Update:

Thank you so much for those of you who have already made donations, my love and gratitude abound for the generosity and hope you continue to give me!

MY STORY:

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on September 20, 2022 at the age of 32. I got the phone call midday while producing an event in Seattle. I will never forget exactly what happened as I heard the news. I had isolated myself in an empty bathroom on the second floor of a mansion that we were working out of since the house was riddled with noise of an eager production crew working away. The window overlooked a residential street covered in the warm hues of fall, riddled with fallen leaves. I watched as another left it's branch and gently met the ground. The colors reminded me of a long-awaited dream I've had to experience a real fall, having lived in LA for so many years.

My doctor was undoubtedly nervous to break the bad news we hoped would never come. He asked if I was sitting down and took a deep breath into the phone while I looked out on something beautiful, knowing very well what he was about to say. We had covered so much in the few years of being his patient. From recovered childhood illness to fibromyalgia, we joke about the day we celebrate the common cold because by then we will have covered everything else. He tells me of my resiliency and strength and I respond with fierce conviction that the only way out is through.

One never knows how they will genuinely react to such news and I was just the same. The first emotions to surface were straight from my inner child, a sad and mad and reluctant survivor who had to go through so much to get there. It's not fair. With my long line of chronic health conditions, it will never feel very fair. A simultaneous and overwhelming feeling of relief and sadness comes over me. Here we go...

THE PRESENT:

My dog and I are currently housed due to your efforts and I am overflowing with gratitude that I have this kind of magical support through this greuling process. This was the first and foremost priority of this fundraiser as we have been living out of a minivan for almost six years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I began chemotherapy treatment on January 12, 2023 and it is a mountain to say the least. There were a few reasons we had to delay treatment until almost four months after my diagnosis. I wanted to stay and finish the production in Seattle first since I knew it would be my last bit of work for a while, spending my earnings commuting to LA for doctors appointments on my birthday and such. After speaking with my doctors, the recommendation and strict urgency was to find housing. I had successfully lived all across the western part of North America out of a minivan for over five years and needed to land asap. When I came back to LA, the hunt began for an affordable place to live but mostly to receive treatment. While this endeavor was going on, I had my port put in and had immediately caught a cold. This cold turned into some of the worst symptoms I've ever experienced, my assumption being menopause symptoms from the estrogen blocker they put me on right away. For 17 days I struggled with normalizing through what I thought were moderate symptoms of menopause, finally going to the ER on November 28. I would not come out until December 9 as I had two types of pneumonia and bacterial sepsis. Looking back now, I was showing all the signs of being in septic shock, though my resiliency and strength had me driving myself to the ER. This delayed chemotherapy treatment another month as I had to be on a 24hr intravenous drip of antibiotics for over a month. I had to rebuild my system only to break it down again. What a wave pool my body has had to go through already. We are a year into this journey and my entire world has changed. Without the help of donations and well wishes, I don't know where I'd be.

It is October 1, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I finished chemotherapy on June 1st, had a double mastectomy with no reconstruction on July 26 and will begin radiation in the coming weeks. My hair has made it's grand return and I'm slowly getting mobility back after surgery. I won't be done with treatment by my birthday but hoping for good news before the holiday season.

With your help, I am able to genuinely heal in the safest way possible. These funds will go towards all of the necessities it takes to successfully win this battle. Though I have resiliency and strength, I was not blessed with very deep pockets. Having basic needs met is a luxury that I have only had a taste of. With your help I am able to give my body what it needs, I will be able to give my heart, my dog and my soul all of the things it needs to get through this. Most of all, your help and generosity helps with things both financial and physical such as medical bills, medical supplies, food and such that are not covered by insurance.

I have learned that the greater intelligence of this affliction we call cancer is community. This fundraiser is a call to my community to help lift me up through the hardest battle of my life and in gratitude, I owe you my life. Thank you.