Help A Struggling English Teacher in Japan Have Myoma/Fibroids Surgery

Hello, I’m Kathryn Sayuri. I’m going tell you about my best friend of 1 years, Vanessa. Vanessa came to Japan in 2012 to fulfill her dream of teaching English in Japan. After studying Japanese and English Literature at University, Vanessa dreamed of teaching Japan and being a writer on the side.

Now 10 years later She taught kindergarten, elementary school, Junior High School and Adult conversation and still loves her job. Vanessa was very active and really enjoyed after school activities with her students. She even sprained her ankle playing jump rope but didn’t let it stop her from doing sports.
She played tennis and did cheerleading with her students but about around two years ago, she noticed her energy levels were depleting at a much faster rate than usual. She eventually had to stop joining her students which hurt her very much. She didn’t know she very sick until the summer of 2020 when she passed out walking upstairs.

Everything changed after that. Her energy started to deplete more and more as the months went by. Until she could ignore it no longer. She was admitted to hospital in July of 2021. After numerous tests, she was diagnosed with Uterine Fibroids.

(Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus). The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size. They're sometimes known as uterine myomas or leiomyomas.) Credit Google

While many women don’t experience symptoms, Vanessa was the opposite. Because her fibroids were large and in the dozens, she experienced severe anemia, stomach cramps and exhaustion. Her course of treatment was four bags of blood in the form of a transfusion. But that was only the start. The doctors recommended that the fibroids be removed as soon as possible by surgery. But her anemia makes that impossible. So was prescribed iron supplements and birth control pills to stop her losing so much blood on a monthly basis. Once her iron levels are strong, (the doctor believes it will take 3 to 4 months) he will perform the surgery known as a Myomectomy. It’s an expensive surgery that will require Vanessa to take up to 6 weeks off of work to recover from. She lives in a small loft where she has to walk up three flights of stairs. To make matters worse, she has no family in Japan to take of her and she unmarried.

A humble self published author and English teacher, she can’t afford the surgery. She can hardly afford the medication which cost 10,000 yen a month. The cost of her blood transfusion, Covid testing and room at the hospital in July came up to 360,000 yen which is more than Vanessa makes in a month. Her surgery will cost double that and Japanese National Health Insurance won’t cover all of it.

As her best friend, I am asking that you help her anyway you can. Her birthday and her surgery will be around the same time but because of Covid Restrictions and financial problems, I nor any of her family will be able to attend the surgery. Any small contribution will help. Everyone who donates will be updated weekly on her progress and recovery after surgery.

I included photos of her life, traveling, going to Disneyland, Universal studios and her small apartment.

If you’re interested in learn About her self published books, she writes under the pseudonym Vivienne Saint Louis.

Thank you so much for your time.


Kathryn S.N.