Second Bone Marrow Transplant 4 Jesse

Hi! My name is Naomi, and my close friend, Jesse, is in need of funding for moving and treatment while she undergoes her second bone marrow transplant, CLL Leukemia and now MDS. Shortly after we met in Colorado, she was moving to Richmond, Virginia for a potentially life-saving drug trial. The drug trial was doing great things on the cancer, but now it has been discovered that her liver took serious damage.And 10 months after moving from Virginia. she moved back to Colorado. Just in time to find out she has a terminal disease and leukemia.

Her story is an incredible one, and she needs help to keep her journey going for many years to come. Her previous medical team in Colorado needs to take over treatment again and take care of her failing liver. This requires the expenses to move closer to the hospital. Her oncologost feels like the only way to save her life is a second bone marrow transplant! And as soon as she's out of the hospital she needs to be between Rocky Mountain Cancer Center and the new transplant hospital Presbyterian.

Apartment down payments are heafty and shes going to need help moving the hour to be closer to these life saving hospitals. Plus care when she gets out and money for things like medicine. She is currently applying for disability but she doesnt know how much she'll be awared since she does still work part time for a few hours every week.

Long Story: Jesse was born and raised in Hollywood, California, and had a challenging childhood in foster care. She got her first cancer, CML leukemia, at age 5. She miraculously survived a bone marrow transplant from a non-relative donor, unprecedented at the time. She was the first person to survive. They didn't do transplants from unrelated donors before her. even at the age of 5 she was a trend setter.

However not a lot was known 35 years ago and her doctors unwittingly gave her too much radiation.... which lead to other cancers down the line. Plus her bone marrow donor had undiagnosed CLL leukemia, causing great damage to Jesse’s body and DNA. It just wasn't detected at the time. And later it was discovered her bone marrow donor also had MDS ( a terminal disease called Myeloid plastic syndrome that turns into AML) AML is the worst leukemia to get because of how aggressive it is. 80% of people die before it turns into AML.

At this point doctors wanted to study the progression of these cancers but unfortunet;y her doner had passed. Leaving all of her treatment unknown on how to preceed. But because of too much radiaion and chemo she developed diabetes soon after beating the first leukemia, uterine and ovarian tumors at age 19, and also developed CLL leukemia when she was 20.

Thyroid cancer happened to her when she was 25! But she beat that too, CLL leukemia came from her donor, severe osteoporosis, and terminal lymphoma four years ago. She moved to New York for a revolutionary new cancer treatment, a last-ditch effort at surviving. She beat the odds (15% chance of survival) and went into remission for her lymphoma. She moved back to Colorado, ready to enjoy her new lease on life. The relief was short lived, however. About six months ago, during a routine procedure, doctors discovered that Jesse had Stage 3 colon cancer. Since then, she has been fighting her fifth aggressive cancer, including intense chemotherapy and radiation. The extreme pain, nausea, and fatigue that have resulted from the heavy treatment have forced her to stop working the job she loves: working as a behavioral therapist with disabled children.She adores children and working with kids with physical and mental disabilities was her life. But somehow she still manages to smile and keep up a positive spirit!

She became confined to her apartment in an old, musty basement. (This is when I met her. I moved into the upstairs unit). I quickly realized that Jesse is a woman with incredible generosity, compassion, and integrity. We instantly became friends. I heard many of her amazing stories, including but not limited to: working as a young model in Hollywood, earning a full-ride scholarship to Berkeley, earning degrees in psychopathology and later behavioral therapy, traveling the world alone as a young woman, founding a nonprofit organization to support orphans in Fiji, becoming a behavioral therapist in order to better care for her non-verbal Autistic brother, and rescuing stray cats to find them permanent homes. Jesse centers her life around helping others. She says, “I want to have made a difference in some meaningful way. I believe in kindness and integrity. You never know what anybody is going through.”

Despite her many challenges, she asserts that she is “so lucky and so blessed.” Jesse has told me that “hope is addicting.” With this new drug trial in Richmond on the horizon, she again was full of hope. In another blow of fate after a glimpse of hope, the drug had disastrous effects on the liver, while doing its job on the cancer. The team of doctors at the hospital in Colorado, who she trusts and feels safe with, needed her back to Colorado so they could help her.

Here is where you all can come in: Medical treatment is a massive expense and Jesse is struggling to cover the moving cost with a second bone marrow transplant on the horizon. Jesse is currently not able to work to raise the funds to move her near the hospital, where she is treated. Our goal is to raise 7k, which will cover all moving costs.

Jesse doesn’t have much anymore, but that little needs to move with her. This includes her cats. I cannot stress enough how vitally important these cats are to Jesse. In these stressful and frightening times, they provide strength and hope to her.

This is a call to provide dignity to a dear friend and wonderful person, who has a lifetime of giving herself to others in need. Jesse knows it’s “an extraordinary ask,” but anything will help. While her medical team is able to do everything possible to save her life. Jesse will be the first person to survive a second bone marrow transplant for both Chronic Lymphic Leukemia and MDS if she makes it. She just needs a little bit of help. She NEEDS to be close to the hospitals and she needs help after she's released. We need to find her a first floor apartment and a unit with a walk in shower so she doesn't have to jump over the bathtub. SHE'S GOING TO NEED A CARETAKER and help getting to and from the hospital.

Jesse believes strongly in paying it forward. She has so much more life to live and so much more to give to the people around her. Help us give her the opportunity to continue being a light to others. Jesse touches hearts and changes lives and now needs us. Helping her move her belongings, not losing her last remaining objects of memory, is contributing to her mental well-being, which ultimately will pay a huge influence on her chances to successfully become free from cancer. Through all her life Jesse believed in people. Help us in showing up for her.

Showing up for her includes not just donating to help her cause but letting her know you see her and believe in her. A lot of little donating can turn into bigger donations. This is to save her life. She isnt good at asking for help but she needs it. So please donate for her second bone marrow transplant and move closer to thre hospitals.