I got off the phone with my doctor on a cold December morning in 2021, and, still trying to hold back tears, called my friend Karen. Once she answered, the tears came spilling out of me as I asked her for a ride to my next appointment. I called Karen, not because she was the only person available. Because I trusted she would meet me where I was — no questions I didn’t have the energy to answer, no strings, no version of help that came with conditions attached. I knew that bec