Easing the burden for Jason Darr and Jonah
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I don’t even know where to begin... How do I sum up a life so precious? So dear to many hearts. To help anyone who reads these words get an idea of just how wonderful Jennifer was. I will do my best to honor my sister and share her story. And to share the needs of her husband and son who are left behind needing much love and support.
Jennifer radiated love and joy. She lived her life for God and for her family. Her life started out pretty normal. Normal home and childhood. She received her degree (in Theology). She met and married the love of her life, Jason Darr in 1994. Jennifer preached at various churches, youth groups and was an elementary teacher at a Christian school for several years. And in their love, they had a son. This is where the “normal” ends.
Jonah was born November of 1998 with a rare muscular disease, myotubular myopathy. He needed a tracheotomy and feeding tube to survive. He stayed in the NICU for a few months and was sent home to die within the first year of his life. At least that’s what the doctors said. Jennifer and Jason took their son home. They loved on him, spoke life over him, and trusted God with his care. Jennifer learned to be a Mommy and a nurse to Jonah all in one. She was amazing with him. She never complained and was satisfied with life. For her God was with her.
Fast forward to 2004. Jennifer’s kidneys start to fail, becoming scarred for reasons unknown. Within weeks she was on dialysis, 3 days a week. She was a bright light to those she met at the dialysis unit. She shared God’s love with the staff and other patients, never focusing on herself. She loved to talk. And since she had spent much of the last 10 years inside her home with her son, she was happy to meet new friends. In 2005, our Mother selflessly gave Jennifer a kidney. Jennifer’s body accepted the new kidney beautifully. For her God was with her.
Fast forward to late August 2018. Jennifer is not feeling well. She had just spent 2 weeks in the hospital with Jonah, day and night, for breathing issues. She begins to cough and it worsens. She’s admitted to the hospital and has liters of fluid drained from her lungs. The hospital tests her for everything they can think of and find nothing. She had been started on a new blood pressure medicine that had side effects of nausea, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite and, in rare cases, fluid in the lungs. They attribute her visit to this, take her off the medicine, and is given a clean bill of health.
The problem is, she still doesn’t feel well. She waits and waits for the side effects to fade. They don’t. She thinks because of her immunosuppressants, for her transplanted kidney, that the effects are just taking longer to wear off.
October 15th, 2018. Our world forever changed. Jason finds Jennifer unresponsive. She is taken by ambulance to the same hospital she had been to weeks prior. She is diagnosed with histoplasmosis. A fungal infection that started in her lungs and has now spread to her brain. Our family scrambles to care for Jonah. He needs care around the clock. Over the course of time the infection causes many strokes, leaving Jen in a vegetative state.
Jason brings Jen home to care for her, as she so selflessly cared for their son for 20 years. Jason, my mother and father take care of Jen, selflessly. It was a sacrifice dear to them. And a comfort to our hearts. Three weeks later she returns to the hospital due to pneumonia. It was there on February the 10th, 2019 that she took her first breath in Heaven surrounded by her loving family. And her God was holding her.
Our hearts are broken. Jennifer was such an amazingly strong woman of God, selfless, wise (so very wise), beautiful, kind, humble, compassionate to no end, funny and thoughtful. She loved her family fiercely. Despite everything she was going through she loved her life. She was content. She always made time for anyone that needed a listening ear and sound advice. Our hearts ache for her. Even in this she brings comfort. Her words still in our hearts. “God gives us the grace for each day. Not for tomorrow, not for next week and not for next month. Seek Him daily and He will give you what you need.” For our God is with us.
Jason is carrying the weight of grief coupled with the weight of all the medical bills coming in. The expenses are vast. We are asking for help, to ease this financial burden for Jason and Jonah. We would be thankful for any amount offered. ALL money received will be used to pay the medical expenses incurred. We also ask for prayers for our family as we grieve this tremendous loss. Thank you for considering helping Jennifer’s family in this way. Any help would mean more than we could express in words.
*For those who have wondered, the little girl in the picture is my daughter. Jennifer’s niece
Jennifer radiated love and joy. She lived her life for God and for her family. Her life started out pretty normal. Normal home and childhood. She received her degree (in Theology). She met and married the love of her life, Jason Darr in 1994. Jennifer preached at various churches, youth groups and was an elementary teacher at a Christian school for several years. And in their love, they had a son. This is where the “normal” ends.
Jonah was born November of 1998 with a rare muscular disease, myotubular myopathy. He needed a tracheotomy and feeding tube to survive. He stayed in the NICU for a few months and was sent home to die within the first year of his life. At least that’s what the doctors said. Jennifer and Jason took their son home. They loved on him, spoke life over him, and trusted God with his care. Jennifer learned to be a Mommy and a nurse to Jonah all in one. She was amazing with him. She never complained and was satisfied with life. For her God was with her.
Fast forward to 2004. Jennifer’s kidneys start to fail, becoming scarred for reasons unknown. Within weeks she was on dialysis, 3 days a week. She was a bright light to those she met at the dialysis unit. She shared God’s love with the staff and other patients, never focusing on herself. She loved to talk. And since she had spent much of the last 10 years inside her home with her son, she was happy to meet new friends. In 2005, our Mother selflessly gave Jennifer a kidney. Jennifer’s body accepted the new kidney beautifully. For her God was with her.
Fast forward to late August 2018. Jennifer is not feeling well. She had just spent 2 weeks in the hospital with Jonah, day and night, for breathing issues. She begins to cough and it worsens. She’s admitted to the hospital and has liters of fluid drained from her lungs. The hospital tests her for everything they can think of and find nothing. She had been started on a new blood pressure medicine that had side effects of nausea, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite and, in rare cases, fluid in the lungs. They attribute her visit to this, take her off the medicine, and is given a clean bill of health.
The problem is, she still doesn’t feel well. She waits and waits for the side effects to fade. They don’t. She thinks because of her immunosuppressants, for her transplanted kidney, that the effects are just taking longer to wear off.
October 15th, 2018. Our world forever changed. Jason finds Jennifer unresponsive. She is taken by ambulance to the same hospital she had been to weeks prior. She is diagnosed with histoplasmosis. A fungal infection that started in her lungs and has now spread to her brain. Our family scrambles to care for Jonah. He needs care around the clock. Over the course of time the infection causes many strokes, leaving Jen in a vegetative state.
Jason brings Jen home to care for her, as she so selflessly cared for their son for 20 years. Jason, my mother and father take care of Jen, selflessly. It was a sacrifice dear to them. And a comfort to our hearts. Three weeks later she returns to the hospital due to pneumonia. It was there on February the 10th, 2019 that she took her first breath in Heaven surrounded by her loving family. And her God was holding her.
Our hearts are broken. Jennifer was such an amazingly strong woman of God, selfless, wise (so very wise), beautiful, kind, humble, compassionate to no end, funny and thoughtful. She loved her family fiercely. Despite everything she was going through she loved her life. She was content. She always made time for anyone that needed a listening ear and sound advice. Our hearts ache for her. Even in this she brings comfort. Her words still in our hearts. “God gives us the grace for each day. Not for tomorrow, not for next week and not for next month. Seek Him daily and He will give you what you need.” For our God is with us.
Jason is carrying the weight of grief coupled with the weight of all the medical bills coming in. The expenses are vast. We are asking for help, to ease this financial burden for Jason and Jonah. We would be thankful for any amount offered. ALL money received will be used to pay the medical expenses incurred. We also ask for prayers for our family as we grieve this tremendous loss. Thank you for considering helping Jennifer’s family in this way. Any help would mean more than we could express in words.
*For those who have wondered, the little girl in the picture is my daughter. Jennifer’s niece
Organizer
Leann Minners
Organizer
Corpus Christi, TX