Sleater-Kinney at Riot Fest Chicago 2016 - Sunday
photo by James Richards IV

Janet Weiss GoFundMe launched by her sister to help cover medical bills

Sleater-Kinney at Riot Fest Chicago 2016 - Sunday
Janet w/ Sleater-Kinney at Riot Fest 2016 (more by James Richards IV)

Former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss broke her right leg and left collarbone and in a car accident a few weeks back which forced her bands Quasi and Slang to cancel their upcoming tour. She’s on the mend, and in an Instagram update this week she wrote, “I did catch a chest cold but on the bright side I have been crushing my PT and my right leg has a lot more strength and flexibility than it did a week ago.” You can read her whole update below.

Fans have been asking how they can help and now Janet’s sister, Julie, has launched a GoFundMe to help cover costs while she heals:

Her biggest concern now is that to fully heal, she needs to have the highest quality and most intense physical therapy possible to get her back into drumming shape. That is the ultimate goal no matter how long it takes. We also need to be certain she has the care she needs so that she doesn’t fall and re-injure the broken bones. Her friends have already gone above and beyond in offering their time and care and Janet and Drew are blown away by that. But bracing for the three months of recovery ahead, we know there will be times when Drew has to be at work and Janet will need to schedule outside help. Because she will be in a wheelchair and out of work for at least 3 months, she will need help with the costs insurance doesn’t cover, like: out-of-pocket medical bills, nursing care, physical therapy, the wheelchair ramp that was installed at her house, and paying for her monthly expenses while she can’t work…

…She has said many times since the accident that she is so lucky to be alive and that she dreams of playing the drums again. Her attitude is strong, she will work as hard as she can to make this happen. Let’s face it, IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. But none of this is possible without some unavoidable costs and she could really use support from her community as she regains the strength to play the drums with the power and beauty we’ve all been so fortunate to hear over the years.

We appreciate any size donation you can spare to help Janet through this. She has been so energized and touched already by the love and support of her friends and fans since the accident. She has been keeping everyone posted on her recovery on Instagram (@theejazzzhand).

Thanks so much for coming together to help get Janet back on her feet and back behind her drum kit!

The GoFundMe is already, as of this posting, at $15k of its $25k goal (it only just launched).

Sleater-Kinney shared a link to it on twitter too:
https://twitter.com/Sleater_Kinney/status/1166441028426928128?s=20

Get well soon, Janet.