Memorial Fund & Medical Costs for Viktor&Claudette

Hi, my name is Jeannie, and I am fundraising for our beloved chef and baker, Viktor, who creates these amazing cookies and pastries with his partner Claudette at the “Happy Cow Kitchen Café and Bakery” located at 371 Redondo Ave. Long Beach, CA 90814. If you had any of their creations, you’ll be hooked. I guarantee it. European flavor at its best!

A few weeks ago, an active mountain biker and outdoorsman, Viktor started to feel a bit lethargic and told Claudette he wasn’t feeling too good. They made a quick trip to ER and found out his kidneys were failing and was admitted into ICU immediately. The root cause…. Unknown.

This was the start of many doctor visits, hospital stays, procedures, tests and prescription drugs that comes with Western Medicine. The doctors (Kidney Specialist(s), Primary Care Physician) still cannot pinpoint the root cause and Viktor is getting weaker. While Claudette tries to do a holistic approach to their meal planning and starts creating clean plant-based recipes, but the prescription drugs are not making it easier. Viktor needs 24-hour care and Claudette is doing her best. But without knowing what is causing havoc to Viktor’s weakened body, more tests and procedures follow. These are all “medical costs” which are piling up and eventually bills are going to arrive and we all know what happens next.

This was recently posted on HAPPYCOWKITCHEN’s Instagram page by Claudette:

“As some of you already know and others don’t, my business partner (who is a very talented Chef, Pastry Chef & Baker in our business) and my best friend for more than half of my life, Viktor fell suddenly and seriously ill.

We have worked very hard together and overcame many obstacles keeping our business going. The Pandemic being one, only to arrive here now, with one of the biggest challenges in a person’s life. Your Health. We have been spending all of our time at Dr.’s offices, ERs, lengthy hospital stays and endless tests and procedures.

Neither of us have any family in this country that we love and call home. We never had to advocate and fight the Healthcare System, which leaves you feeling stressed out, scared and isolated. Most days I don’t know what to answer when someone asks, “How’s it going?”

I also don’t know what to answer when anyone asks, “What’s going to happen with the Bakery?” when all of my time and energy is focused on caring for Viktor right now.

I want to thank every single one of you on behalf of both of us for every gesture, message, comment, text, phone call, email – You will never know how much it means. Thank you – We love you!”

Viktor and Claudette are small business owners who have been in the restaurant and bakery business 30+ years. They created a wholesale cookie business which grew out of their small kitchen and later moved into the space they currently have on 371 Redondo Ave. Pandemic closed down their Café, but they kept up their Bakery on the weekends and catered to all their fans waiting in line outside as they wait to go in one by one. Because small business owners ONLY create a profit when they work, with Chef and Baker Viktor out of commission and needing fulltime care, Claudette cannot foresee the future which worries her.

None of us have answers at the moment, but all of us can help ease the burden these two beautiful human beings are going through. Viktor once again was carried away by an ambulance this past weekend because he couldn’t breathe. Claudette feels helpless when told to go home by the ER staff. The cycle feels endless until one of these specialists or doctors can find the root cause and the remedy to go with it.

Please help in whatever amounts you can. Every generosity mixed with kindness and love will be sincerely appreciated by Viktor and Claudette. In this country medical costs can easily lose a home or a business. We are here to try and ease the pain of facing these rising medical costs. EVERY BIT COUNTS!

Thank you from the depth of our hearts.