Current total raised and pledged, not including food: $3664.46. Almost 3/4 of the amount needed. Only $1335.54 to go!
Update: Tonya's out of the only foods her severely autistic daughter A will eat and has no money to get any now. It's the end of the month, and all too many of us know exactly how that tune goes complete with full orchestration by Leonard Bernstein. Please pitch in whatever you can for food, too. I don't have an exact amount needed for this yet, but I'll post it as soon as I do. We need to raise $100, and it needs to go via Western Union to the Kroger store in Richmond, Kentucky. Thank you.
Our fellow Kossack Tonya (tonyahky), a longtime member of our community, needs our help. She's in a potentially life-threatening situation that will require major abdominal surgery. For the long form about her family situation, please see my beloved sister Aji's diary of Monday; it explains it all, in detail.
Aji's the one who made this issue known, and if she asks me for help, as she did, I'm going to help, no questions asked. I take it for granted that she's checked out the situation, and indeed she had. If you're able to write a diary to continue this fundraiser, please volunteer by KosMailing Aji. We are determined to get her the whole $5000 that she will need. We're currently over halfway there.
Tonya is a now-single mom of four kids. Three of them, the three oldest, are on the autism spectrum. M, her youngest, is free of autism, which runs in Tonya's family. One of them, the next to youngest kid, is a boy who's fascinated by space and space technology, and is already working on that as a hobbyist. He's got Aspergers and is laser-focused on this interest most of the time. One of them, the oldest, is now a proud high school graduate and she's college-bound to a local college. And there's 16-year-old A, her next to oldest, who is far onto the severe side of the autism spectrum. She functions on the level of a three year old although she's 16 and, in her mother's words, is built like a tank. For the details of the stresses and issues Tonya faces daily in caring for her, see Aji's diary.
I want to talk about something else. To get the immense (6"-7") fibroid and her uterus removed, hopefully while saving her ovaries, Tonya's going to have to undergo major abdominal surgery, and since I had major abdominal surgery in a nearby part of my abdomen when I got my kidney transplant, I have some idea what the recovery from it is like. It is that which I want to discuss here, to let you know what Tonya's facing during recovery and what she will and won't be able to do.
Over the jump, read what it's like to recover from major abdominal surgery, and then find out how you can help. If you want to skip the lengthy details and get right to the donation part, you can do so in the paragraph immediately below.
Please note: Tonya's health problems have destroyed her finances; she no longer has a bank account. One Kossack, weck, has stepped up to do the physical collection of funds for her via PayPal. When the donations are complete, weck will turn the funds into a wire transfer and send it to her via Western Union. Kossack Charles CurtisStanley (my husband) has agreed to take care of bundling for anyone who needs to pay by check. You can make a check payable to him - just put a hyphen between Curtis and Stanley - with funds designated for Tonya; he will cash them all and turn them into a USPS money order or Western Union payment sent to Tonya so that she only needs to make one stop to access the funds. Kosmail me for the address and my phone number, should you wish to verify it. You can donate via PayPal here: weckworth [at] earthlink [dot] net. Even if you don't normally do PayPal, please consider making an exception for this situation; the good you will do will vastly outweigh the bad (and you don't need a PayPal account of your own to send money that way). If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to contribute that way, Kosmail me for my address for sending a check or money order.
PLEASE NOTE: However you choose to donate, please include a notation on the PayPal entry form or an enclosure with the check/money order to the following effect:
This is a charitable donation for the medical care of the family of Tonya Harris.
This is essential; under her state's framework, she can accept charitable donations for medical expenses without it affecting her ability to get the surgery, but she must be able to provide some form of receipt to that effect for each donation.
Please also note: If you send funds by Western Union, you will most likely need to provide your name, address, phone number, and the transaction number before WU will release the funds to her. We have her phone number if anyone needs it.
Tonya needs our help. She is having surgery to remove a large uterine fibroid and hysterectomy that doctors will then biopsy for cancer. She will need weeks to recover, and during that recovery, she needs a personal assistant for her daughter, who is severely disabled. Our fundraiser is to get the money needed to pay for that personal assistant.
Please help Tonya by donating in one of the following three ways:
1. PayPal: weckworth [at] earthlink [dot] net.
2. Personal checks can be written out to Kossack Charles CurtisStanley (Kitsap River's husband and Aji's brother). Kosmail Aji or Kitsap River for the address and Kitsap River's phone number, should you wish to verify it.
3. Sending money orders via the U.S. Postal Service and Western Union, because many check-cashing outlets apparently won't cash personal checks (in addition to the problem of their outrageous fees). Kossack jpmassar tells Aji that after checking rates, the USPS ones have much lower fees. Kosmail Aji for Tonya's snail-mail address.
Please note: If you send funds by Western Union, you will most likely need to provide your name, address, phone number, and the transaction number before WU will release the funds to her. We have her phone number if anyone needs it.
However you donate, please include the following notation as she needs a receipt for charitable donations to maintain her ability to get the surgery:
This is a charitable donation for the medical care of the family of Tonya Harris.
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