Help Jaidyn get home

Imagine dealing with multiple major surgeries, aneurysms, strokes, organ failure, transfusions, blood clots. Most people will go their whole lives without ever dealing with this once.

Now imagine going through all that in just two months at 17 years old.

Welcome to the world of Vascular Ehlers Danlos syndrome (VEDS) a genetic and lifelong connective tissue disease that affects the blood vessels and internal organs, causing them to spontaneously split open and rupture without warning. So rare that only 1 in 250,000 people have it.

Now imagine you’re a mother with that condition, and both your children have it… and only one university in the entire world studies and researches it. Think about the time and money it takes to get there for basic doctor appointments, let alone every time you have an emergency you have to travel out of state. Gas, lodging, food, tolls, having to take off from your job every time it happens, piles of medical bills. And of course the most important thing of all, time wasted, spent sitting in an ICU for your entire summer vacation trying to get healthy just so you can start your senior year.

The median life expectancy of this disease is 48 years old.

I know that many people use the term “day by day” but I really don’t know what other way to describe this disease; you can go to sleep happy and healthy, and the next day be in the ICU. Both Jaidyn and Angela have been there since June. (And thanks to the pandemic, virtually no visitors.)

So although we can’t buy more time, what we can give is the peace of mind that they won’t have to struggle financially over the next few years, or having to remodel their home to accommodate her staying in a new bedroom.

I want to make it so clear that this fundraiser is for Jaidyn to get healthy and back home, But it’s also about her mother Angela, and her son Jaxon. Once again you can’t buy time, but we can make memories. More than anything I would like to see some money put towards a nice quiet family vacation together; something every mother wants before her children graduate high school and go on with their lives, let alone in a situation like this.

And most importantly, this isn’t just about money; please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Even a kind word posted to their wall would make their day. Flowers, cards, even the occasional Doordash food order means everything to somebody sitting in the ICU

All of us can’t begin to emphasize how grateful for the love and support that everybody has been giving. I’m not sure what any of us would do without the wonderful staff at John Hopkins Hospital. All the doctors or nurses are in shock with all that she beaten.

So let’s make it a miracle, and bring her home.