Support Madalyn's Chronic Illness Treatment

Madalyn is a professional artist who also works various day jobs, mostly in kitchens. She is currently disabled, and is struggling to fund her necessary physical therapy, prolonging her inability to work. She has scoliosis and scapular dyskinesis, which is giving her chronic shoulder pain, and is making it impossible for her to do anything strenuous with her dominant arm. The hope of the physical therapy is for her to heal so that she can work again in order to continue funding her life, her art, and to continue providing for her two cats Námo and Nienna. She has been helped before by physical therapy in her past; there was once a time she was unable to walk, and physical therapy got her walking again. Now, a shoulder specialist told her she is likely to recover with the help of physical therapy again.

Without the ability to work, Madalyn is currently without insurance. She is still waiting for the next enrollment period to apply for a possible qualification of state health insurance.

If we’re lucky, Madalyn will only need a half-dozen physical therapy sessions, and she’ll be able to work again thereafter. However, if we find that she is still disabled after those sessions, we were told she would have to get an MRI to see what further steps are necessary.

We are hoping to only pay $750.00 for the physical therapy sessions, if we are able to cover these sessions rapidly enough. Unfortunately, if we are unable to have the sessions in quick succession, the price increases, to a max total of roughly $2000.00. Also, we are completely unaware of what the cost of a possible MRI would be.

If Madalyn is unable to pay for these appointments, she will remain unable to work, while not being able to qualify for unemployment or disability coverage due to the nature of her body’s disability. Her form of scoliosis is ‘not severe enough’ for disability coverage, even though it makes her too disabled to do ANY kind of work that she’s qualified for. She has managed to recover slightly over the last half-year, but still finds it painful to exert energy with her dominant arm. She is still unable to painlessly raise it above shoulder height, and she cannot lift anything even a little bit heavy.

Madalyn says, “My shoulder problem gets in the way of almost everything I need to do right now. I can’t work as a baker or a breakfast attendant or a cashier, or at any day job that requires any manual labor. I can’t drive or ride a bike. I can barely handle making new art. If I draw anything big, I need to start using my non-dominant hand. I can’t afford to order new art supplies, because of how expensive it is to be this disabled. I can’t afford the fees needed to sell my art at markets or conventions, and even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to physically set up my booth. I don’t have any family members I can turn to for support, and I’m afraid I’m going to end up homeless if nothing changes soon.”

We request help for budgeting medical expenses through the necessity of self-pay. We’re asking for $750.00 to just cover the expenses, however, we are hoping for more to help with additional costs: $1000 would be enough to cover transportation as well as help covering additional bills and expenses; $2000 would grant Madalyn peace of mind to get back in front of her expenses, helping in the healing process; and $3000 would be enough to easily cover any additional medical needs that may arise anytime in the near future.

Madalyn wishes to pay this back the only way she knows how, and that’s with her art. The sooner she can heal, the more art she can share with you all. She cannot wait to get back to work, both at her day job, and her art studio, and hopes to share her progress with you all along the way.

Thank you for your consideration, and any help you may provide.

Madalyn creates art inspired by nature, folklore, and fantasy. Her work is characterized by delicately flowing line art, dreamy watercolors, and moody atmosphere. Here she is running her artist booth at SC Comic Con.

Here is Madalyn at her most recent job as a baker and breakfast attendant at a hotel.

'Potential' mixed media traditional art by Madalyn McLeod.

'Hecate' mixed media traditional art by Madalyn McLeod, made with her non-dominant hand.