Hi, beautiful friend!

I'm Katrina Koleto (she/her & they/them), aka "Kat," a Licensed Massage Therapist working in private practice in Seattle, WA. I love my career! Doing massage brings me joy. I love helping people feel good in their bodies.

I also want to feel good in my own body, but I have a financial barricade to the health care I need. I am in business for myself, with no savings to fall back on and no disability insurance, and I need a hysterectomy-- a surgery that will put me out of work for a month.

Be sure to read through to the end, to see the list of other humorous titles for this fundraiser that my friends and I came up with! Pure comedy gold. 

Or, TL; DR: I'm asking for money to support myself for a month while I recover. Pleeeeeease help. 

OK, now you can scroll down. 

SYMPTOMS I'VE BEEN DEALING WITH:

I've been struggling with intensely painful, extreme menstrual periods for most of my life, but in the past few years, it's like my uterus has been continually taking classes at a boxing gym in my abdomen. The pain has been so bad that even taking up to 8 over-the-counter ibuprofen tablets at one time (that's 800mg or a prescription-level dosage) still doesn't help relieve the pain.

I also experience pain in between my periods, as my uterus just decides to cramp for no reason. The pain isn't restricted to just my uterus or abdomen, it reaches all the way through my hip and down my leg, as well deep into my lower back. It can become so painful that I have trouble sleeping. I am going through more than a full bottle of ibuprofen (160 tabs) a month. (I have them on autoship, once a month, and occasionally I have to buy a bottle in between shipments.)

I've also been flooding my menstrual products so much that I've had to change a so-called "10-hour" product every hour or two. Sometimes I can't even make it through a 60-minute massage session without worrying about leaking onto my clothes, even when I am using back-up methods. Niagara Falls, eat your heart out. 

This massive blood loss has led to severe anemia and fatigue, leaving me unable to work as much as I need and want to. For the past couple years, I would just start to feel better a couple weeks after my period, for a day or two, as my body slowly replaced the blood I had lost, and then the cycle would begin again. Not really a rollercoaster, more like an endless lazy river ride that I can't get off-- no matter how much I beg the ride operator, and all while I watch from my innertube, seeing parts of my life going unattended and in disarray or dissolution.

I have also been unable to get regular exercise for these past two years and have gained 50 pounds.

I rarely have energy for my friends or other activities outside of work, because I am saving all my resources to be able to do my job well. (Fortunately, I love my job! But I miss my friends.)

I also end up with extreme bloating in my abdomen, especially after meals, which can make me look several months pregnant. I have been asked by strangers when I am due, which is not only embarrassing, but also makes me sad because Kevin & I tried to conceive for a couple years after we met, but we were unable to (and now, at 48, I am too old). 

MY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT:

Ultrasounds have revealed a golf-ball sized uterine fibroid, and adenomyosis. It's unclear if I also have endometriosis, but that is a possibility. (I'm just thankful no one is saying cancer at this point.)

I have been put on a coagulant drug, which, combined with iron supplements, have begun to pull me out of my anemia and fatigue. Unfortunately, the pain still sends me reeling, and the coagulant drug has a possible side effect of DVT (which can cause pulmonary embolism), so this is a very temporary measure. Because, honestly, I LIKE being alive. 

For full recovery, doctors recommend a hysterectomy, which will likely cause me to be out of work for at least one month. (My job is very physical, and I may require more time, but I am hoping to be ready to return to work at least part-time after a month.) I don't really want this long of a time-out, but my uterus has been VERY naughty, with all that punching me. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Sadly, I have no savings, nor does my partner (and my partner makes minimum wage plus tips at a small, local bakery/coffeeshop).

I am asking for donations to cover my life expenses while I am out of work.

I will probably incur some additional medical expenses after health insurance pays for part of the medical care I need (those veterinarians are costly), but I know I will be able to put those medical bills on payment plans. What I really need is help covering the basics, like my rent and groceries, for the month that I will not have income. My good looks only cover some of the bills. Ok, none. So yeah, I need some help. 

The amount I am asking for includes: rent (a room in house I share with four other adults-- not extravagant except for the fact that I still live in Seattle which has become stupid expensive), massage studio rent (even though I won't be working, I still have a lease), utilities, groceries, health insurance, car insurance, and a couple of other bills I am making payments on.

If you know me personally and would prefer to send me a grocery store gift card, or pay my health insurance premium, or something more direct like that, I am very open to all forms of assistance. You can also contact me for an address if you would like to mail a grocery gift card or personal check, or to use Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, or another app to send me funds directly. 

THE DESIRED OUTCOME:

I'm optimistic that once my surgery is complete and I have had a month off to heal, I will be full of the vim & vigor that allows me to work enough hours to really thrive financially, as I was doing before this illness took me down. (And this time, I will prioritize some savings for future emergencies like this... and I will pay it forward to others, too, as I have always done in the past-- I have many times donated to other fundraisers like this, and for a few years I had a sliding scale plan in place at my massage studio.) 

I'm looking forward to feeling good in my body again and feeling freely able to share my own gifts as a healing practitioner again.

Can you please help me get the care I need in order to return my body to health? ANY amount is appreciated.  

Blessings and hugs to you!

Katrina Koleto, LMT

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And now... the list of other fundraiser names my friends and  I came up with (to be added to as our brilliance continues gracing the topic):

CLEAR WINNERS:

"Uterine Liberation Fund" and "Spay My Kat"

VERY HONORABLE MENTION:

"Whose Lining is it Anyway?"

"Krazy Kat's House of Adenomyosis: Everything Must Go!"

RUNNERS UP:

"Take My Uterus, Please" 

"Uterine Eviction Fund"

"I'm Breaking Up with My Uterus"

"Uter-not-in-us"

"Byebye Fibroids and Adios Adenomyosis"

"Leave My Hysteria and Just Take the Uterus"

"Putting the Hysterical Back in Hysterectomy"

"Uterine Weight Loss Program"

"Fundus and From U ter Us Your Money Shall Go, for a Hysterectomy"

"Hysterecto-Me"

"Trap. Neuter. Release."