Welp… Montie and Brandon really nailed the timing this year. Back in July, Brandon broke their scapula and partially tore their rotator cuff — they had surgery on October 22nd and have to stay in a sling for six weeks. Normally that’d be plenty, but less than a month later, Montie’s having top surgery (on November 11). And because Brandon’s hernia keeps getting worse and worse, they don’t want to risk it turning into an emergency — so just two weeks later, on November 25, Brandon’s going in for hernia surgery 🥳. Montie will be taking three weeks off work for top surgery, unpaid (the joy of being self-employed), and after rotator cuff surgery, Brandon will be on medical leave for six or seven weeks at around ninety percent pay. Between the unexpected expenses from Brandon’s injury, the time they’ve already taken off, the time they’ll still need to take for recovery, and the time Montie has taken (and will take) to care for Brandon, the small cushion they’d built for Montie’s top surgery is now completely flat. They won’t be destitute, but they could use a little help — mostly for groceries, food delivery, Lyfts to/from appointments, and copays.