Support Kathy Nakouzi's End-of-Life Care.

Hello friends, thank you for taking a moment and listening to me share with you the beauty and magic that is my dearest friend Kathy and the unfortunate circumstances that have brought us here asking for your support.

Kathy Nakouzi is the sunshine that peaks through your window on a cloudy day. She is thoughtful, she is funny, she is kind and silly. She makes the best paella and she makes sure to sing to you every time “I just called to say I love you” comes on the radio. When she tells you a story she can’t help but make the most ridiculous sound effects. She makes friends everywhere she goes and always has some extra love for somebody who looks like they might be struggling. She is pure comfort and everything good in this world. She is a Mother a daughter a sister a partner and a friend.

Kathy Nakouzi is one of the strongest and shiniest individuals you could ever hope to cross paths with on this planet. She has faced and taken on more battles than anyone should have to deal with, and she has done it all with a smile and love in her heart. Kathy has fought hard to build a life for herself and her two beautiful children (ten-year-old Michael and six-year-old Sawyer). She has brought herself out of the depths of adversity to become first a NYS EMT then a social worker who helps homeless individuals make a better life for themselves. Her dedication to helping others is evident in everything she does.

Unfortunately, she is now facing a battle she cannot win.

In April, After a trip to the hospital with what she thought was a simple kidney stone Kathy was diagnosed with stage 4 leiomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that is going to take her from the people who love and need her so much.

We are raising funds for proper end-of-life care and for her children who will be without the person they need the most. Kathy has been the breadwinner in her family for many years, and her children are going to need to be cared for when she cannot do that anymore. This beautiful and selfless woman has made it her life’s mission to help those in need, and now she is the one in need.

I am heartbroken to have to share this news with so many people that love her so much. Until this point, she has chosen to deal with this in silence for fear of burdening her friends with this sort of heartbreak. But she needs us. Like many of us have needed her. It’s our turn to return all the love we have felt from her for so long.

Kathy has been one of my best friends for 25 years. The impact she has made on me as a human is beyond words. She has taught me so much about perseverance and the power of a simple smile and human connection. I have been so lucky to have been able to share my life with somebody like her.

If I could tell cancer how badly she is needed and how devastating this is to us, I would, but cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you are only 40; it doesn’t care if it will leave your children motherless; it doesn’t care if you have worked your whole life to get to where you are. It doesn’t care.

But maybe we can all care and try to help her spend the rest of her time knowing that her children will be cared for and loved. She has earned that in her time here.

Thank you for your listening.