Kathleen Jimenez, RN & Her Kids

Emergency & Time of the Essence.  FIRE & FLOODING DESTROYED THE JIMENEZ HOME
A fire from an adjacent apartment destroyed their home in Woodbridge, Virginia on Monday, 09/04/17. Kathleen (Kathy Fleck Wippich) Jimenez and her family are safe, as are the 2 other displaced families, thanks to the rapid response of the PWC Fire Department and the American Red Cross. However, Kathy and her boys need assistance and help in restoring the family back into a permanent living situation. As some of you may know already, the devastation one feels with the loss of a home is more than the loss of things, it's the loss of everything familiar and safe.

Kathy is a single mom, and a grandmother.  She has been by necessity both mother and father to four children, two of whom she brought from the Dominican Republic when they were just 4 years old. Both are 28 now, and proudly serving their adopted country in the US Navy (Katie) and Army National Guard (Freddy).  Kathy is also Grammy to Katie's 3-year-old son, Dominic. Both kids recently returned from their first overseas deployments. Oscar just graduated from Potomac Senior High School, and is looking at a career in the US Marine Corps. Cesar just started 9th Grade.

Many of you know Kathy, and may even have been cared for by her. I have known her and been her best friend since she was a young nurse in 1985 while working in ICU 4 at INOVA Fairfax Hospital. She has been like a sister to me and a member of my own family. Kathy is a seasoned RN of 35+ years who has worked at Inova Fairfax T7W, ICU, IMC, and PACU, as well as Mary Washington Hospital, standing up their Emergency Department at Lee's Hill in 2009. She has also worked at UVA, VHC, and others. She is currently a Clinical Supervisor/Certified Hospice & Palliative Nurse for one of the largest hospices in the country. YOU want Kathy as your nurse. I did and she was there for me.  

Kathy cares. She has eased the pain and suffering of her patients, helped them find the courage to let go. Kathy has been at her patients' bedsides, many a day and into the night holding their hand, listening to their stories, and supporting their families through their loss.  She laughs with them, cries with them, dreams of them, and maintains communications with many of those left behind.  Kathy has spent her entire adult life caring for and ministering to thousands of patients while battling her own health challenges with a tedious blood disorder. She wouldn't ask for help for herself. She only knows to give.  

She dedicated her life to her family and to helping others.  Kathy wanted very much to be a mother, and took on her 2 older adoptive children in 1994, and after several years finally brought Oscar and Cesar into the world. In 2002, Kathy found herself a single parent, without support, holding herself and the children together.  She worked full-time and part-time RN positions, picked up extra shifts, doing whatever necessary to survive. For many years, Kathy worked 7 days a week, driving as much as 150 miles per day among her various jobs. She home schooled her children and with the help of the older two, she did it. 
Kathy raised her family with love, sometimes tough love, and passed on to them an incredible sense of service to and compassion for those in need. She kept her family together despite overwhelming odds. Kathy herself has been a patient many times over the last 7 years, and despite her own medical challenges pushed through. Kathy has absolutely made a difference in the lives of each and every patient for whom she has ever cared. I have known her throughout all of this. Though she had every reason to falter or lose hope, she always believed there were greater reasons not to give up, i.e. her kids and patients.

Kathy needs your help now. PLEASE. Consider DONATING to help Kathy yet again restore her family during this difficult and emotional time of adjustment and relocation. It will be a long haul putting their life and home back together and regaining the safety and peace of mind we all strive for in our daily lives. Kathy is NURSE TOUGH! Kathy is MOM TOUGH. She'll do it with YOUR help. I am proud to call her my best friend. Thank you, in advance for your donation and compassion.