Donation protected
Hello everyone, for those of you that don't know me, my name is Jessica. Sadly, along with the pandemic my family has fallen on some hard times as my brother has become very sick. If you know Jake you know he is full of life and is willing to help anyone in need. He may seem kind of shy when you first meet him but once you start talking to him there is no doubt you quickly become a good friend. His love is so selfless, a great example is while I was deployed, he took all his money that he had been saving up for new games and created a care pack for me and some of the guy's downrange. Also, his love for animals is unreal. I sometimes wonder if he is "Dr. Dolittle" as he has never met an animal that has not loved him. At just 17 years old Jake has already entered the delayed entry program with the Marines as he wants to do law enforcement.
Sadly, on Tuesday the 15th of December my younger brother Jake was rushed to the ER. He suddenly started to feel Ill. My parents said he started to complain of a headache, being dizzy, nauseous, tired, weak, and unable to keep anything down. He went to lay down and that's when my parents knew something was very wrong. Our dad Mark described him being as “white as a sheet of paper”, losing all the color in his body. He was severely unsteady and weak so our mom Tina had to pick him up and bring him downstairs and to the truck.
Once they arrived at the hospital dad stated the nurses at the front desk rushed him back right away as his lips were turning blue. The ER ran many tests to include Strep, mono, flu, COVID-19, and plenty of blood work. While they waited for results the nurses gave Jake medicine to help with the nausea along with two bags of fluid. Thankfully at the time, everything came back negative. With all his labs coming back normal the nurses said it was okay for him to go home as he was feeling a little better.
A few days earlier on the 11th of December, Jake was playing football with some of the Marines. He said he got hit hard so we thought maybe he got a bad concussion that had been delayed. Mom then called our family doctor to see what the plan of action would be. The doctor stated it could be a concussion. However, after a video call with the doctor, she said they should take Jake back in for a CT scan if he did not improve. Jake was not improving at all and had stronger headaches in waves and started to have double vision, so he was brought back to the same ER and that is where they did a CT scan and found he had a brain bleed.
The hospital then transferred my 17-year-old brother to Brenner's Children's Hospital in Winston Salem, NC. After two CT scans and an MRI, the doctors said the bleeding had stopped and the diameter of the blood pool had no change in size. He is now just dealing with the blood on his brain and the swelling around it. After further investigation, the doctor said the location of the bleed was highly unlikely from a concussion. After looking at all the scans the doctor said his bleeding was due to a condition called Brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation). This is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. AVMs are rare and affect less than 1% of the population. With this condition being so rare they are still unsure of what causes this.
Jake is stable, and still being monitored to this day at the hospital. He is finally able to keep some food down but the doctors have stated he has a road ahead of him. Since the bleeding has stopped, they are just going to let the blood dissipate before doing surgery. The blood is currently blocking their view to safely perform the surgery. The surgery will correct this condition from hopefully ever happening again. It will also further prevent him from having any possible complications such as brain damage, seizures, or even a stroke. Another MRI will be taken after the new year to make sure everything is going as planned.
What does this mean for Jake in these next coming months before surgery? Unfortunately, we are not sure because only time will tell. He is in his senior of high school with only a couple of classes left. However, he is not allowed to look at a screen for more than a few minutes. So far, the school has been working with my parents trying to come up with a plan. We are praying for a speedy recovery so he can chase his dreams.
I am creating a GoFundMe to help my parents pay for these unexpected medical bills. If the global pandemic was not enough, everyone knows money is tight and times are tough. I am currently stationed overseas and wish more than anything I could be there to help. So far, the only thing I could think of is to try and help with the medical bills, surgery, and any other special needs that come along the way. My goal right now is set at $20,000 because after talking with our Mom she told me that they will have to pay the first $5,000 and then pay 30% of the bill after that. Once the new year starts their yearly deductible will then reset so they will have to pay another $5,000 and again 30% of the bill for the surgery and all his checkups. We completely understand that this has been a hard year for all and will be forever grateful for anything and everything. We are completely understanding if you cannot donate, we just ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and if you could share this GoFundMe page.
We will keep everyone up to date on his progress on here. Thank you and God bless.
Sadly, on Tuesday the 15th of December my younger brother Jake was rushed to the ER. He suddenly started to feel Ill. My parents said he started to complain of a headache, being dizzy, nauseous, tired, weak, and unable to keep anything down. He went to lay down and that's when my parents knew something was very wrong. Our dad Mark described him being as “white as a sheet of paper”, losing all the color in his body. He was severely unsteady and weak so our mom Tina had to pick him up and bring him downstairs and to the truck.
Once they arrived at the hospital dad stated the nurses at the front desk rushed him back right away as his lips were turning blue. The ER ran many tests to include Strep, mono, flu, COVID-19, and plenty of blood work. While they waited for results the nurses gave Jake medicine to help with the nausea along with two bags of fluid. Thankfully at the time, everything came back negative. With all his labs coming back normal the nurses said it was okay for him to go home as he was feeling a little better.
A few days earlier on the 11th of December, Jake was playing football with some of the Marines. He said he got hit hard so we thought maybe he got a bad concussion that had been delayed. Mom then called our family doctor to see what the plan of action would be. The doctor stated it could be a concussion. However, after a video call with the doctor, she said they should take Jake back in for a CT scan if he did not improve. Jake was not improving at all and had stronger headaches in waves and started to have double vision, so he was brought back to the same ER and that is where they did a CT scan and found he had a brain bleed.
The hospital then transferred my 17-year-old brother to Brenner's Children's Hospital in Winston Salem, NC. After two CT scans and an MRI, the doctors said the bleeding had stopped and the diameter of the blood pool had no change in size. He is now just dealing with the blood on his brain and the swelling around it. After further investigation, the doctor said the location of the bleed was highly unlikely from a concussion. After looking at all the scans the doctor said his bleeding was due to a condition called Brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation). This is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. AVMs are rare and affect less than 1% of the population. With this condition being so rare they are still unsure of what causes this.
Jake is stable, and still being monitored to this day at the hospital. He is finally able to keep some food down but the doctors have stated he has a road ahead of him. Since the bleeding has stopped, they are just going to let the blood dissipate before doing surgery. The blood is currently blocking their view to safely perform the surgery. The surgery will correct this condition from hopefully ever happening again. It will also further prevent him from having any possible complications such as brain damage, seizures, or even a stroke. Another MRI will be taken after the new year to make sure everything is going as planned.
What does this mean for Jake in these next coming months before surgery? Unfortunately, we are not sure because only time will tell. He is in his senior of high school with only a couple of classes left. However, he is not allowed to look at a screen for more than a few minutes. So far, the school has been working with my parents trying to come up with a plan. We are praying for a speedy recovery so he can chase his dreams.
I am creating a GoFundMe to help my parents pay for these unexpected medical bills. If the global pandemic was not enough, everyone knows money is tight and times are tough. I am currently stationed overseas and wish more than anything I could be there to help. So far, the only thing I could think of is to try and help with the medical bills, surgery, and any other special needs that come along the way. My goal right now is set at $20,000 because after talking with our Mom she told me that they will have to pay the first $5,000 and then pay 30% of the bill after that. Once the new year starts their yearly deductible will then reset so they will have to pay another $5,000 and again 30% of the bill for the surgery and all his checkups. We completely understand that this has been a hard year for all and will be forever grateful for anything and everything. We are completely understanding if you cannot donate, we just ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and if you could share this GoFundMe page.
We will keep everyone up to date on his progress on here. Thank you and God bless.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jessica Hoover
Organizer
Jamestown, NC
Tina Braisted
Beneficiary