I’ll be honest, I’m not even sure where to start. I guess the easiest place to start is with introductions. Hi, my name is Brigette, and Jaxy is my younger sister and best friend. I want to get her home, scratch that… I need to get her home. Where is home, you might ask? Well, home is in Reno, NV, and she currently lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her wonderful boyfriend, Matt. And why do I need to get her home? I suppose that’s why I am here, asking strangers on the internet to help me help my sister and move 9 years of her life back home.

I’ll start by saying my sister has struggled with her health since she was about 11 years old and has only continued to worsen over the years. Jaxy moved to Eugene, OR, after she graduated high school to attend college but had to stop 2 years into her education due to worsening symptoms. Thus began years of multiple doctor visits, long waitlists to see specialists, being told she’s “too young to be having this many problems,” gaslighting and minimization of her symptoms, and coming out the other side still with so many unknowns. Jaxy was and still is, at the mercy of navigating the medical system on her own with little to no advocacy, apart from when her boyfriend is able to go with her to appointments on his days off. Our mom and I have attempted to advocate to the best of our ability while on speaker during hospital visits, and I have flown up there when I could so she didn’t have to be alone. Jaxy has had numerous ER visits and hospital admissions that I’ve lost count of how frequent they have become for her. She’s also had to travel frequently to see specialists, which was no easy task when she was so ill. Jaxy was finally given a diagnosis of hEDS (Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), which has resulted in Jaxy requiring the use of mobility aids (cane and wheelchair), J-tube placement (feeding tube placed in the small intestines because her stomach doesn’t function properly, aka gastroparesis), a chest port placement to receive weekly fluids, and removal of organs.

As one can imagine, this has taken quite the toll on Jaxy’s mental health, and she attends 2 different types of therapy to help her manage symptoms. It’s been a vicious cycle trying to manage both her physical and mental health, and she has exhausted all resources and options. Jaxy and her boyfriend have independently done everything they can, to the best of their ability, but it’s time for them both to have the additional support they’ve so desperately needed. Jaxy has experienced far too much medical neglect, little to no advocacy, and lack of a consistent support system that she has been set up for failure. Her and her boyfriend going at this alone is no longer sustainable, and we fear as a family her medical health will only continue to worsen without more familial support.

Its time for Jaxy to come home and get the support she has been missing.