Donation protected
Jared Schmeiser was born on October 3, 2001 in Yuma, Arizona to Matthew and Vanessa Schmeiser. From day one, Jared found something to laugh about or ways to make others laugh and smile. In 2011, Jared and his family moved to Ridgecrest, California after his father finished his 13th year of Marine Corps service. Jared attended Ridgecrest Charter School for a few years and is now enrolled in Murray Middle School. Over the last four years Jared has found a love for science and history.
On the week of September 7th -11th 2015, Jared began feeling sick and lathargic, but the family assumed it was the same illness that all of the other family members had been experiencing. On September 14th Jared attended school as normal only to call his parents and inform them that he was unable to finish the school day due to abdominal pain. A trip to the local doctor revealed abnormal liver function and jaundiced skin, but for reasons unknown.
That evening Jared was admitted to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital where a team of experienced doctors and residents went to task figuring out if Jared’s abnormal liver function was the cause of viral or bacterial infection. Everyday Jared’s liver enzymes and bilirubin continued to increase and his liver function continued to decrease. On the case was one of California’s premier liver specialists but he too was concerned with the lack of indicators and negative test results that pointed to a specific diagnosis. Continued testing throughout the week yielded negative results. After hospitalization for a little more than five days the doctors decided to conduct a liver biopsy since his liver numbers still continued to increase and his health continued to decline. Jared underwent platelet and plasma transfusions to help maintain positive blood chemistry and the liver biopsy was performed flawlessly; however, three hours after the biopsy Jared began complaining of left shoulder and arm pain. His pain continued throughout the evening and eventual spread to his abdominal region causing alarm for both the Loma Linda doctors and Jared’s parent’s. As the evening progressed his pain worsened and his abdomen began distending. An emergency Pediatric Intensive Care Unit team was called in and agreed that a CT scan was necessary since his oxygen levels were decreasing and Jared was slipping into delirium. While in the CT scan Jared stopped breathing as he suffered a pulmonary event and he was rushed to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Blood transfusions continued and it was determined that Jared was suffering from massive internal bleeding and emergency surgery was required. The surgeon’s departing words to his parent’s were: “I’ll do what I can.”
After an hour and fifteen minutes two surgeons emerged from the operating room to say, “He’s alive but critical. If it wasn’t for the trauma surgeon,” then standing in front of Jared’s parents, “we’d be having a different conversation.” Jared’s spleen had swelled so much over the course of the previous week that all the blood vessels and veins had torn away from the spleen causing the massive internal bleeding. The Loma Linda surgeons had saved Jared’s life but it left him in an uncertain, critical state without a definite diagnosis and prognosis.
After surgery Jared was moved back to the to the intensive care unit again where around-the-clock care was given and he continued to receive multiple transfusions. Fearing the need for a liver transplant Jared was flown to Children’s Hospital of Los Angles (CHLA) in preparation for more specialized care and possible liver transplant.
After arriving at CHLA, a team of more than 40 doctors and nurses began continuous care and assessment. As Jared’s condition continued to stabilize the CHLA team worked to confirm their suspicions based of the previous week’s evidence and the preliminary test results from the liver biopsy. Final blood and bone marrow results confirmed the existence of Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Pre-B ALL). As Jared continues to stabilize and improve at CHLA, he will begin his intensive, three-year treatment for Pre-B ALL.
All donations will be directly applied to Jared’s remaining medical expenses throughout the course of his treatment regimen.
On the week of September 7th -11th 2015, Jared began feeling sick and lathargic, but the family assumed it was the same illness that all of the other family members had been experiencing. On September 14th Jared attended school as normal only to call his parents and inform them that he was unable to finish the school day due to abdominal pain. A trip to the local doctor revealed abnormal liver function and jaundiced skin, but for reasons unknown.
That evening Jared was admitted to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital where a team of experienced doctors and residents went to task figuring out if Jared’s abnormal liver function was the cause of viral or bacterial infection. Everyday Jared’s liver enzymes and bilirubin continued to increase and his liver function continued to decrease. On the case was one of California’s premier liver specialists but he too was concerned with the lack of indicators and negative test results that pointed to a specific diagnosis. Continued testing throughout the week yielded negative results. After hospitalization for a little more than five days the doctors decided to conduct a liver biopsy since his liver numbers still continued to increase and his health continued to decline. Jared underwent platelet and plasma transfusions to help maintain positive blood chemistry and the liver biopsy was performed flawlessly; however, three hours after the biopsy Jared began complaining of left shoulder and arm pain. His pain continued throughout the evening and eventual spread to his abdominal region causing alarm for both the Loma Linda doctors and Jared’s parent’s. As the evening progressed his pain worsened and his abdomen began distending. An emergency Pediatric Intensive Care Unit team was called in and agreed that a CT scan was necessary since his oxygen levels were decreasing and Jared was slipping into delirium. While in the CT scan Jared stopped breathing as he suffered a pulmonary event and he was rushed to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Blood transfusions continued and it was determined that Jared was suffering from massive internal bleeding and emergency surgery was required. The surgeon’s departing words to his parent’s were: “I’ll do what I can.”
After an hour and fifteen minutes two surgeons emerged from the operating room to say, “He’s alive but critical. If it wasn’t for the trauma surgeon,” then standing in front of Jared’s parents, “we’d be having a different conversation.” Jared’s spleen had swelled so much over the course of the previous week that all the blood vessels and veins had torn away from the spleen causing the massive internal bleeding. The Loma Linda surgeons had saved Jared’s life but it left him in an uncertain, critical state without a definite diagnosis and prognosis.
After surgery Jared was moved back to the to the intensive care unit again where around-the-clock care was given and he continued to receive multiple transfusions. Fearing the need for a liver transplant Jared was flown to Children’s Hospital of Los Angles (CHLA) in preparation for more specialized care and possible liver transplant.
After arriving at CHLA, a team of more than 40 doctors and nurses began continuous care and assessment. As Jared’s condition continued to stabilize the CHLA team worked to confirm their suspicions based of the previous week’s evidence and the preliminary test results from the liver biopsy. Final blood and bone marrow results confirmed the existence of Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Pre-B ALL). As Jared continues to stabilize and improve at CHLA, he will begin his intensive, three-year treatment for Pre-B ALL.
All donations will be directly applied to Jared’s remaining medical expenses throughout the course of his treatment regimen.
Organizer
Jared Schmeiser
Organizer
Ridgecrest, CA