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The Story So Far: It started as a bad case of the flu.
That bad flu got worse, to the point where Rachel had to be admitted to the hospital on Valentine's Day. Bad went to worse a couple days later when pneumonia set in and triggered Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or ARDS. ARDS is a severe, life-threatening condition in which the lungs react to trauma (in this case from the flu and pneumonia) by filling your lungs with fluid. It's pretty darn serious, and fatal in 30-50% of cases.
Rachel was transferred to the ICU that Saturday. What followed was a medically-induced coma where she had to be sedated and intubated to let her lungs heal.
Rachel is a fighter, though, and 11 days later she was strong enough to have the tube removed. As of March 3rd she has been transferred to the regular hospital floor to recover from the coma and respiratory damage. Being in a coma for 11 days is no joke. She is still very weak and will have to relearn how to walk, move, and regain her fine motor control. Her lungs are still damaged, and will take many months to fully heal.
Wait, Who the Heck is Rachel and Why Should I Care?
Rachel, known in maker circles as Crafty Rachel, is a vibrant artist and pillar of the Bay Area maker community. As president of Ace Monster Toys in Oakland, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations and community management of a thriving nonprofit makerspace that emphasizes diversity and inclusion. She also manages social media and community at m0xy, consults with other makerspaces on community engagement and best practices, and has a thousand projects going at once.
She is a one-woman dynamo of many hats: artist, consultant, front-end developer, community manager, maker, mom, organizer, cat herder, and more. If it's gotta get done, Rachel will have a scaleable, implementable solution before you can say boo. The sooner she's back in action, the better!
Why We Need Funding:
Rachel gets most of her income from contracts and self-employment, and right now she can't work.
At this point (March 3) we don't know how long she'll need to stay in the hospital, nor what her prognosis after discharge will be. She may need a rehab center and will definitely need physical therapy and continuing care.
We don't have any numbers yet as she is still in the hospital, but we know for sure that a weeks-long hospital stay and continuing recovery care will burn through her savings and then some. Much of her future is up in the air right now, as we don't know if or when she will be able to return to work, nor what sort of continuing care she will need.
We're starting this campaign to pay the bills that we know will be coming, as well as to fund daily living expenses while Rachel is recovering and unable to work. We will be sure to update the campaign with concrete details on where funds will go once we have those numbers.
Great, So Who's “We?”
“We” are Rachel's family: Nik, Harrison, and Liz, as well as all of Rachel's community of wonderful friends, colleagues, and fellow makers. We will be sure to update regularly with notes on Rachel's progress, fund allocation, and any further information that we receive. If you have any questions, please contact us through GoFundMe or Facebook.
We want to thank you for taking the time to read this story, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any contributions. Even if you can't make a contribution, we greatly appreciate shares, reposting, and spreading the campaign far and wide.
That bad flu got worse, to the point where Rachel had to be admitted to the hospital on Valentine's Day. Bad went to worse a couple days later when pneumonia set in and triggered Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or ARDS. ARDS is a severe, life-threatening condition in which the lungs react to trauma (in this case from the flu and pneumonia) by filling your lungs with fluid. It's pretty darn serious, and fatal in 30-50% of cases.
Rachel was transferred to the ICU that Saturday. What followed was a medically-induced coma where she had to be sedated and intubated to let her lungs heal.
Rachel is a fighter, though, and 11 days later she was strong enough to have the tube removed. As of March 3rd she has been transferred to the regular hospital floor to recover from the coma and respiratory damage. Being in a coma for 11 days is no joke. She is still very weak and will have to relearn how to walk, move, and regain her fine motor control. Her lungs are still damaged, and will take many months to fully heal.
Wait, Who the Heck is Rachel and Why Should I Care?
Rachel, known in maker circles as Crafty Rachel, is a vibrant artist and pillar of the Bay Area maker community. As president of Ace Monster Toys in Oakland, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations and community management of a thriving nonprofit makerspace that emphasizes diversity and inclusion. She also manages social media and community at m0xy, consults with other makerspaces on community engagement and best practices, and has a thousand projects going at once.
She is a one-woman dynamo of many hats: artist, consultant, front-end developer, community manager, maker, mom, organizer, cat herder, and more. If it's gotta get done, Rachel will have a scaleable, implementable solution before you can say boo. The sooner she's back in action, the better!
Why We Need Funding:
Rachel gets most of her income from contracts and self-employment, and right now she can't work.
At this point (March 3) we don't know how long she'll need to stay in the hospital, nor what her prognosis after discharge will be. She may need a rehab center and will definitely need physical therapy and continuing care.
We don't have any numbers yet as she is still in the hospital, but we know for sure that a weeks-long hospital stay and continuing recovery care will burn through her savings and then some. Much of her future is up in the air right now, as we don't know if or when she will be able to return to work, nor what sort of continuing care she will need.
We're starting this campaign to pay the bills that we know will be coming, as well as to fund daily living expenses while Rachel is recovering and unable to work. We will be sure to update the campaign with concrete details on where funds will go once we have those numbers.
Great, So Who's “We?”
“We” are Rachel's family: Nik, Harrison, and Liz, as well as all of Rachel's community of wonderful friends, colleagues, and fellow makers. We will be sure to update regularly with notes on Rachel's progress, fund allocation, and any further information that we receive. If you have any questions, please contact us through GoFundMe or Facebook.
We want to thank you for taking the time to read this story, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any contributions. Even if you can't make a contribution, we greatly appreciate shares, reposting, and spreading the campaign far and wide.
Co-organizers3
Rachel McCrafty
Beneficiary