Hey everyone,

Maria and Olive here to advocate for some dear friends of ours, Nicole and Joelle. Real homies and beautiful people.

Nicole’s uterus had been wreaking havoc for a long time and it finally got evicted (hysterectomy) on Christmas Eve! Though it was suspected for some time, that surgery confirmed that she does, in fact, have endometriosis. Though the initial surgery went well, complications arose related to Nicole’s Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (aka EDS, a complex genetic connective tissue disorder).

Over the span of 9 days in January, Nicole had three hemorrhages requiring two emergency surgeries. The last event was so severe that she required multiple units of blood. She recovered well after both surgeries, and after two weeks of special medication, there have been no further bleeds.

She’s still not out of the woods—and is on serious restrictions until the end of May, but is doing much better! In order for her to heal, she still needs a LOT of help. Jo has been out of work on unpaid FMLA since Christmas and has had to take additional time off to continue to help Nicole recover. This has caused a significant financial burden as Nicole hasn’t worked since March of 2023 due to chronic illness complications, and they have been getting by on Jo’s income as a nurse with help from Nicole’s folks ever since.

These complications have been extremely challenging for these two in many ways. Ideally Jo would be off through March to continue to support Nicole, but this is not currently financially feasible. So, they would be extremely grateful for support from more financially stable sources.

The truth is, things are crazy in our world right now. This may lead us to feel like we shouldn’t ask for help, but we feel the opposite. If you are reading this, it’s because you care. Whether you love Joelle and Nicole on a deep and personal level, or you’ve hung out a few times—you know what genuine and giving folks they are. Let's do what we can to make this time a little easier for them <3.

With love,

Maria & Olive

P.S. Times are tough, so please only give if you are able to! You can also send $ to Joelle directly at @Joelle-Joyce (via venm0) to avoid platform fees <3