GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- A group of friends from Northeast Wisconsin has started up a social media campaign in honor of their late friend Kati who died far too soon.
They're hoping to keep her memory alive and spread education and awareness about brain aneurysms.
Kati Lorge was just 28-years-old when she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.
The discovery was made on Monday, August 24th of 2020.
An appointment was made to see the neurologist on Friday, September 10th.
"It was scheduled two weeks out and she was never able to make it to the consult," said Lindsey Schmidt, a co-founder and long-time friend of Kati.
Kati died on September 5th, just five days before her appointment.
"We are still in shock," said Schmidt. "I think it's still something not any of us have really processed. Pure shock is the only way to explain it."
"It just didn't make sense for a 28-year-old healthy woman to have had this happen," said Mel Steffen, a co-founder and long-time friend of Kati. "It just didn't make sense. It still doesn't make sense."
Kati loved to travel. She had traveled all over the world with her life partner, Travis.
Their goal was to travel to all of the national parks together.
"She was very much go with the flow and ready for a good time anytime," said Steffen. "She could make a dull situation into a good time."
"Whenever you were with her, you were having a blast," said Schmidt.
Her love of travel is what inspired this group of friends to create Black Heart Traveler.
The black heart was Kati's signature emoji on social media.
"We wanted to find a unique way to bring her with," said Schmidt.
The social media campaign encourages people to purchase stickers to travel with.
You can take a picture with the sticker somewhere new and post it to social media.
The goal is to see how far across the world they can reach and share Kati's story.
You can find a map on the Instagram and Facebook pages showing all the places her spirit has been.
Money from the stickers goes directly to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.
Kati's friends, and the co-founders of this movement, hope her story urges people to push for next steps.
"The importance of asking questions when you're at your appointment and pushing for more answers," said Steffen. "Push for further details about what's happening."
It's also a way for the friends to grieve and remember Kati.
"Whenever she laughed, it made me instantly laugh," said Schmidt. "She had this funny, loud, awkward laugh. It's something I'll never forget.
The founders of Black Heart Traveler are launching apparel this week. Five dollars from each item purchased will be donated to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in Kati's name.
