<div>Hi friends, family, and compassionate strangers,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write. I’ve always been the helper—the one behind the scenes organizing, supporting, and giving through our nonprofit foundation. But now, I find myself on the other side of need, and it’s humbling.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Recently, I was diagnosed with Syringomyelia, a rare spinal cord condition where fluid-filled cysts (syrinxes) form inside the spinal cord. Most people who suffer from this have one. I was told I have two—one in my cervical spine and another in my thoracic spine. The odds are rare, the diagnosis is complex, and the potential outcomes are terrifying.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>So far, four hospitals have turned me away because of the complexity of my case. I was finally able to meet with a specialist who confirmed what we feared: if I don’t have surgery, I could face full paralysis from the neck down. But even with surgery, the risk remains—it could help, or it could accelerate the damage.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>This is not a decision we take lightly. The road ahead is filled with unknowns, painful procedures, and incredibly difficult choices. We are hoping and praying that Johns Hopkins will accept my case and give us the best possible chance for a better outcome.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As someone who is self-employed, I don’t have sick days, vacation time, or disability leave. This is also our busiest season for work, and stepping away is financially devastating. Between the appointments, testing, travel, and hopefully surgery, I’ll need time off to heal—and that time comes with a financial burden I can’t carry alone.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I never thought I’d have to ask for help like this. But today, I’m asking.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’ve set up a GoFundMe to help cover medical expenses, travel, and lost wages during this incredibly difficult time. Every donation, share, or message of encouragement means more than you know. Your kindness will help ease the burden on my family so we can focus on healing and navigating what’s ahead.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I’ve spent years giving back to others. Now I’m holding onto hope that the same love and support will come back around.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thank you for reading, thank you for caring, and thank you for being part of my fight.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>With gratitude and strength,
</div>
<div>Brittany
</div>

Anonymous

JJ Walburn

Tama Carstensen

Emily Oberdorf

Cynthia Musselman

Sharon Arcudi

Mark and Nancy Beauregard

Deborah Strausser

Amber Mitchell

Sierra Carpenter

Shintaroh Yuhki

For the love of dogs, bathe, the vintage flame 

Kendra Shaffer

Eric Christie

Rare, Real & Risky: My Syringomyelia Journey

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Rare, Real & Risky: My Syringomyelia Journey

Still $3,763 to go. Help us build momentum.