Amber’s lower spine has collapsed, she needs another major surgery and long-term rehab to prevent potential paralysis. She also battles Catamenial Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Odessa, her wife and caregiver, is recovering from reproductive cancer treatment and multiple hand and wrist surgeries, and is now in a breast clinic for ongoing monitoring. Their medical costs after insurance already exceed $200k and are climbing fast. They need help now.
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Their Story
Amber Hodges and Odessa Price have spent decades building a life grounded in love, laughter, and purpose. Both worked in information technology, steady professionals who quietly helped everyone around them. Their home became a warm hub for family, friends, neighbors, and a small parade of rescued animals.
Over the last twenty months, everything changed.
• Amber’s health: Degenerative spinal collapse has left her with no remaining discs in her lower spine. She lives with excruciating pain, nerve compression, and near-total loss of mobility. Her leg has been losing sensation for months and she often has to drag it to move. She needs another major spinal surgery plus extended rehabilitation to prevent permanent paralysis.
On top of this, severe flare-ups of Catamenial Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS) bring relentless vomiting, dehydration, and abdominal pain, often leading to hospitalization.
• Odessa’s health: In early 2024, Odessa was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive reproductive cancer that required major surgery and internal radiation. In January 2025, a serious fall caused multiple injuries to her arm, wrist, and hand. Several reconstructive surgeries followed, with lasting pain and weakness, and another procedure may still be needed. She is also enrolled in a breast cancer clinic for ongoing testing and monitoring.
Both women underwent surgeries within days of each other. Recovery has been an uphill climb ever since.
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A Loss That Shook Their Home
Their house was always a sanctuary, full of rescued animals and everyday joy. In September 2025, their beloved ten-year-old boxer Captain passed away from splenic cancer. He had been with them since shortly after they bought their home. In his final days, Amber carried him outside again and again despite her collapsing spine. That act of love, even at great personal cost, captures who they are.
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Why Help Is Urgently Needed
• Post-insurance medical costs already exceed $200,000.
• Amber’s upcoming spinal surgery, rehabilitation, and CVS management, plus Odessa’s continued recovery and testing, are expected to significantly increase that figure in the coming months.
• They have used savings, set up payment plans, and postponed anything non-urgent. It is no longer sustainable.
They cannot wait months for relief. They need help now.
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How Your Donation Will Be Used
• Amber’s spinal surgery, rehabilitation, and nerve treatment
• Management of Catamenial CVS and related care
• Odessa’s ongoing cancer recovery, breast clinic testing, and hand therapy
• Travel to specialists and therapy appointments
• ♿ Mobility and adaptive equipment for safety and independence at home
• Essential living expenses while both are unable to work
• The first $500 to bring their boxer’s ashes home, honoring a decade of love
Every dollar shifts their focus from survival to healing.
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What They Have Already Tried
• Depleted savings and retirement accounts
• Established medical payment plans and appealed insurance denials
• Worked through pain for as long as possible to maintain income
• Cut expenses to the bare minimum
They have done everything within their power. The mountain keeps growing.
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The Heart of It
Odessa has been my dear friend for more than 30 years. Those who know her and Amber would describe them as generous to a fault, loyal, and resilient. They are not asking for luxury. They are asking for relief, time to heal, and the strength to keep moving forward together.
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How You Can Help
• Donate today to fund urgent medical care and stability.
• Share their story if you cannot give. Every share brings them closer to help and hope.
Right now, every day matters. Each moment of relief makes healing possible.
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With Gratitude
After the hardest twenty months of their lives, Amber and Odessa still believe in kindness, community, and the healing power of love. Let’s show them their faith is well placed.
With heartfelt urgency and gratitude,
Friends and Supporters of
Amber Hodges & Odessa Price
