Stephanie’s Medical Journey

Hi my name is Ashley Fuit and I am one of Stephanie’s cysters. I have know Stephanie for years. We became friends with the common disease called Cystic Fibrosis. That is why we call each other cysters.

Those who know Stephanie know she was born with a disease called Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF is an inherited life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system. Cystic fibrosis affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat, and digestive juices. It causes these fluids to become thick and sticky. They then plug up tubes, ducts, and passageways

Stephanie has been a fighter since day 1. She has had her fair share of issues and battles. She has had to be on a feeding tube for years to keep her weight up. Her lung function was so low that she was going to have to have a double lung transplant. However the cystic fibrosis world came out with a new drug that helped improve her quality of life. Her lung function improved and she didn’t need a lung transplant anymore. She was able to get pregnant and have twin boys with Jeremy. Those boys are the light of her life.

With in the last year the medication that improved her quality of life called Trikafta stopped helping her. Her lung function has decreased a little. She has had to use her feeding tube more frequently which has helped her keep weight on.

Fast forward to August her G tube has been bugging her a bit and looked infected. However, she just thought it was due to her gaining weight and she needed to have it replaced. She went to the ER finally due to the pain she was having and the way she was feeling. The ER sent her home with some pain medications. They said to follow up with her normal CF doctor because they didn’t see anything wrong. She went home and just kept getting worse. Two days later she felt even worse to the point she couldn’t get out of bed. Jeremy told her she needed to go to the hospital and called 911. They took her to the children’s hospital where she sees her CF doctors at. They checked her out and said she had sepsis due to an infection in her G tube. They had to transfer her to a different hospital due to the serious state she was in. She was put in an induced coma on a ventilator and pumped full of antibiotics. The doctors told Jeremy and her family that if she would have came to that hospital two days prior it wouldn’t have got that bad. This was very frustrating and angry to hear because she went to a different hospital and they had told her nothing was wrong!

She had to be put on dialysis for her kidneys because they were shutting down. It was touch and go for a few days and the doctors didn’t think she would pull through. She has been diagnosed with Disseminated intravascular coagulation. A Condition affecting the blood's ability to clot and stop bleeding. In disseminated intravascular coagulation, abnormal clumps of thickened blood (clots) form inside blood vessels. These abnormal clots use up the blood's clotting factors, which can lead to massive bleeding in other places. Causes include inflammation, infection, and cancer. She had a bleed in her abdomen so they had to get that stopped. In the mix of all of this she lost blood flow/circulation to her fingers and feet. You can google oxygen deprived hands and feet to see how awful it is. Most of her fingers and toes will have to be amputated due to this. This is going to be so hard for her as it would be for anyone else. As of today August 9th she is alert and out of coma but in serious pain. They are working on removing the vent today. Then they will assess her fingers and toes for amputation.

Unfortunately Stephanie has a very long road of recovery from all of this. She will not only have to have her fingers and toes amputated but more than likely be on dialysis the rest of her life. On top of having Cystic Fibrosis and all the things that go with that she will now have to deal with dialysis. Dialysis is very hard and demanding. You have to go get treatments atleast 3 times a week. She is also going to have to learn how to live without her fingers and toes. I can’t even imagine waking up and finding out my fingers and toes will have to be amputated on top of everything.

Stephanie is a very strong person and has always fought hard with all the battles she has been faced in her life so far. She has the twins which will be challenging with the obstacles she will face ahead.

This was all icing on the cake within the last year. About 9 months ago Stephanie, Jeremy and the twins were in a serious car accident. They lost their car and are still waiting for any pay out from the accident settlement. Jeremy was hurt pretty bad in that accident and had to miss a lot of work.

With all of that happening they have had a big financial burden and have had to move. They have a great friend who let them all move in. They are staying in a one bedroom right now with the friend. Jeremy is working as much as he can. However has been spending a lot of time with Stephanie at the hospital and trying to take care of the twins. He is wanting to get their own place so when Stephanie gets to go home they can be in their own place. That way they have more room with the twins. Plus she will need her own space with the long road of recovery ahead. They also need a vehicle and are struggling right know without one. Jeremy is having to take Uber back and forth to the hospital. They have some friends who have been helping watch the boys. However going forward the boys will need to be in daycare. So that Jeremy can work and Stephanie won’t be able to watch the boys alone for an unforeseen time. With all of this on top of the new medical issues they are financially struggling.

Stephanie is strong and will get past this nightmare. She will come out stronger than ever and keep fighting like she always has. She lives for her kids and they mean everything to her.

Donating will help them get a better place to live and a vehicle. Since Stephanie will have to go to dialysis atleast 3 days a week once she goes home they will need a vehicle. Also for Jeremy to get back and forth to work. Right now he is using Uber to get around and back and forth from the hospital. They also will need help paying for child care to help why Stephanie is recovering and in the hospital. Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated from Stephanie and Jeremy.

Donations can be made here or through my Venmo @Ashleyfuit. Anything will help them with all their financial needs right now.

Please continue to pray for Stephanie! She has a long road ahead but I know she will pull through. I will keep updates coming as she continues to move forward.