Jessica's Medical Fund

I have read, cried over, and donated to several of these campaigns; however, I never thought I would need to create one - let alone for a woman who is my blood, my cousin, my business partner, and one of my truly best friends and kindred spirits. Jessica does not ask for help. She puts on a brave face and fights her battles alone. She is humble and proud. So, many of you who know her and are reading this, may not even know she has been dealing with this issue.

Jessica Woodard is a 29 year old woman, born and raised in Spokane, WA. She is a successful real estate broker in the Spokane / Coeur d' Alene area. She is a mother to three amazing boys - 7 year old Mack and 2 year old twins, Ray and James. Her fianace, Derek, and her work hard to provide an amazing life for the boys and are truly wonderful friends and family to all around them. 

Jessica has dealt with Hashimoto's Disease, a condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid, for years. It was a struggle, but manageable with medication and monitoring. A few months ago; however, her symptoms worsened and her medication was no longer controlling the disease. She began further testing and in January 2016, she received the startling news that she in fact had thyroid cancer. She was diagnosed with Stage I Papillary Carcinoma. Since then, she has undergone multiple biopsies and ultrasounds and has almost completely ruled out the possibility that it has spread to nearby lymphnodes. This leaves a very positive prognosis, but the road ahead of her is still a long one. She is currently awaiting surgery to completely remove her thyroid. Immediately following surgery, she will begin radioactive iodine treatments and hormone replacement therapy. She will also need to be closely monitored and tested for several years to ensure that the cancer has not spread.

As I said before, Jessica does not ask for help, but I love and care for her immensely and see the burden this is creating for her family - physically, emotionally, and financially. Being an independent contractor, her medical insurance is not only expensive, but has an extremely high deductible and out of pocket maximum - both of which unfortunately started over at the same time as her diagnosis. Her medical bills are already streaming in at an alarming rate and will only increase as her treatment approaches this spring. The diagnosis of cancer is earth shattering to any family. With it comes stess and heartache that I can only imagine. My goal in this campaign is to help ease at least one of the stresses in Jessica and Derek's life and allow her to focus on her treatment, her boys, and her work. Any money raised in this campaign will go directly toward Jessica's dedcuctible and copays. All donations, no matter how great or small, will be greatly appreciated by all who love Jessica and her family. She will make it through this, but no one can do it alone. Please help me help her and share this with as many as you can. Thank you.