Heartbreaking. Heart wrenching. Those are two ways to describe the feelings experienced when someone you love is going through unfathomable struggle and pain. Right now, my dearest friend is going through just that, and I am here to ask for help. Anyone who knows Anne, loves her! She spends 90% of her time taking care of others, but this time, Anne needs her friends, family, acquaintances and even kind strangers, to extend their love and kindness back.

My name is Sarah Zeller. I live in Gilbert, Arizona where I met my best friend, Anne Desaro. Many of you know and love Anne through the cat rescue community. She is one of the truest, kindest, most generous human beings I have had the honor of meeting in my life. I was taught many years ago that you should spend time with the kind of people you admire, so making friends with Anne was an easy choice! Once she let me in, I learned that Anne was devoting all of her time and energy into taking care of others, and, although utterly depleted, was desperately trying to keep up the facade that she was fine. She lives with an extremely painful chronic condition that can flare up at any time and completely knock her off her feet for anywhere from 12 hours to 2 weeks at a stretch. I will never forget the first time I saw a wave hit her...she went white as a sheet and silent tears just started rolling down her face. She couldn't make a sound, but the tears flowed like someone had turned on a faucet. I am very familiar with chronic pain, but that was like childbirth level pain. She describes it as the equivalent of her legs being on fire. That sometimes it's like having "fire worms" moving inside her legs.

Many years ago, Anne was deemed disabled by both the government and the Judge who forced the Longterm insurance Co. she had paid into for 15 years, to fulfill their obligations. Recently that same Long Term Insurance company decided to cancel her policy essentially stating that she doesn't qualify if she can function like an average human on occasion. Anne will be fighting them again as The Hartford has a long history of canceling qualifying policies. That said, it could take a year or longer to get in front of a judge who can reinstate both her health insurance and monthly income. This has been devastating to their family! She has lost $1000/month in income and more importantly, her health insurance, after finally reaching the $10,000 annual deductible she has to reach before they start kicking in.

Adding Insult to injury, due to the drastic increase in housing costs, since the pandemic, Anne's rent has been increased 4 separate times to the tune of $500/month total. When you are already living paycheck to paycheck, it is easier to come up with an extra $100/month than 4-5k for first, last and security, so she has been stuck renting a home she can't afford because, being disabled on a fixed income, she can't come up with the extra money needed to move somewhere more affordable.

Now let's talk about the really serious stuff. The above-mentioned problems had Anne dog paddling in the water. It was bad, but her head was still above water. Prior to this, her daughter Tamari was diagnosed first with ADHD, followed by Autism shortly after. So while Anne was dog paddling, so was Tamari. Despite regular therapy sessions, Tamari, now 12, continued to spiral down into dark places. She worked very hard for a long time to conceal her troubles because she didn't want to add to her Mom's, but recently Tamari began to drown. Tamari was sent to an intensive outpatient unit that quickly identified that she needed immediate hospitalization. She spent a week at Banner Behavioral Hospital before being sent to a Residential Treatment Center in California where she will remain for at least 2 months. Not only is Anne going to be separated from her baby for the first time ever, but because the RTC's in Arizona were full, her baby is 5 hours away in another state where she can barely afford to visit once a week. Can I remind everyone that Anne is losing her health insurance and 1k a month in income? And is already barely hanging on by a thread??

What she needs to raise money for:

1) Health Insurance: She can hold on to her insurance through the Cobra program for $1058 per month. $1058 per month x 12 months = $12,696.

2) Utilities for her Home: Her water was disconnected this morning because the water bill money went towards a devastating trip to California to save her daughter. $500/month for 12 months = $6,000.

3.) Gas, lodging, & Food expenses for the next 2 months, to and from California to visit her 12-year-old on the weekends. $400 per weekend. 3 weekends per month for 2 months = $2,400.

4) Co-Pays for both Anne and Tamari's medications, assuming she can pay for her health insurance, they both have medications to pay for. $750 per month for 12 months = $9,000.

I understand that fundraising for a full year is asking lot which is why I am not. This total is just over 30k. If we can raise even half, it will buy some breathing room. With some breathing room, hopefully some additional solutions can be found so that Anne can spend the next year focused on her and Tamari's healing journey. There are other resources we can and will tap, but the need to cover some of these expenses is URGENT. Someone who is dog paddling cannot save another from drowning. PLEASE help me lift Anne up so that she has the strength to help her daughter. We need more people on this earth like Anne, not less. Help me make that happen!