Jessica's Tiny House

This is a fundraiser for my friend Jessica and for the horse that saved her.

The Short Story:
Jessica was involved in a car accident in 1991 that left her in a coma for four weeks, and with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) for life. That TBI has left her with never-ending physical and mental health needs; doctor appointments, ER visits, therapy and medication needs as she continues to suffer from pain, seizures and tics. In addition, last year Jessica was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.  Although she battled it and has (so far) beat it, it has increased her medical visits as well as bills.

Jessica's TBI makes it difficult, if not impossible, for her to maintain a consistant income. Most recently, a trust fund that was set up to assist Jessica with her lifetime finances, is unexpectedly no longer available. In additional to the medical needs, Jessica is in risk of losing her housing and her reason for living, her horse.

The need: Jessica is in immediate need of help with all of her expenses; including healthcare expenses, transportation, living expenses, as well as expenses for her dog and horse. Unfortunatley, this now may include moving expenses. Ultimately, her friends are hoping to help her buy a 'tiny' house and a small plot of land where she could be self-sufficient and eventually live off her social security alone. In addition, we would also like to make sure Jessica has the funds to update and maintain her art business and website http://biartinthe21stcentury.tumblr.com/. If you are intersted in commissioning a piece from Jessica, let us know, as sales for her would help too.

We would love to see some big donations, however even a $5 donation would be helpful at this time.

Yes. This fund is also intended to help with expenses in caring for her rescued pitbull and horse. For those that know Jessica they know that they provide her with much needed therapy and companionship in addition to a feeling of self-worth.

You might be asking why Jessica would have a horse when she already has so many financial and emotional challenges in her life? Well, that would require a longer story. If you want to know about Jessica and Corona and how they help each other out, please continue reading.

The Longer Story:
Jessica was in high school, when she was in a car accident. That car accident took the life of a dear friend of hers, left her in a coma for 4 weeks and changed her forever by giving her a lifelong Tramatic Brain Injury.Once she was out of her coma, Jessica had to learn everything over again, even small things we take for granted like walking and eating.She also had to learn who she was again and how to live with her TBI.
And she did. She learned how to live again. She went to Art School and moved to New Mexico. She paints and advocates for animals. I would like to say that she overcame the TBI, but the truth of the matter is that she has to overcome it EVERY day and each day is a different battle. Some days she has to overcome physical pain and seizures. Other days I know she has to deal with memories and the emotions she can't control, but she overcomes every day. She is one of the stongest and smartest women I know. Jessica is also a brash and forgetful lady, who rarely has control of her thoughts and mouth. lol. Most of that is due to her TBI. A lot of people can't get past that last part, but imagine saying everything that comes to YOUR mind without being able to filter it.

I believe there is more that Jessica has a hard time filtering. She is unable to filter out her emotions. Everything that she feels is unaltered, raw emotion. I believe this is why she loves and feels so deeply. That is incredibly rare in this world. She feels everything. I would say that this is what drew her to art. She is also activist for ending of horse slaughter and has a soft spot for Pitbulls. She would drive miles if it meant she could save an animal.
So where does Corona come in?  Well, first take a look at this video. Woody Harrelson lent his voice to it, and Jessica is in it at the 4:50 and the 9:00 minute mark.
If you watched the video, the last words of it were Jessica's. "...you have been where no one else has, and it makes you feel insignificant."

Corona saves Jessica
Corona is a wild horse that was rounded up from her home in the wild. After being removed from her home, she was shipped away and was on her way to slaughter. Jessica couldn't imagine allowing any harm coming to this beauty and so she adopted her.
In living with a TBI, Jessica has had to live with swells of emotions and yet often has felt very helpless in what she could do to make a difference. She doesn't make a lot of money, and her TBI and seizures have limited her contributions in many ways over the years. Then came Corona. Corona became her baby, her daughter, her reason for living...her way of feeling significant. Maybe she can't save the world, but she is the the world for this one little filly and she knows it.
Jessica spent a great deal of time trying to find places that would help train and care for a wild horse. A task, she found wasn't all to easy, but again, she overcame. Jessica has spent hours upon hours with Corona, making sure she gets the care she needs and teaching her to trust in her and the humans that care for her. Corona has given her a feeling of self worth and honestly, I believe a reason to live. 
(Corona is now being housed at Placitas Animal Rescue. A donation there for Corona would help out as well). Corora's monthly feed cost is $200 a month, and Jessica has sacrificed much to make sure her baby is taken care of.
The cost and stress of caring for Corona has not been easy for Jessica but she managed very well for a good while and then trouble hit when she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer last year. Not only was Jessica again financially strained (which she hasn't recovered from) but she was unable to see Corona while she was getting treatment.
Not being able to see Corona was especially difficult for Jessica, as was the added stress of relying on on others to take care of her and Corona while she was ill. But she had Corona as her motivation for beating cancer. Getting better meant she could be with her horse again and again she prevailed.

I don't think you will ever see a photo these two together where, Jessica isn't smiling.
And just as things started to get better, the trust that Jessica had relied on, was unexpectedly no longer available to her. Regardless of the reasons, Jessica needs help. She is at risk of losing her housing, and her horse. Losing Corona would be one of the worst things I could think of that could happen to Jessica. Her spirit would be broken.
Oddly enough, the wild horse Corona and Jessica are a great deal alike. They both have had to deal with being ripped from the life they knew. They have had to learn how to live all over again after tradegy. They are both a little wild and each trying to do the best. They both rely on each other. I am not sure which one is more tame or wild, but I am pretty sure that they will always be better together.