My name is Wendy Millard and I'm hoping to raise funds for my dear friend Debra Lindland. Deb has had several years of stress and hardship because her health failed quite suddenly, which curtailed her businesses graphic and web design, and cleaning tack on the side. She developed tonsil cancer in 2020 which was very difficult and painful to treat—an ordeal exacerbated by the Covid pandemic which made simply getting treatment difficult. Treatments also affected her ability to eat and taste foods that were so necessary for her nutrition. After going through all the surgical surgeries and radiation for that illness she lost a great deal of weight, and though not fully recovered, her weight was stable and she was even starting to consider taking on part-time work.

Unfortunately, last December she developed pain and swelling in her abdomen. Thinking it was just gas, she waited until the pain became unbearable before going to the doctor who sent her directly to the hospital ER where it was determined that her bowel was twisted, requiring immediate emergency surgery to remove that section of bowel. After leaving the hospital, she continued to experience abdominal pain and was rushed back to the ER. Apparently, the resected bowel had failed and was leaking into her abdominal cavity making her septic. This made another emergency surgery necessary to remove a length of small intestine and place an ileostomy. She was gravely ill in the hospital while he sepsis was treated with multiple antibiotics.

In a horrifying side effect of this surgery, she has been unable to consume enough calories to nourish her body. Still extremely weak after release from the hospital, she began to lose weight at an accelerating rate, recently as low as 95 lbs. Consequently, she has been in and out of the hospital repeatedly due to malnutrition and anorexia. The irony is that she loves food and cooking, but her body doesn't absorb it in a natural way.

The current plan is to get enough weight gain and stability for her to have a surgery at The Oregon Gastroenterology Clinic in Portland to remove the ileostomy and try to repair her gut to a condition that will make use of the food she eats. She will need to go up to Portland for doctor's appointments and then to reside up there for a time so she can have this life-saving surgery and recover with a team of surgical nutritionists. In the meantime, she is struggling with bills (having only a modest Social Security income) and out-of-pocket medical expenses. She is also wishing to make appropriate end-of-life arrangements so that she does not leave this earth having burdened her friends, which is a very difficult but necessary conversation we ALL need to have with friends and loved ones.

I would just love to give her some PEACE OF MIND during these dark days that people DO care about her, that she CAN get well or at least in better health, and that she isn't constantly having to battle those "what if" demons that keep her awake at night. She is a good person who has helped so many people in her lifetime, and I believe her Karma will bring the light back to her as well! I know that many of you will offer "hopes and prayers" and of course that is appreciated, but she needs more than that now. She needs financial assistance to prepare for the procedures ahead, and to get her affairs in order.

THANK YOU for reading my lengthy plea, and if you can help, THANK YOU again!!!