Donate for Brooke Janos' Healing Journey

As some of you may know, Brooke “Prissy” Jones Janos was very recently admitted to the hospital with a very rare auto immune disorder. Prissy and her husband, Shane, reside in Clinton, MS with their three children. Most everyone knows that the Hoffman and Jones crews were inseparable growing up, so Prissy is family to us. She and her family covet your prayers as they navigate this difficult journey. If you feel led to donate, any donations would be greatly appreciated on behalf of her family. Please keep Prissy and her family in your prayers and thank you to those who have already reached out with donations, food, prayer, and support

Brooke was at UMMC from Wednesday, 3/19/2025 to 3/29/2025 of last week. She has been diagnosed with Takayasu Arteritis that affects the large blood vessels (the aorta and its branches). The disease causes vascular narrowing and blocked arteries. The blocked arteries have caused several small strokes (10-12) that has left her with some fine motor deficits, short-term memory loss, and pain and weakness in the left upper and lower extremities. She has claudication (condition that affects blood flow to the arms and legs that causes pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness). This disease affects mostly women under 40 with 1 to 2 people per million to be diagnosed. The neurologist at UMMC said he has seen over 20,000 cases and has never seen this. They teach about it but has never actually had a patient with this diagnosis.

Below is the information I cut and copied form her Facebook page that the family has posted that gives detail to all that has been happening in her care journey at UMMC.

Please continue to pray for her healing.

Love you all.❤️❤️❤️

” Long Story Short” ❤️ (Inside joke, one of her favorite phrases that always ends with a long story)

Typed by Wendy Thrash and Her Husband due to her fine motor skill deficits that cause difficulty typing and writing.

Regarding my current health issues and current hospitalization. Thank you to all who have added me to your prayer list and to all that have been praying without ceasing for me and my family. It means the world to us ❤️

On Tuesday March 11th I began experiencing pain in my left lower back and left leg. At first, I thought I may have slept wrong or possibly had a pinched nerve in my lower my back. I have dealt with sciatica for years after having babies. Sleep had been an issue, as well, for several nights. So, Thursday afternoon, I laid down to take a nap. When I got up, I felt really discombobulated, like my upper body and lower body were not in sync. I called my mom and described my symptoms and told her I didn’t think I was having a stroke, but something just didn’t feel right. I then called Shane to take me to the ER. Once we got to the ER they treated me for my lower back. I received steroids and Toradol and it was recommended I follow up with a Neurosurgeon. On Friday, we attempted to visit Dr. Azordegan. He was out of the office but able to schedule an MRI for Friday afternoon and prescribe some pain medication that helped me get me through most of the weekend. We decided that Shane would travel to Cleveland to watch Tyler play baseball on Sunday. I was fine most of the day. I talked to him several times throughout the day about the game. Late that afternoon, I pulled something in my back on the right side that sent me into a spiral. Monday morning, I was hardly able to walk with significant pain and weakness. We had an appointment with Dr. Azordegan at noon. The MRI from Friday was clear and showed no pinched nerves. He performed a thorough neuro assessment and told me I had significant weakness and wanted to proceed with an MRI of my cervical and thoracic spine. My weakness and ability to walk continued to worsen. Tuesday was the MRI on the cervical and thoracic spine that lasted an hour. I had an extremely debilitating reaction that lasted for hours after the MRI. This reaction caused me to have worsening weakness and pain in my legs, upper body weakness, and fine motor skill deficits. Later that afternoon, we received a call that both of those scans were clear as well. Dr. Azordegan ordered an MRI of my head for Wednesday, 3/19/25. The morning of this appointment I had difficulty walking and collapsed in Shane’s arms. We went to the appointment at 11:00. They performed the MRI on the brain also which lasted about an hour. The MRI was debilitating, as well. As soon as we walked in the door at home, Dr. Azordegan called and said the MRI showed I had had several small strokes (new and old) bilaterally (not the normal presentation of strokes). He informed us that the left carotid artery is 100% blocked, the right is 80-90% blocked, and other blockages were evident. I will forever be grateful to my best friend, Wendy Addison Thrash, for walking through my front door literally as we received that phone call. She is not one for accolades, but God knew who I needed in that moment with my husband ❤️She has been an absolute rockstar the last few weeks ❤️ Once we received these petrifying results Dr. Azordegan instructed us to go to the ER immediately. After a very long wait and overnight stay in the ER, we landed in the hands of the stroke team on 4 South at UMMC. The doctors and nurses have been the most professional, caring, knowledgeable, and persistent people I’ve ever come in contact with. Their persistence and level of care has finally led to some well-needed answers. After LOTS of further testing and scans, I have been diagnosed with Takayasu’s Arteritis, a very rare autoimmune disease. Only 1 to 2 people out of a million have this. It is a rare, chronic inflammatory disease that affects the aorta and its main branches. The inflammation process causes narrowing of the arteries. The hope is with proper medication, the inflammation will recede, and the arteries will open up.

I want to say a special thanks to the following people:

Dr. Azordegan for literally saving my life and his persistence with running tests to get us to the place where we could receive proper treatment.

The Stroke Team and nursing staff on 4 South at UMMC.

Please continue to pray for me and my family as we as we navigate this very uncertain journey.

“Long Story Short” ❤️

Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts,

Shane, Brooke (Prissy), Tyler, Austin, and Chloe