RAE SPOON NEEDS YOUR HELP WITH MEDICAL & LIVING EXPENSES
Trans, non-binary, label person, musician, and author, Rae Spoon
needs your help with medical and living expenses during this period
of stabilization. Rae has been receiving treatments for cervical
cancer and complications since March 2020.
***PLEASE SEE CAMPAIGN UPDATES FOR MORE INFORMATION***
Rae Spoon is a trans, non-binary musician and author. They have been making art publicly for over twenty years. Rae has always been a community focussed artist and has made a lot of community art projects with people from lots of backgrounds. In 2015, Rae founded Coax Records to support and amplify underrepresented artists. Their writing on gender, the medical system, trauma, their evangelical Christian upbringing, ADHD, surviving incest, cancer, and much more has been met with gratitude from audiences all over the world.
This past year, Rae was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in March 2020. The tumour was too large to operate on. Their cancer treatment in May, June, and July 2020 was five rounds of chemotherapy, nine weeks of external radiation and four procedures of internal radiation.
Rae has no blood family to speak of or the financial support that sometimes brings. They’ve never received an inheritance and don’t expect to ever receive one. Rae has no health insurance and has to pay for prescriptions and all other health expenses out of pocket.
In August 2020 the oncologists said that it looked like the cancer was in remission. Rae moved everything from their Victoria home and rented an apartment in Toronto. The oncologists did one last scan before they left. In October 2020 the oncologists contacted Rae and told them that the cancer was back in the original site. That they needed to come to Victoria for more cancer treatment in the form of a surgery. Rae drove back to Victoria for the surgery. They kept paying rent for their apartment in Toronto monthly and had to pay for short-term accommodation in Victoria too. To align with the rest of Rae’s good luck this year they had to have the transmission in their van rebuilt for $6000. They may also have to pay for an engine rebuild in the next month.
On November 16, 2020 Rae had a radical hysterectomy and double oophorectomy. Over twelve weeks Rae has been dealing with an ongoing pelvic abscess. The surgical site never healed because the tissue there was too damaged from the radiation treatments. Many other complications occurred because of the irradiated tissue including Rae receiving a permanent colostomy (meaning a permanent bag for their feces). On February 19, 2021 Rae will have another surgery. This time a plastic surgeon will attempt to bring in tissue from parts of their body that weren’t exposed to radiation. Rae will also be given either a urostomy or a nephrostomy (both meaning that they will have a permanent bag for their urine). The healing time for this surgery will be 2 to 8 weeks in hospital and 6 months overall.
Rae needs to find a place to live in Victoria, apply for long term disability from the BC government, get onto Fair Pharmacare in BC, and dissolve their current corporation as they can no longer sustain it. All of these will help Rae heal and stabilize into a life that matches their ability. They also want to prioritize creating a new business model for Coax Records, so the label can keep functioning after they dissolve their corporation.
CHALLENGES
- Over a year of not having medical coverage during all of their cancer treatments.
- The high cost of having to rent a three bedroom to house the people caring for them during their initial treatment for 6-months.
- Having Rae’s main form of income, performing live, became impossible due to COVID.
- Having the emergency situation of paying the double rent they paid between Victoria and Toronto for five months.
- The new (very high) monthly cost of caring for their colostomy and urostomy.
- Keeping Coax Records alive while dissolving Rae Spoon Productions Inc.
GOALS
- Rae’s working on getting onto long term disability, but it may take three to six months for it to happen.
- Rae’s working on getting onto Fair Pharmacare in BC, but it sometimes takes a year to get on it.
- Rae’s looking for subsidized housing through the BC Housing Registry. They may have to pay market prices on rent for the months or years it takes on their waitlist.
- To transition Coax Records to an artist’s collective.
Total Ask: $150,000.00 ***
***Please see campaign updates for more info - this total
has been increased***
WHERE THE MONEY WILL GO
- $15,000 at $2,500 a month to help with damage deposit, rent, food and utilities for 6-month transition.
- $4,980 to help with medical expenses for 6-month transition:
- Rae’s care material for their new ostomy is $350/month (there’s the possibility of them getting another one which will double that cost).
- Their regular prescriptions are $200/month.
- There will be at least $100 of health supply incidentals for drugs to transition out of hospital like antibiotics or anti-coagulants.
- Rae’s counseling is $180 a month.
- $3,000 to help with vehicle registration and insurance that’s going to come up in May 2021 for Rae’s van (a key piece for Rae’s and people who care for them’s mobility).
- $7,500 for an engine rebuild on Rae’s van.
- $1,200 for a $200 loan repayment to Rae’s ex-parents in law (the loan was to help Rae’s ex-spouse move to Victoria when they were too disabled to work).
WE MAY INCREASE OUR FUNDING GOAL IF:
- Rae’s surgery results in another ostomy and the costs associated with their ostomies double for them.
- Rae needs any health equipment to make their move out of hospital smoother (bed, stand up chair).
- Rae needs care from a care aid that isn’t covered by provincial healthcare.
IF THE FUNDING EXCEEDS THE GOAL:
- We will donate 50% by creating microgrants for other sick and/or disabled LGBTQ2S artists from all over the world. It will be juried by Coax Records artists.
- We will use 50% to help pay for the transition of Coax Records to an artist collective whether it’s labour or for legal and accounting advice.
IF RAE DOESN’T SURVIVE SIX MONTHS AFTER FEBRUARY 19, 2021:
- We will pay for death doula support for and/or people close to them.
- We will pay for any costs related to MAID (Medically Assistance In Dying).
- We will supplement any costs for getting them cremated,
WITH ANY MONEY LEFT:
- We will donate 50% to creating microgrants for other sick and/or disabled LGBTQ2S artists from all over the world. It will be juried by Coax Records artists.
- We will use 50% to help pay for the transition of Coax Records to an artist collective whether it’s labour or for legal and accounting advice.
AS A THANK YOU TO EACH DONOR:
As a thank you, each person who donates will receive a link to download a digital copy of The Rae Spoon Songbook (a digital book of sheet music for all of their songs and the music from all of their solo albums).
