Hi friends, family, and anyone who may have stumbled upon this. If you know me, you know I have a hard time asking for help, so this is very uncomfortable. But it seems like this is something I need to do for my family. I know times are super difficult right now, so thank you for even reading this.

About a month ago I started having some GI upset combined with chronic back pain. I thought it was maybe side effects from a new medication, aging, or maybe just not exercising enough. A couple nights ago I woke up to one of the most extreme pains I had ever experienced in my stomach and back. I spent the night in the ER. Turns out, I have gallstones and my gallbladder is inflamed and angry. I have scheduled surgery to have it removed on 3/25.

Alex is going to be taking 2 weeks off work to help my recovery, do the majority of parenting Chance, and our day to day tasks. I will be out of work for at least two weeks, but could be up to 4-6 depending on how recovery goes. Obviously my job as a dog walker is very active, so it's a bit more challenging to get back at it after surgery. I have also been having constant pain/discomfort in my abdomen and back for several weeks now, which has affected the amount of work I'm able to do currently.

This is a huge hit for us financially as we are very much living paycheck to paycheck. I'm asking for any little bit that you can spare, as a cushion to help with groceries, bills, extra child care, and of course my looming medical bills. I'm still paying off the bills from my hospital visits over the summer when I was having multiple week long migraines. Thankfully that has been figured out and I'm not experiencing those anymore, but the financial burden has been rough.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, I'm happy to talk about whatever!

Lots of love and thanks,

Steph, Alex, and Chance