Save Cathy: Medical Food Costs

Cathy has multiple severe/anaphylactic and airborne food allergies as well as severe chemical sensitivity, a severe/airborne latex allergy, environmental allergies, chronic lyme, and many many other sensitivities that keep her trapped in her home and limit her food choices so much that she is severely malnourished.

She has an extremely hard time finding safe food because she has so many sensitivities, and all of them will cause anaphylaxis. In fact, many foods she reacts to cause her reactions before she even eats them while they're being rinsed or cooked because of a contaminant on the surface of the item which she reacts to from breathing it in. So even trying new food can be a serious hazard.


Above: a rash from allergenic food being cooked near her. 

The only foods that she  can eat that do not cause her  anaphylaxis are 100% spray free, chemical free locally all naturally  grown food packaged in packaging she provides for transport, and 100% grass fed custom process bison and beef. These foods are hard to come by as well as expensive- Cathy spends a LOT of time and energy locating new sources of safe food to try to make sure she doesn't run out.  

Once she finds a food that is safe for her, she has to buy as much as possible while it is available and preserve it, which for Cathy means freezing it due to allergens in canning lid resin.

In order to leave the house even for a doctor's appointment, she has to cover her skin as much as possible to keep airborne allergens & chemical residues off it, and wear a full respirator. Even with this protection she has severe facial swelling, trouble breathing, and other debilitating reactions.



Because of her sensitivities and frequent reactions, Cathy absolutely cannot work. It's not just that she's housebound, it's that she reacts so severely and so frequently that she is in no condition most times to even care for herself, let alone work at a job. Her doctor doesn't expect that she'll be able to work again, and until she can get more nutrition, she has absolutely no hope of regaining enough strength to care for herself.

 
Despite her obviously dire situation, Cathy has been wrongfully denied disability benefits, and she and her disability lawyers are awaiting her appeal court date in September. 

This fundraiser is to help get her the tools she needs to go from barely surviving to actually living. Maybe someday we can see her look like this again: 




This initial fundraiser for Cathy will go to:

- 2 chest freezers in which to store safe food: $1400

- Kitchen appliances to help her prepare food more easily with limited physical mobility: $1000

- Safe meat, which must be purchased in bulk and stored: $2500

- Safe produce, also needs to be purchased in bulk and stored: $1000

UPDATE 6/18:

Since this fundraiser was posted, Cathy has had a number of setbacks and emergent situations. She began reacting with anaphylaxis to her tap water several months ago which sent her whole system into catastrophe, and has been battling dehydration, reaction cycles, and malnutrition since then. Thank you so much to those who contributed to the fundraisers to purchase her safe water- it literally saved her life.


Recently she has been able to eat a bit more food and has been concentrating on locating as many sources of safe fat as possible. Thanks to a couple of sources of safe meat she has found, she has been able to put on 4 lbs, bringing her up to 93 lbs from 89lbs. This is still FAR too thin, and it is important that she keeps this upward trajectory of weight gain going!

Cathy needs $350 RIGHT AWAY to make up the rest of her order of bison fat and hearts to keep her going for the next 3 weeks. Then in about 2 weeks, she needs another $3600 for a bulk meat order at a much lower cost per lb than the bison she is mail ordering which will provide her with safe protein for at least 4 months.

Please, if you have ANY money, even $5, give today to help her make this urgently needed next order!

Another option would be to directly purchase a gift card from one of her safe meat sources, North Star Bison. You can do that here: https://www.northstarbison.com/shop/north-star-bison-gift-certificate, and choose to email the gift certificate to [email redacted]. If you order from their website, she'll get a small credit on her next order if you use affiliate code: cward.

Thanks in advance, and if you cannot help with a donation today, please share!

Cathy is so touched by all your support, help, love, and prayers, and is very grateful for every contribution.