Working in this industry, I have been blessed to meet so many amazing people. People who have taught, inspired, encouraged and empowered me. One of these people is Dana, from The Broke Ass Bride. I had followed her blog for a while, but as I got to know Dana she was even more awesome than I expected. Her down to earth demeanor makes her so easy to talk to, and hear from. Dana recently called on the wedding community to help her out and hopefully her story will inspire you to help out. Ummm, food and a good cause – I’m in.
Dana’s Story…
♥ When she was 19 she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Uveitis. Her immune system attacks her eyes causing inflammation, visual disturbances and blurriness. It is incurable and will cause blindness if left untreated.
♥ She also has a very rare deep-tissue form of a disease called Granuloma Annulare, causing a different type of inflammation in her foot, for which she had surgery last year. It is so rare, she is unable to find a doctor who knows how to treat it moving forward.
♥ I’ve had 11 surgeries (8 of them in just the past 5 years), to control her diseases and their side effects. Last month her left eye came out of remission and she needs a 12th surgery.
♥ These surgeries and ongoing care (even with health insurance) have left piles of bills in their wake, and she has come to a point where, without help, she cannot pay for medical care.
Dana’s Solution…
♥ We’re compiling beloved comfort food recipes and the stories behind them from the most bad-ass bloggers and beyond… available in varying forms, in exchange for donations to her medical care.
♥ There are incentives for varying levels of donation, which you can learn about here.
♥ The recipes, photos and stories will be teased here on the Dishing for Dana blog, and once a donation is processed, a password to access the full recipes will be released to each donor.
Dana’s Goal…
♥ $13,000 to cover current medical bills
♥ $6,032 to cover our health insurance premiums for the remainder of 2011
♥ $2,000 to donate to the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association toward helping others with autoimmune disease
…for a total minimum of $22,000.
Note that this does not include the costs that will be related to her upcoming surger(ies) and ongoing care, nor for prescriptions or post-surgical supplies such as gauze and tape for her eye patch, or prescribed drugs to aid the healing process and protect from further inflammation and prevent infection, etc.
The Details
♥ You can donate any amount you choose, no minimum, no rules. Because every quarter is a quarter more than we had yesterday. It all adds up.
♥ We will donate 10% of all proceeds up to our goal, to the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association, so every dollar contributed not only goes toward her medical care, but also toward researching a cure to benefit everyone with autoimmune disease.
♥ Anything raised in excess of the goal will be split 50/50 with the AARDA – Dana’s portion of which will be saved in a dedicated, interest-bearing account toward any future surgeries and ongoing medical care.
