Hello everyone, my name is Amanda Alberts. I’m organizing this GoFundMe for my wife Alaina. I know she doesn’t like to ask for help if any at all. This time around she needs it though, because sometimes things are just out of your control.

She is having major abdominal surgery and will need to take close to a month off work. Potentially longer, depending on healing. As many of you know, she is a hardworking barbershop owner. Time away, coupled with loss of income and out of pocket medical bills, are detrimental to our livelihood.

She’s always putting others first and shows up for clients. This time, I really want her to feel like she can prioritize herself and do what she needs to do to heal. She’s been hustling hard, twelve hour days and additional days to try and cover out as much as she can. I’ve also been doing the same, but will also need time off, as I’ll be her caregiver for a couple weeks. I hate that she’s working like crazy, literally up to the night before surgery. I am also a self-employed hairstylist, so not working means no income.

I would love it if some of that financial stress and burden doesn’t force her back to work before she’s fully healed, as it was the first time she had this procedure done. Two years ago, just as her business started to thrive, she was unexpectedly hit with the immediate need for abdominal surgery. Sadly, at the same time, our dog Lolli became terminally ill, and Alaina’s Oma was at the end of her life. The booming business was great but immediate scheduling of surgery meant that clients had to be shuffled around with very little room to do so, causing stress and fear of losing clients. Lolli was so sick at this point and medications and treatments were very expensive. The financial strain of being off work and out of pocket medical bills was close to $8,000. The cost of everything was so stressful for her, she felt she needed to go back to work only six days post Op, and unfortunately never truly healed. The result of this was her sutures broke open.

Unfortunately, this has now put us in a similar circumstance and surgery is necessary to truly correct her stomach. This will require a mesh implant and significant down time to properly heal. The hole is much larger, more painful and causing significant distress. Without surgery, her stomach could lapse and protrude through the hole leading to life threatening issues. It’s imperative that she has this corrected and is scheduled for surgery in early June.

I’m asking for support from those who love, support, and want to see Alaina healed and healthy. She loves being a small business owner, building relationships with clients and facilitating a space for everyone to feel safe, seen and heard authentically. I would love for her to know, that the same love and support she’s constantly putting out in the world, finds its way back to her, when she needs it most. It would be great to send her back to running the business and supporting clients truly healed and healthy, so we can continue to see her thrive.

I’m hoping we can rally enough community support to help her through this time, ease her stress around bills and give her a sense of stability. She will need funding to cover her portion of bills for the month, including rent (both business and home), utilities and ideally her out of pocket medical expenses, which were crippling last time. We just paid taxes and are really just trying to keep treading. I’m just trying to stay present with her, keep her calm, show her love, and take on as much as I can handle financially, while providing the best aftercare I can for her. I want to see her happy and healthy again and back to her normal routine, without pain or discomfort.

I appreciate you all for hearing this out and potentially considering our needs. We’re grateful for all gestures of love and support from those around us. Thank you for loving and supporting Alaina and letting her know it’s ok to sometimes need a helping hand.

Much Love,

Amanda Alberts