Americans often postpone or avoid medical care because of the expense. I've done it myself within this calendar year. Those most burdened with medical debt may forgo care entirely. I have in the past, when surprised by medical debts I didn't even know I owed. I am one of many Chicagoans with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), an underdiagnosed "medical zebra" affecting connective tissue, and people with EDS are affectionately nicknamed "zebras". It's normal for medical billing to loom large in zebras' lives, often well before their zebrahood is correctly diagnosed. The Chicago chapter of the Ehlers-Danlos Society normally meets at St James Cathedral, seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, on the first Saturday of each month. In honor of our diocesan hosts, I've named this fundraising team the St James Zebras.COVID-19 threatens to leave many not just sicker, but out of work, both factors worsening the burden of medical debt. Even those who thought themselves financially secure may find themselves rethinking that, wondering how generous they can afford to be at a time of such insecurity. Because RIP Medical Debt can wipe out, on average, $100 of medical debt for each dollar donated, even modest donations to RIP Medical Debt can bring great relief to desperate people. RIP Medical Debt's goal is to forgive $78 million in medical debt in the Chicago area, which it can do for $780,000.RIP Medical Debt sets $10,000 as the minimum team fundraising goal for the Chicago area. Honestly, that's not a goal I expect Team Zebra to meet. Still, that's less than 2% of $780,000, and a symbol of how unwieldy the problem of medical debt is. According to the latest (2014) CFPB report, the average unpaid medical collection is $579, which RIP Medical Debt can forgive for only $5.79. This means every little bit helps, and even those of us struggling to pay our own medical bills still have power to relieve others of their heavy burden during this difficult time, whether we meet a fundraising goal or not.$177 is the sticker price of a mid-level (level III) doctor's office visit in my neighborhood hospital system. For me, that amount symbolizes my own recent frustrations with medical billing, and so is my first donation to this fund.