Electric Phase

This Thursday six local bands will gather at Tacoma’s Hell’s Kitchen for the “Bring the Pain” benefit, featuring a little metal and lot of cause.
Beginning at 7 p.m., No Living Witness, Deathbed Confessions, Bloodhunger, In the Mouth of Hell, Devils of Loudun and Martyr Machine will perform a 21-over show to assist Burning Angel model Jaclynn Redmon pay for medical expenses in her battle against endometriosis. The show is free with a suggested $10 donation with all proceeds going to Redmon.
Redmon – who models for Burning Angel as Maven Mayhem – is currently uninsured and facing massive medical bills as she faces a hysterectomy to curb the symptoms of her condition.
Redmon said before her diagnosis with stage IV endometriosis last year had no idea what the condition even was. All she knew was she was in pain. A lot of pain.
Endometriosis affects the female reproductive organs, with a tissue similar to that of the uterus lining growing outside the uterus. The lesions, which can grow into cysts, often turn up in the ovaries and fallopian tubes, but occasionally infest other organs as well.
The main symptom of endometriosis – which can ultimately lead to infertility – is pelvic pain, often so severe that it can debilitate those with the condition.
That’s how it was for Redmon.
“I was officially diagnosed last year but I’ve been dealing with the pain now for four years,” she said. “They just kept telling me it was something else and giving me antibiotics and I just started noticing it was getting really bad. During that time it was excruciating, can’t-even-stand-up pain. It was mainly these random really sharp pains digging into my stomach and I knew something wasn’t right. It got really bad, especially at work. I almost lost my job because I would just randomly fall to the ground in pain sometimes.”
At the time Redmon, who is originally from Fort Collins, Colo., was living in Federal Way and working at Bigfoot Java in Auburn. Unable to continue her job as a barista, Redmon moved back to Fort Collins to be near friends and family.
She said it wasn’t until she moved back to Colorado and received an ultrasound that she found she had a cyst on her right ovary.
“When they went in they found the endometriosis,” she said. “I guess it doesn’t show up on any tests, they have to actually go in and find it. So they finally figured out what it was.”
Although thankful that she now knew the cause of her pain, Redmon said the shock of having to fight the condition without medical insurance was a “slap in the face.”
“I’ve been repeatedly denied for health the last couple of years, it’s been really difficult,” Redmon said. “Once they find out you have a recurring medical history they don’t want to help you out. But also because I don’t have a child, I’m not pregnant and I’m not married. It’s really hard to get health if you are single and don’t have a kid. You’re not really a priority to them I guess.”
She added that even getting financial help from hospitals has been difficult.
“It sucks, it makes me bitter,” she said. “There is people that need serious medical help and they can’t get it just because they’re not rich or have insurance through their jobs. The way our medical system works is messed up.”
Now Redmon, who recently underwent a colonoscopy to determine the extent of the damage is trying to raise the several thousand dollars needed to get a hysterectomy.
“I had to have a colonoscopy because it’s totally annihilated my intestines and my colon and they’re really concerned,” she said. “That let me know how bad the damage has gotten over the last year. That way, when they go in for the hysterectomy, they’ll know what they’re dealing with. That alone was $700 up front.”
Redmon said the damage wasn’t as bad as feared, but she still will require surgery to remove her uterus and halt the spread of the condition.
Normally self sufficient, Redmon said it’s been hard to ask for help.
“I really had to swallow my pride, big time. I’ve never relied on anyone and I’ve always been taught to fend for yourself, so asking for help isn’t something that comes naturally for me,” she said. “But a Burning Angel member, Tristan, was a tremendous help to me, talked me into it. Basically I didn’t have an option.”
Also instrumental was her friendship with Auburn’s Chris Johnson, resident piercer at Action Tattoo and Piercing.
While Redmon lived in Washington, the pair bonded over tattoo’s, piercing and music.
“I used to hang out at the store a lot and talk with Chris,” Redmon said.
Johnson, who is a staple in the local metal and hardcore music scene’s said he decided to pull together his connections and try and help.
“She’s a close friend she needed some help and I had the musical connections to help her out,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to do something good for friend. When you get a friend in need you do what you can to help them out.”
Hence the idea for the “Bring the Pain” show was born.
For Redmon – who won’t be able to attend the show because of her financial situation – just the idea that people cared enough to organize and help her deal with her expenses helps her get through the day.
“Honestly, I haven’t had a very fortunate, good luck life,” Redmon said. “I’ve had worse things than this happen to me, so I just look back and know I can make it through this too. It’s the only thing that’s really kept me going, that and the few close friends that have helped.”
To make a donation to help Jaclynn Redmon go here.
Or if you’re 21-and-older, pony up some cash and come out to Hell’s Kitchen at to bang your head for a cause at 7 p.m. Thursday. The club is located at 928 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma.

More information is available at www.hellskitchenonline.com.
For information on the band’s playing visit the following sites:
No Living Witness
Deathbed Confessions
Bloodhunger
Devils of Loudon
Martyr Machine