Aid Jessie’s Recovery: Accident & Cancer

My sister and very best friend, Jessie Jenkins, was in a horrible car accident on the evening of January 8th. I woke up on the 9th to see multiple missed calls starting after midnight. As I am looking at the call history and not recognizing the phone number, my phone rings again. I answer it and hear, 'Ms. Rash, I am really sorry to inform you, but your sister...' While it only took seconds for him to finish the statement, I had already filled in the blank with hundreds of different words and none of them were good.

'...was in a car accident last night and she has suffered multiple injuries including a broken femur on the right leg and a broken ankle on the left. She has been intubated. We need to perform an emergency surgery and need your permission to operate.' She's alive??? Yes!

And that was the start of 2025...The injuries: a complicated spiral fracture of the right femur and broken right malleolar bone, a shattered left ankle and broken left tibia, a small ship off the right hip, 6 broken ribs, pleural effusions, and a partially collapsed lung. Following 2 successful ortho surgeries, Jessie spent 22 days in the hospital split between VCU and Johnston Willis inpatient rehab. During this time the doctors were confused by a high white blood cell count that would not come down with antibiotics and was not the result of any infection. They finally ran tests to confirm the inevitable, Jessie also has cancer. The positive here being that if it weren't for the accident, it might have been several years before discovering it.

Jessie will likely be wheelchair bound for another two months. Because her Fan apartment is on the second story, we have moved her into my home with my family. In addition to having easy access to the things she needs, she has my family and pets to help out and offer comfort and company.

How does being wheelchair bound affect the next two plus months for her:

*She is not allowed to return to work until she is out of the wheelchair. Her income is significantly diminished and she is faced with countless medical bills and the purchase of a car when she is out of the wheelchair.

*She has to Uber to doctor's appointments (and there have been and will be many!) at $50-60/ride. IF they decide to give her a ride. She has had a couple of drivers express annoyance at the fact that she is in a wheelchair and even had one driver refuse to give her a ride.

Anyone that knows Jessie knows that she is so kind and giving with her friends, her family, her employees, and patients. She has been known to leave the hospital just to go buy a special drink or snack for a patient if the hospital doesn't have it. She thrives on team building and encouraging others. As an aunt, she has encouraged my kids to give back to the community through lemonade stands, baked good sales, and so much more. When our mom received her cancer diagnosis two years ago, Jessie was there to help her and dad navigate the healthcare system, talk to doctors, and provide company through chemo treatments.

When Jessie isn't doing things for others, she is hiking RVA and the James River Park System, or traveling to National Parks to do more hiking. Running marathons was her thing for the longest time. She hopes to return to doing all the things she loves and is so grateful for the love, prayers, texts, calls, flowers, and support that everyone has offered up to her.