Jasmine’s Journey
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Hi everyone,
My name is Rita and I am fundraising for my 21 year old granddaughter- Jasmine. Jasmine was born with a genetic mutation that has severely affected her quality of life. This genetic mutation is specific to smooth muscle, and she’s been diagnosed with numerous conditions such as Gastroparesis, intestinal dysmotility, heart failure, etc. Despite her illnesses, she continued to excel in nursing school and work a part time at a local emergency department.
Unfortunately, this year her health has taken a significant decline. In May, Jasmine was taken to the hospital by ambulance because she was exhibiting symptoms of sepsis (She had a central line and was receiving TPN at the time) TPN Is a form of IV nutrition for those who cannot sustain adequate nutrition through oral/enteral routes. Jasmine was diagnosed with septic shock and quickly transferred to a larger hospital that would be more equipped to handle her illness/diagnoses.
Within a day, she had a heart failure exacerbation, which caused severe pulmonary edema. Soon after, her oxygen began to drop and she was intubated for Acute Respiratory Distress/Failure. Unfortunately during intubation, she had aspirated and a large amount of vomit went into her lungs. At this point, she was maxed on the ventilator and her oxygen continued to decline. A respiratory therapist stood at her bedside and continued to bag her with an ambu bag to keep her oxygen level up until she was emergently cannulated for ECMO. (ECMO supplies oxygen to the body through a machine. The cannulas remove blood, put it through the machine, and then returns the oxygenated blood back into the body. It is considered the maximum form of life support.) She was then life flighted to another facility and placed in the Cardiovascular ICU intubated and sedated. At this point her heart, liver, and kidneys had failed. She was placed on CRRT (a form of slow, continuous dialysis) She also had another heart attack (Her 3rd NSTEMI), and she was diagnosed with DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation). Along with this, the aspiration caused infection in her lungs which made her septic shock worse and she was requiring blood products/platelet transfusions frequently.
The physicians believed she would not make it through the night due to the fact that she was maxed on vasopressors & ECMO and they encouraged family members to say their goodbyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing more the doctors could do besides pray.
She did make it through the night, and her body started responding better within a few days, but the physicians were unaware of how much brain function was left, and they didn’t know if she would wake up. Along with this, due to the loss of perfusion and the high amount of vasopressors- her extremities had lost pulses, and began to become necrotic. Her arms and legs turned purple and then black.
She was on ECMO and the ventilator for a few weeks. She was in the CICU for about a month and then moved to a step down unit. She was lucky to not have any brain damage (other than a previous stroke 2 years ago) and her other organs were responding to treatment. Over the next two months, she had several surgeries. Due to the necrosis present, her lower legs and her hands/part of her arm were amputated- making her a quad amputate. The next few weeks were hard, as she developed complications. She had gone septic again and she was treated for both urosepsis and meningitis. She then began working with occupational therapy and physical therapy to gain some strength and get some independence back.
Throughout these few months, she’s managed to stay hopeful. She is still working with therapy and planning to get prosthesis within the next few months. She’ll then have to re-learn how to walk and work with prosthetics. She plans to finish her last year of nursing school and get her bachelors degree in the future. We are currently making renovations to the home to make it more accessible for Jasmine. Unfortunately between medical bills, medication costs, and other equipment we are struggling financially. We are extremely thankful for any donations. If you are unable to donate, that’s okay, you can help support us through shares and prayers.
Thank you much for supporting Jasmine’s Journey!
My name is Rita and I am fundraising for my 21 year old granddaughter- Jasmine. Jasmine was born with a genetic mutation that has severely affected her quality of life. This genetic mutation is specific to smooth muscle, and she’s been diagnosed with numerous conditions such as Gastroparesis, intestinal dysmotility, heart failure, etc. Despite her illnesses, she continued to excel in nursing school and work a part time at a local emergency department.
Unfortunately, this year her health has taken a significant decline. In May, Jasmine was taken to the hospital by ambulance because she was exhibiting symptoms of sepsis (She had a central line and was receiving TPN at the time) TPN Is a form of IV nutrition for those who cannot sustain adequate nutrition through oral/enteral routes. Jasmine was diagnosed with septic shock and quickly transferred to a larger hospital that would be more equipped to handle her illness/diagnoses.
Within a day, she had a heart failure exacerbation, which caused severe pulmonary edema. Soon after, her oxygen began to drop and she was intubated for Acute Respiratory Distress/Failure. Unfortunately during intubation, she had aspirated and a large amount of vomit went into her lungs. At this point, she was maxed on the ventilator and her oxygen continued to decline. A respiratory therapist stood at her bedside and continued to bag her with an ambu bag to keep her oxygen level up until she was emergently cannulated for ECMO. (ECMO supplies oxygen to the body through a machine. The cannulas remove blood, put it through the machine, and then returns the oxygenated blood back into the body. It is considered the maximum form of life support.) She was then life flighted to another facility and placed in the Cardiovascular ICU intubated and sedated. At this point her heart, liver, and kidneys had failed. She was placed on CRRT (a form of slow, continuous dialysis) She also had another heart attack (Her 3rd NSTEMI), and she was diagnosed with DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation). Along with this, the aspiration caused infection in her lungs which made her septic shock worse and she was requiring blood products/platelet transfusions frequently.
The physicians believed she would not make it through the night due to the fact that she was maxed on vasopressors & ECMO and they encouraged family members to say their goodbyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing more the doctors could do besides pray.
She did make it through the night, and her body started responding better within a few days, but the physicians were unaware of how much brain function was left, and they didn’t know if she would wake up. Along with this, due to the loss of perfusion and the high amount of vasopressors- her extremities had lost pulses, and began to become necrotic. Her arms and legs turned purple and then black.
She was on ECMO and the ventilator for a few weeks. She was in the CICU for about a month and then moved to a step down unit. She was lucky to not have any brain damage (other than a previous stroke 2 years ago) and her other organs were responding to treatment. Over the next two months, she had several surgeries. Due to the necrosis present, her lower legs and her hands/part of her arm were amputated- making her a quad amputate. The next few weeks were hard, as she developed complications. She had gone septic again and she was treated for both urosepsis and meningitis. She then began working with occupational therapy and physical therapy to gain some strength and get some independence back.
Throughout these few months, she’s managed to stay hopeful. She is still working with therapy and planning to get prosthesis within the next few months. She’ll then have to re-learn how to walk and work with prosthetics. She plans to finish her last year of nursing school and get her bachelors degree in the future. We are currently making renovations to the home to make it more accessible for Jasmine. Unfortunately between medical bills, medication costs, and other equipment we are struggling financially. We are extremely thankful for any donations. If you are unable to donate, that’s okay, you can help support us through shares and prayers.
Thank you much for supporting Jasmine’s Journey!
Organizer
Rita S
Organizer
Hershey, PA