Caroline Johnson

I need urgent surgery to remove my gallbladder. I started having horrifically painful "attacks" in May, leading to an ER trip in June. Yesterday's ultrasound confirmed a large gallstone w/ several small ones, and my kidney values are getting worse each week. I had hoped to avoid surgery as long as possible, but due to the more recent tests, my Dr doesn't feel it's safe to postpone much longer. But unfortunately scheduling surgery is not an option for me financially right now due to the loss of income this will cause while recovering. The "hole" is already getting deeper due to missing work for appointments and my ER trip (which came w/ a $1k bill). This is normally a routine surgery, but since I have myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) that means it will take me much longer than "normal" to recover. The ME/CFS flareup/relapse this will cause is the scariest part, as I know it will take at least two months of resting and doing as little as possible to try to overcome it, but there is no telling what symptoms will be involved. Making this GFM is terribly difficult and humbling. I didn't want to do it at all, but I'm so scared if I wait too long then more "damage" will be done, an infection will develop, or the inevitable - I'll be back in the ER, but this time getting emergency surgery, which is riskier and could keep me away from the babies for much longer. I just want to be okay for my babies. Thank you for considering helping me & the fur kids, and for always being so supportive & kind to us. This was something I just didn't see coming, and I know there's a long road ahead of me after this to get back to my ME/CFS baseline, but I'm committed to doing whatever is necessary. Funds raised will go towards the following: Bills/Rent due to loss/reduced income Medical expenses not covered by insurance $500 Hospital/Surgery deductible Daily living expenses/supplies needs for me & crew Baxter - boarding for 1-2 nights *I'm also picking up extra hours & side work as much as I can right now and will hopefully have new art from the kitties soon