Hi, I'm Sylwester, Katharina's partner. I'm writing this together with her, and with help from some of her closest friends.

If you've ever been inside one of Katharina's sound installations — in a water reservoir, an old brewery, a hammam, a church — you probably know what makes her work special. She has a way of making you hear a place differently.

For years, she has been part of Berlin's sound art and modular synth community as an artist, performer, cultural organizer and teacher. She has made installations, played live, taught workshops, taken part in festivals, curated events and festivals involving other artists and spent a lot of time helping other people find their own way into sound.

Right now, she needs some help herself.

What happened

In April, Katharina was involved in an accident. During the medical examinations that followed, doctors made a devastating and completely unexpected discovery that was unrelated to the accident: two proximal brain aneurysms. One of them is approximately 2 cm (20 mm) in size, which classifies it as a giant intracranial aneurysm. Aneurysms of this size carry a significant risk of rupture, which can have catastrophic, life-threatening consequences. She has been on unpaid sick-leave the last 3 Months.

They had been there without anyone knowing.

In a strange way, finding them when we did was incredibly lucky. Without the accident and the scans that followed, we might never have known.

The aneurysms are unusually large and her case is atypical. After a number of consultations, the doctors were clear that they need to be treated.

On August 24, Katharina will have surgery to treat both aneurysms at the same time. It is a complex bypass operation. The surgeons will take a blood vessel from her arm or leg and use it to reroute blood flow in her brain around the aneurysms, which are located behind her eye.

It is a major operation, and recovery will take time.

We are scared, of course. But we are also hopeful. Katharina is in very good hands, and the reason for doing this now is to give her the best possible chance of a healthy future.

The months afterwards will be difficult. She is expected to spend weeks in hospital and rehabilitation, followed by a long period of recovery at home and rehabilitation. For quite some time she won't be able to work, perform, teach, or carry the equipment that is normally such a big part of her life.

Why we're asking for help

The good news is that her health insurance covers the operation itself.

The difficult part is everything around it.

Katharina is a freelance artist. There is no employer who can keep paying her while she is recovering. Like many artists, her income is already modest and depends directly on being able to work. There will be a gap in income during her recovery, while rent, studio costs, insurance and everyday expenses don't stop.

There are also costs that aren't fully covered by insurance: additional therapy, transport, medical co-payments, help around the household, and all the smaller expenses that come with a long recovery, specially since she is not enabled to carry things and bow down the weeks after the surgery she needs helping hands at home and to carry on her household and healing process.

Every performance, workshop and commission she had planned for the coming months has had to be cancelled.

And there is something else that matters a lot to her: her studio. It isn't just a room where she keeps equipment. It's where she works, teaches, experiments and makes her living. Keeping it while she is unable to work is important for being able to start again afterwards.

What your support would help with

• Rent and living expenses while Katharina cannot work

• Bridging the gap in income during her recovery

• Additional rehabilitation and therapy

• Transport, medical co-payments and other recovery-related costs

• Keeping her studio until she can return to work

If we raise more than Katharina needs for the immediate recovery, the money will go towards the later stages of her rehabilitation and getting her back to work.

We'll keep updating this page as we go — before the operation, after surgery, and throughout the recovery.

How you can help

If you can donate, thank you. Really. Whatever the amount, it helps.

And if you can't donate, sharing this with friends, colleagues or your community is just as valuable. Katharina has spent years supporting other people's work and helping other people find their voice and their sound.

Now we'd like to help carry her for a while.

With love and gratitude