Many of you know my beloved wife Rosie Valentine Fields as a community member, friend, photographer, hiker, and animal lover. To know Rosie is to know how generous and loving they are. Over the years they have frequently made community care a part of their daily life: organizing and contributing to mutual aid benefits; bringing home cooked meals to those needing food support; providing pet care to those recovering from illness and surgery; providing free and sliding scale photography services; helping to clean houses during depression or illness; volunteering, interning, and working for a local domestic violence agency; providing free education on gender; hosting virtual queer community events throughout the pandemic; offering herbalism care and support; and many more acts of solidarity and love. Their queer centered, trauma sensitive photography business is organized always with the goal of their clients’ humanity and the celebration of each individual’s unique, beautiful truth being the top priority. I am immensely proud to be partnered with such a giving, creative, loving person!

Now, our family is faced with enormous financial stress as Rosie bravely moves forward with two critical cancer prevention surgeries: a prophylactic double mastectomy with breast reconstruction. Rosie is at very high risk of developing breast cancer early in life, and this surgery will drastically reduce their risk. This is even more crucial in light of their existing disability and chronic health conditions. While Rosie is afraid to go through such an intensive, life-altering surgery and lengthy recovery process, they are also incredibly grateful to receive this important healthcare. Having witnessed close family members go through breast cancer and having lost other family members to cancer, Rosie knows that this is the right choice for them. They told me that the choice became clear when they considered their desire to show up for our family and community over the course of what we hope to be a long lifetime.

This will be an extremely intense experience physically and emotionally. The first surgery will take place on March 10th and will include complete removal of all breast tissue, including chest fascia tissue. Rosie will be hospitalized overnight and have a six week intensive recovery, followed by several months of slow progress on their reconstruction utilizing tissue expanders with doctor visits every week or two, before their exchange surgery to finalize their breast reconstruction sometime around the end of June. This second surgery will necessitate an additional 6 week recovery period. We are asking for community financial support for both of Rosie’s surgeries and their recovery. We are both self employed artists, with no paid leave. I will need to take time away from my work to care for Rosie. For the first 6 week recovery period, Rosie will be unable to do anything that increases their heart rate (including a brisk walk) due to bleeding risk. Rosie will be unable to do income generating photography work for a total of 12 weeks (6 weeks recovery for each surgery, with restrictions in between). They will be unable to lift more than 5-10 lbs for approximately 4.5 months.

At minimum, we anticipate our out-of-pocket surgery costs to be $3,500; more should any out-of-network care be needed. We also need help covering our living expenses while Rosie is unable to work and I am serving as their caretaker, as well as ongoing healthcare costs during Rosie’s recovery: physical therapy, assistive devices to help them sleep safely and with less pain, weekly/biweekly physician visits to fill their tissue expanders as part of the reconstruction process, therapy, and pain medication.

Any financial contribution, no matter how small, is a powerful act of support for Rosie and our family during this difficult time. So is sharing this gofundme, as well as offering words of support to Rosie and our family below. Thank you for standing with us in our time of need!