Mount Eerie and the Microphones songsmith Phil Elverum is no stranger to using the Internet in innovative ways, entertaining the masses with his Twitter haikus and recently launching (and soon after selling) a band-naming service. Unfortunately, his latest online endeavour is of a much more sombre nature.
Elverum has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help his wife cover the costs of cancer treatment. Four months after giving birth to their daughter, Canadian-born Geneviève Elverum was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last spring.
Despite the help of friends, family, community and the health care system, Phil Elverum explains, "the many peripheral costs that aren't covered by insurance have totally depleted our savings, money we had slowly accumulated from so many years of grinding it out as self-employed artist/musicians, now with a baby."
The 34-year-old Genviève has worked as a cartoonist since she was a teenager, as well as making music with projects like Woelv and Ô Paon. As a couple, the Elverums have helped organize events like What the Heck Fest and the Anacortes Unknown Music Series in Phil's hometown of Anacortes, WA.
A statement from the crowdfunding page further explains:
We have never been super public about our couple-hood and have always drawn the focus instead to the projects at hand, and through all the touring and festivals and public-ness we have maintained a very precious private bubble at home. The difficult times we find ourselves in challenge that bubble.
Until now, for Geneviève, the mental peace of not having everyone know she was sick, and the psychic vibes that come with that, have prevented us from making any kind of announcement or request for help, but at this point our financial worry is tipping the scales.
We are asking the world to please donate money to us. Treatment is ongoing. Nobody in our household has been able to work for over a year. Geneviève has not made any new work. Phil has not made any music or been able to perform or do anything. Life is 100% occupied by this humongous medical battle (plus the already overwhelming reality of raising a baby with less than 2 fully available parents). We don't know what the future holds and how long this uncertainty will last. In any case, the amount we've spent over the last year alone has left us in a precarious financial position as a family.
The goal is currently set at $100,000. Full information about the campaign and how to donate can be found here.
Elverum has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help his wife cover the costs of cancer treatment. Four months after giving birth to their daughter, Canadian-born Geneviève Elverum was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last spring.
Despite the help of friends, family, community and the health care system, Phil Elverum explains, "the many peripheral costs that aren't covered by insurance have totally depleted our savings, money we had slowly accumulated from so many years of grinding it out as self-employed artist/musicians, now with a baby."
The 34-year-old Genviève has worked as a cartoonist since she was a teenager, as well as making music with projects like Woelv and Ô Paon. As a couple, the Elverums have helped organize events like What the Heck Fest and the Anacortes Unknown Music Series in Phil's hometown of Anacortes, WA.
A statement from the crowdfunding page further explains:
We have never been super public about our couple-hood and have always drawn the focus instead to the projects at hand, and through all the touring and festivals and public-ness we have maintained a very precious private bubble at home. The difficult times we find ourselves in challenge that bubble.
Until now, for Geneviève, the mental peace of not having everyone know she was sick, and the psychic vibes that come with that, have prevented us from making any kind of announcement or request for help, but at this point our financial worry is tipping the scales.
We are asking the world to please donate money to us. Treatment is ongoing. Nobody in our household has been able to work for over a year. Geneviève has not made any new work. Phil has not made any music or been able to perform or do anything. Life is 100% occupied by this humongous medical battle (plus the already overwhelming reality of raising a baby with less than 2 fully available parents). We don't know what the future holds and how long this uncertainty will last. In any case, the amount we've spent over the last year alone has left us in a precarious financial position as a family.
The goal is currently set at $100,000. Full information about the campaign and how to donate can be found here.