued to encourage me to pursue Southwest and not give up on my dream. As much as I still longed for Southwest, I could not fathom leaving my child again, another training, starting all over and commuting indefinitely because they did not have a base in my home city. Eventually they opened their application window again and with much encouragement, I reapplied. A whole year passed before I received my phone interview and then my in person interview in Dallas.  We were both ecstatic at the thought that we would once again have the opportunity to fly under the same wings. Off I went to Dallas armed with recommendation letters, customer compliments and a smile on my face I hoped would melt their hearts. It did! I was offered the position! The next year would be a waiting game of what felt like a lifetime.  It was almost a whole year before I got the call with a training date. That year included many late night conversations about self doubt. Could I leave my current carrier where I was content and had made a place for myself? We had just bought our home and to make this transition now was crazy! What if I failed training? I would be unemployed. Could I possibly do this? Go through this change?  Again? YES! I could! And I did! It was because of the patience and love of Allie Brown talking me down from my many ledges that I was able to pursue this dream and accomplish it. Allie pinned my wings at my Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant graduation. We did the happy ugly cry in front of everyone. When she hugged me it was a sigh of relief on both of our parts. We had made it through 2 airlines, everything that life could possibly throw at us with our families and we were once again reunited.  We had pushed for our dream and were now finally sharing it with each other. Life at Southwest has been and absolute dream come true. I have been with the company now a year and a half and Allie 3 years.  She and I often talk about how even on our worst day of flying we are quickly brought back to the place of gratitude. Gratitude for working for a carrier that loves its passengers and its employees. Our passengers must feel that love because even on days filled with delays they are understanding and mostly patient. Just this week a passenger offered me his meal when he overheard a coworker comment that I had been working over 16 hours that day due to poor weather and delays. For  these moments and so many others I am grateful. My heart explodes with love everyday when I think of how I am sharing this dream with my best friend Allie Brown. Well, now you know part of our story. Now, I will tell you what is happening and why I have set up this Gofund me page for her.  While working Allie began to feel some strange symptoms during a flight 4 months ago. She completed her work trip and drove herself to the ER in Denver. Despite her medical background, it had taken her a few days to put it together. She realized that her symptoms of shortness of breathe and a swollen leg with pain was none other than BLOOD CLOTS. She walked into the ER and told them her self diagnosis and they thought she was crazy. Well, after testing they confirmed that she in fact had blood clots in her leg and over 10 in her lungs. Doctors were stunned. Part of one lung had irreparable damage and she needed to be on blood thinners and oxygen indefinitely. It has been a 4 month rollercoaster of medication, oxygen, pain, frustration, doctor's visits, improvement, worsening, financial hardship and a whole lot of tears. Allie has not yet been able to return to work and is now transitioning to Cobra insurance which has a cost of $700+ per month. She is only receiving $1600 monthly from long term disability which was tight, but manageable while her insurance was being covered. She has gone through her savings over this 4 month period and is currently in a lapse between her regular insurance and Cobra... leaving her UNINSURED. She is not on oxygen at the moment due to her lack of insurance and funds for the costly concentrator and monthly fees for the oxygen itself. Her parents and sister have helped her financially but, her parents are retired and have major medical issues of their own. Her resources have ran out and living on $900 a month is not realistic with her piling medical and personal bills including food, travel expenses for her doctor visits in Phoenix, student loans, cell phone, rent, etc. Her doctor has recommended that she leave Denver due to the high elevation which adds more stress to her lungs. Her parents and sister also live in high elevation areas and a flight of that distance could potentially dislodge a clot and send it rushing to her brain. Ultimately, the goal is to move Allie to another lower elevation city and assist her with her costly monthly cobra, growing medical bills and medical treatment expenses.       Allie, is unable to perform basic tasks like grocery shopping or doing much that includes basic walking. Luckily, her local friends in Denver pitch in with some of these. Just this week I flew to visit her and after much convincing I took her out to dinner. We valeted her car and once we were done with dinner I had to get the car from valet because she was too short of breathe to walk around the corner. I was shocked and heartbroken at watching her struggle with something so basic! A young woman in her 30's struggling to breathe while walking at snail pace!!  Allie needs help! The stress of the financial aspect of this mess is not allowing her to rest and recover. It also isn't allowing her to receive the treatment she needs because of her insurance lapse and the move to help get her to lower elevation. Allie was in need of a surgery for another medical issue, unfortunately she is unable to have that needed surgery because of the blood clots. For now, the prognosis of Allie's condition is long term and she will need to continue on blood thinners for the rest of her life and oxygen indefinitely. Please help Allie with her road to recovery, with her return to flying and serving others as she always has. She cannot imagine life as anything else other than a flight attendant, serving our passengers and co hearts. Thank you to her family, childhood friends and airline family who have stepped up to the plate and helped her. Let's ALL help get Allie flying again!