Caterer Family
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This GoFundMe campaign is organized by family friend Todd VanRossum to help support the Caterer family as they walk through Jenny's sudden paralysis and cancer diagnosis after having a baby.
On November 21, 2021, God blessed Matt and Jenny with a beautiful miracle. Little Kylee Joy Caterer was born.
Throughout her pregnancy, Jenny endured significant pain in her back and pelvic region. The doctors said that the pain was directly related to the pregnancy; the baby was simply sitting on a nerve.
After giving birth, the pain continued, but the doctor said it was still postpartum healing. On January 19, 2022, Jenny could barely walk from the bed to the couch and went in for further testing. An X-ray revealed she had broken her pubic symphysis, but more concerning was a lesion discovered on her bone.
Subsequent blood work, CT scans, and an MRI revealed that Jenny has Kappa Light Chain Multiple Myeloma. This caused multiple fractures throughout her body and her oncologist said she had no idea how Jenny was able to carry a baby full-term and give birth in her condition. Jenny has multiple tumors in her body from her spine to pelvic region, and 80% of her bone marrow is affected by the cancer. The largest tumor replaced the bone on Jenny's T5 vertebrae, and the tumor on the S1 region pushed against her spinal cord as well.
The Caterer family was still hopeful and began to fight the cancer with radiation treatments as a first step. However, five treatments later (exactly halfway through), Jenny experienced an evening with excruciating pain and Matt called the ambulance. Shorty after arriving at the hospital, Jenny lost all sensation from her rib cage through her toes, rendering her partially paralyzed.
A few days later, Jenny’s motor functioning continued to decrease, and the doctors decided to perform an emergency surgery or she would be permanently paralyzed by the end of the night. They wanted to transfer her to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, but they didn’t have time and had to perform the surgery at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, IL
Jenny was told that she might never be able to sit in a chair again even, only stare at the ceiling while laying flat in bed. It was a terrifying prognosis with many questions as to why the paralysis occurred. The Lord has graciously restored her ability to sit in a wheelchair and stand for a few minutes at a time using a “Sara Stedy” device. She uses this device along with a “slide board” to transfer from one surface to another—such as her wheelchair into bed or into a car to see a doctor. Jenny is working hard in physical and occupational therapy to try to regain her ability to walk again using a walker, though it will a full year to see what mobility she is able to regain.
To date, Jenny can walk up to 15 feet using a walker, but only under the direct supervision of a trained therapist who blocks her knees from buckling and puts a mirror directly in front of Jenny so she can judge foot placement. Jenny is limited in her proprioception (understanding where her body is in space due to a lack of full sensation), and can only control foot placement using the mirror to guide her.
The Caterers have a VERY long road ahead of them that included/will include emergent spinal cord surgery, recovery in the spinal ICU, a three-week stay as an in-patient at Marianjoy’s Rehabilitation Hospital, ongoing outpatient physical and occupational therapy, home health, a battery of ongoing diagnostic tests, radiation for the cancer, infusion chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and turning every square inch of their home into an accessible environment for a new mom who is wheelchair bound. All of this is while caring for their new baby and wanting to provide her with a joyful childhood.
Please pray for the Caterer family and consider donating to help with the significant medical, home, medication, and childcare needs that will arise in the coming months.
The Caterers have a joy and peace that defy their circumstances because they are trusting in the completed work of their perfect, sinless Savior, Jesus Christ, who took their sins upon Himself on the cross and rose again to victorious life so they might live forever with Him. They will continue to declare that God is good, faithful, gracious, and merciful no matter what befalls.
We are praying for a miracle in Jenny’s body and specifically that she might live long enough to see her first grandchild! Will you join us in that prayer? And yet, Jenny knows that even if she is never cured this side of eternity, she is already healed because of Jesus. That truth changes everything!
Thank you for your prayers, love, support, and encouragement! It means the world to Jenny, Matt, and beautiful baby Kylee!
On November 21, 2021, God blessed Matt and Jenny with a beautiful miracle. Little Kylee Joy Caterer was born.
Throughout her pregnancy, Jenny endured significant pain in her back and pelvic region. The doctors said that the pain was directly related to the pregnancy; the baby was simply sitting on a nerve.
After giving birth, the pain continued, but the doctor said it was still postpartum healing. On January 19, 2022, Jenny could barely walk from the bed to the couch and went in for further testing. An X-ray revealed she had broken her pubic symphysis, but more concerning was a lesion discovered on her bone.
Subsequent blood work, CT scans, and an MRI revealed that Jenny has Kappa Light Chain Multiple Myeloma. This caused multiple fractures throughout her body and her oncologist said she had no idea how Jenny was able to carry a baby full-term and give birth in her condition. Jenny has multiple tumors in her body from her spine to pelvic region, and 80% of her bone marrow is affected by the cancer. The largest tumor replaced the bone on Jenny's T5 vertebrae, and the tumor on the S1 region pushed against her spinal cord as well.
The Caterer family was still hopeful and began to fight the cancer with radiation treatments as a first step. However, five treatments later (exactly halfway through), Jenny experienced an evening with excruciating pain and Matt called the ambulance. Shorty after arriving at the hospital, Jenny lost all sensation from her rib cage through her toes, rendering her partially paralyzed.
A few days later, Jenny’s motor functioning continued to decrease, and the doctors decided to perform an emergency surgery or she would be permanently paralyzed by the end of the night. They wanted to transfer her to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, but they didn’t have time and had to perform the surgery at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, IL
Jenny was told that she might never be able to sit in a chair again even, only stare at the ceiling while laying flat in bed. It was a terrifying prognosis with many questions as to why the paralysis occurred. The Lord has graciously restored her ability to sit in a wheelchair and stand for a few minutes at a time using a “Sara Stedy” device. She uses this device along with a “slide board” to transfer from one surface to another—such as her wheelchair into bed or into a car to see a doctor. Jenny is working hard in physical and occupational therapy to try to regain her ability to walk again using a walker, though it will a full year to see what mobility she is able to regain.
To date, Jenny can walk up to 15 feet using a walker, but only under the direct supervision of a trained therapist who blocks her knees from buckling and puts a mirror directly in front of Jenny so she can judge foot placement. Jenny is limited in her proprioception (understanding where her body is in space due to a lack of full sensation), and can only control foot placement using the mirror to guide her.
The Caterers have a VERY long road ahead of them that included/will include emergent spinal cord surgery, recovery in the spinal ICU, a three-week stay as an in-patient at Marianjoy’s Rehabilitation Hospital, ongoing outpatient physical and occupational therapy, home health, a battery of ongoing diagnostic tests, radiation for the cancer, infusion chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and turning every square inch of their home into an accessible environment for a new mom who is wheelchair bound. All of this is while caring for their new baby and wanting to provide her with a joyful childhood.
Please pray for the Caterer family and consider donating to help with the significant medical, home, medication, and childcare needs that will arise in the coming months.
The Caterers have a joy and peace that defy their circumstances because they are trusting in the completed work of their perfect, sinless Savior, Jesus Christ, who took their sins upon Himself on the cross and rose again to victorious life so they might live forever with Him. They will continue to declare that God is good, faithful, gracious, and merciful no matter what befalls.
We are praying for a miracle in Jenny’s body and specifically that she might live long enough to see her first grandchild! Will you join us in that prayer? And yet, Jenny knows that even if she is never cured this side of eternity, she is already healed because of Jesus. That truth changes everything!
Thank you for your prayers, love, support, and encouragement! It means the world to Jenny, Matt, and beautiful baby Kylee!
Organizer
Todd VanRossum
Organizer
Geneva, IL