A new life after a long, long wait.

A grant from the JWF Musician Health & Services Program helped Kyleen King become pain free for the first time in more than 20 years – in time for her summer tour with Brandi Carlile.

A new life after a long, long wait
by Claire Levine

Just because someone tours with one of the most popular Americana/Country musicians in the U.S. doesn’t mean she’s making tons of money. Kyleen King, who plays viola and sings backup with Brandi Carlile and performs with many of Portland’s best-known musicians, lives the way many independent musicians do.

She loves what she does, but financially, she just gets by.

So, she was afraid she would never be able to have a life-changing surgery that many in the medical community still consider elective. The JWF Musician Health & Services Program stepped in to help Kyleen have breast reduction surgery – a procedure that would heal both the physical and emotional pain that had troubled her for years.

When she was 21, a chronic hip problem had progressed to the point where she could barely walk. She was told that breast reduction surgery could permanently improve the situation by relieving pressure on her hips. The cost was one of several factors that prevented her from having the procedure.

Twenty years later, another physician treating her for back and neck pain referred Kyleen for surgery. Her insurance company refused to cover it, and she was turned down for a loan to cover the costs.

By this time, Kyleen – a thin woman with a small frame – was feeling despair over the many problems associated with breasts that didn’t fit her body. She was always in pain, making everything from touring to simply living life difficult. At best she was self-conscious about her appearance. At worst she was humiliated and unhappy – not uncommon feelings for women struggling with body image.

Despite having participated in several JWF benefit shows, it wasn’t until a friend mentioned the Musician Health & Services Program that she thought of asking for help. She contacted the JWF, and about the same time applied to two other organizations that help professional musicians. All three responded, and over a number of months she was able to raise more than $9000 to cover her surgical costs.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen,” she said. “It’s not cancer. It’s not life-threatening. So much of what I needed this for was for my mental health, as well as my physical well-being. So, my asking for help was a shot in the dark,” she said.

“The fact that I was received so easily by the JWF just blew me away. They said, ‘Yes, let’s help you.’ 

“It was an absolutely life-changing moment for me when I found out the cost would be covered, and even the people in the surgeon’s office were cheering for me. It felt like everybody was on my side for once.”

Along with a cash grant, the JWF staff offered advice to help Kyleen get through the recovery period. Melanie Bobbett, a navigator with the JWF, sent her suggestions for many resources in the event she needed help with rent, utilities and even food. 

“It was awesome to have her help that way,” Kyleen said, “and for anybody else going through something like this, it’s awesome to know that help is out there.”

The surgery changed many aspects of Kyleen’s life.  “I can hold myself more easily. I’m putting less pressure on all my nerves and my joints. Travel is easier. Playing is easier.”  

She is grateful that the surgery and her recovery period were  complete before she began an intense tour promoting Carlile’s newest recording.

Now she is in the process of reframing a lifetime of negative messages about herself. “Body image and the damage it does to women and their mental health is so under-represented in medical care,” she said. “So, between the mental and physical aspects of this, I feel so much better, so better set up to do my job than I ever have.”

“I can’t tell you  how grateful I am,” she said. “I cried when I found out the surgery would be paid for. I just sobbed.”