Our friend Sage is having top surgery soon! Gabby and I are starting this fundraiser to support with costs for pre and post surgery. As a lot of us know, folks who have top surgery shouldn't lift things for at least a month, but ideally 3 months. This means Sage can't do bicycle mechanic work for a while after surgery. Sage is an integral part of our sweet small community and they need our help.

Sage will have to close the shop for the duration of their recovery. This means that they will be without income for 3 months or more.

The fundraising goal reflects:

Housing Costs (3 months) 

Shop Rent/Costs (3 months) 

Hotel Costs (5-6 nights) 

Post-Op Supplies

Transportation/Parking Costs to SF 

Nutrition/Vitamins/Medicine 

Unexpected/Emergency Expense Cushion

If donating funds isn't doable for you right now, please consider signing up for a helper task on Give in Kind (link to be emailed later).

A message from Sage:

Dear friends and community,

We are in truly challenging times, and I know we're all feeling the intensity and the breakdown and the chaos of the world in one way or another.

And while the world unfolds with danger and uncertainty, all of us still have our own personal lives to live in the midst of all of it...

And it just so happens that finally, after many years and months of moving on this path, my top surgery is finally approaching, and I need to humbly ask for some financial help with my top surgery recovery expenses. I'm so grateful that Medi-Cal will cover the actual surgery itself, but as many know, surgery is a big process encompassing a much larger set of expenses. Immediately after surgery, I have to pay to stay in the Bay with Sprout and Gabriella for a week to receive oxygen therapy to aid with vascular healing before my post-op check up. Additionally, for proper recovery when I get back home in Humboldt, it's recommended not to lift anything heavy for 3 months which means I have to close the shop til about June during one of the busiest times of the work year for myself. And in that time that I won't have an income, I still have to pay for shop rent and my own personal rent, while receiving 24-hour care.

It personally feels difficult, awkward, and vulnerable for me to ask for help right now—how can I ask for financial help in a time like this, while we're all being stressed and squeezed by everything happening? But I guess I'm learning that sometimes we need to ask for the support we need regardless of what else is going on, for the simple fact that we need it at that time.

I understand many do not feel in a position to help at the moment, and that's ok. Any donation is appreciated, and if you can't donate financially, helping by spreading the word, sharing this fundraiser on social media or privately to friends would also mean so much to help me reach my goal to support me as well as those who are sacrificing their own time and resources to support me.

Thanks everyone for taking time to read this. May we all have the courage to reach out to our community and ask for help when we need it