Help Toni Airaksinen's Fight Against Anorexia

UPDATE: This GoFundMe is no longer accepting donations as today I reached my funding goal. If you found this fundraiser through friends by way of Twitter, Instapundit, Quillette, Facebook, PJ Media.... and were considering donating... please consider redirecting your donation to any other person or trusty non-profit in need. 

Warm regards, 
Toni
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My name is Toni Airaksinen, I’m 22, and I’m a freelance reporter covering Title IX and free speech issues. I graduated from Barnard in 2018, live in New Jersey, and have been battling various eating and compulsive exercise issues for the last five years.


Over the past four months, my disordered eating has turned from “manageable” to borderline life-threatening. I’m fainting and I can barely walk more than a few blocks without getting winded. I’m constantly dizzy, and barely any energy to write anymore.


I was formally diagnosed with an eating disorder on January 17 after months of dramatic weight loss.


My psychologist urged me to put work on hold and seek immediate help from a team of doctors, dieticians and therapists. Thankfully, I sought out help VERY early, but if left untreated, common complications of anorexia include cardiac arrest, heart damage, osteoporosis, infertility, organ failure, and more.


The cost of residential treatment (the preferred kind for women suffering this degree of eating disorder) is incomprehensible. Without insurance, I’m facing $30,000 to $40,000 for a month’s stay, as quoted by treatment providers in New Jersey I've called. 

So instead, with the help of my boyfriend of three years (who I met though my writing for Quillette), along with his family and my friends, I’m trying to embark on a “coordinated care” approach. This is MUCH less expensive than a residential inpatient procedure because it wouldn't require 24/7 supervision & housing at a treatment facility. (According to my psychologist, it also would likely have the same level of effectiveness.) 



This would include taking a leave from PJ Media for two or three months (update: four to five months). It would also include weekly or twice meetings with a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders ($150-$200 per visit), weekly/bi-monthly medical visits and cardiac testing ($300-$500 per visit), ongoing meetings with a dietitian (approximately $100 per visit: update: $150-200 per consult), and gifted help with the general cost of living while I work to get better (rent, transportation, groceries, heat, electricity, etc).

I’ve been working since I was 15. I worked through college, and at 22, it seems like a cruel joke that the one thing I love to do — report news — I no longer have the physical energy to do. I'd like to stress that I'm highly motivated to recover, and deeply hope to get back to writing ASAP (but not too soon). 


At my age, I don’t have the astronomical amount of money lying around that's needed to fix this. Neither do my parents. And while I live in an apartment with my boyfriend and he's been tremendously supportive, I can't lean on him financially since he's a full-time senior at Rutgers. 


To my readers: If you’ve enjoyed any of my articles over the past 4 years, for publications like PJ Media, Quillette, The College Fix, Youth Radio or the Columbia Spectator, consider this a tip jar. If you aren’t in the position to donate, please share.


My hope is that I can get back to my old life soon: happy, healthy, and reporting the news.


Many thanks,
Toni
[email redacted]
https://twitter.com/Toni_Airaksinen

(Me and Ben, pictured before the last Rosh Hashanah dinner at his parents', here I'm at a healthy weight/BMI. At the advice of a few friends of mine who've battled eating disorders, I am not publicizing my current weight, BMI, or any current photos that show me sick to avoid triggering other people. I do have that info if you're just a curious person (personally, I'd be curious so I'd be totally fine with you asking), and can provide supporting documentation, such as a current BMI, proof of diagnosis, etc, if requested for any reason). 

Thanks again — Toni