Yetty's Healing & Recovery

Hello folks,

I thought long and hard about whether or not I should go through with creating this fundraiser, but I'm afraid my options are very limited at this point. My back is against the wall. It's difficult to ask for personal help when so many of you have supported my nonprofit and other volunteering efforts over the years. Today, I write because I find myself having a personal emergency. I'm about to have a medical device implanted in my back and attached to my spinal cord. I've been dealing with severe chronic pain in my thoracic and cervical spine for over 12 years now. I have cervical dystonia (a painful movement disorder) along with spinal stenosis, scoliosis, degenerative disk issues, and arthritis in my spine as well. Although I've experienced these debilitating chronic illnesses for quite some time, I didn't know I was going to have this particular surgery until a couple weeks ago to implant the pain pump. Not only have I not had time to adequately plan financially for this procedure, but it is the slowest time of year for
me and my photography business. I run another nonprofit as well, but I do not collect a paycheck from it, I remain a volunteer. The surgery I am about to undergo (this Tuesday the 13th) will leave me out of work for 8 weeks. I will not be able to bend, twist, roll, or lift anything remotely heavy. As a freelance photographer without paid medical leave, this is very troubling. It's simple, I cannot make it through the next 8 weeks or so without your financial assistance. I do not plan on looking for a handout, I would rather think of it as backloading my photography calendar. For my donors, I will pick a few dates to have rapid fire "mini" sessions in a local park for contributions of $50 or more. For those that give $150 or more you'll receive a gift certificate for a 30 minute photo session valid in the Twin Cities area and surrounding suburbs with no expiration. Any and all help is greatly appreciated, thank you so much for your time in reading this. Please share with your friends. -Yetty