As some of you know, I ran into some unexpected medical and financial difficulties in the last few weeks, which have been life-altering. On a study abroad trip in Armenia I developed appendicitis and had to have an emergency appendectomy, which resulted in me developing deep vein thrombosis, a very serious condition which will take 6-9 months for me to fully recover from. Due to this, I’ve been forced to take a year long medical leave from University of Pennsylvania, resulting in sudden loss of income. For medical reasons I can’t fly back to the US until August 18th, and once I’m home I’ll immediately be filing for unemployment/disability (as soon as I receive medical leave papers from UPenn and have my US phone number for interview call backs), but as many of you know the process takes several weeks minimum, and all of my money has gone to out of network medical bills, leaving me with no way to pay September’s rent. If you are able to chip in any amount to help me I’m obviously incredibly grateful. This has all hit me suddenly, and I’m still processing not being able to walk for more than a few minutes at a time, having to take 8 pills a day, and losing my student status for an entire year which is my number one passion in life. Dealing with my sudden loss of stipend and having no way to pay September’s rent is really alarming and heartbreaking after everything I’ve worked so hard to create. I appreciate all the love and support from you all. Thank you.