Help Jennah Conquer CML and Thrive

Story

I am writing this fundraiser for our friend Jennah. For those of you who know Jennah, you know she has been a selfless advocate for the recovery community, women's rights advocate (helping victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking), and advocate for the unhoused. This woman has continued to give, serve, and help those around her even in her times of darkness, always putting her wants and needs last, many times suffering in silence and going without even the most basic necessities. Over the last year, she has been battling Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. This battle has exhausted her physically, emotionally, socially, and mostly financially. She has continued to work two jobs during this ordeal, mostly because she doesn't have another option. She has only missed a handful of days of work, most of which were while she was fighting off influenza and COVID, which she contracted when her second employer (suspected to be the owner) knowingly exposed her to it with no regard for her. Even on days that she has chemotherapy, she goes to work directly after her treatment. Recently, a group of her close friends discovered she was going several days in a row without eating, only after her oncologist threatened a feeding tube. There have been more times than not that she chooses which medication is the most important, which she needs to sustain life, and gets the others if and when she is able. She has applied for all sorts of assistance, but many programs say she grosses too much despite her deductions meaning that her checks are less than half. She has taken out her 401k and liquidated every other asset she had. She has no family support; the only family that has remained active in her life is her daughter, and she is only 14 and has suffered from the reality of this disease as well. They did not celebrate Christmas or any other holiday because it was simply not feasible. Her daughter has had a bucket list event that she has wanted to attend for years, and instead of trying to meet her own needs, Jennah is putting her all into trying to make it happen. Because “those memories, the memory of how it did that, will live on long after I am gone.” Despite this disease stealing so much from her, she still makes herself available to help everyone she can. She has played friend, confidant, therapist, advocate, and cheerleader to many of us, at all hours of the day and night. She recently took one friend's infant in an emergency situation despite having chemo that morning; she stayed up all night, unintentionally making herself sick to be a support in a horrible situation. Last fall, another friend was facing many struggles; she purchased her children winter coats, boots, and snow pants. She provided them with a place to go for Thanksgiving. That night, after cooking for hours, before she sat down and fixed herself a plate, in the snow and ice, she went out and delivered meals to individuals who had nowhere to go. Later, she provided that same family the use of her Jeep when they became unhoused. She asked for nothing in return. Unfortunately, both the Jeep and her dear friend were lost in a horrific accident. Jennah has continued to beat herself up over it. She has always selflessly given. I imagine that some of you reading this right now are the individuals that she literally saved your life (doing CPR in emergencies, using time, energy, and money to take you to treatment, and many more things). Very infrequently has she asked for even the most basic help, and she has the utmost gratitude for each and every person that has helped her. This week, she was informed by her oncology department that there is a matching donor willing to donate bone marrow to save her life. This anonymous person, however, does not have health insurance, meaning that Jennah is unfortunately going to be responsible for the cost of their care. This unfortunately is going to be between 10-12 grand and could be as much as 18. There is no feasible way Jennah will be able to come up with this. Instead of making arrangements to get this life-saving treatment, she has said she is better off planning her memorial service. I don't know about any of you, but the thought of a world without the light of Jennah seems like a much darker place. I know that not any one single person is able to solve this problem. It's a lot of money, which is why she isn't able to. But if we all chip in 5, 10, even 20 bucks, whatever we can spare, then maybe, just maybe, the medical facility will be willing to work with her. Several of us are also working on several other fundraising ideas: a benefit dinner and auction, a garage sale. If anyone has items they would like to donate, or willingness to help, please reach out to us on here, Jennah, or anyone else that you see posting about this. Jennah doesn't know just yet that this is getting posted; she will likely be very embarrassed and a little bit upset. Even spreading the word, posting a message publicly would be of benefit. The more people who have awareness, the more likely we can accomplish this goal. I want to see my friend, this beautiful human, be able to carry on and live life, accomplishing everything she hasn't had the opportunity to. She deserves that, and her little girl deserves to have her fierce and tireless mom behind her for many more years to come. Thank you Direct Donations can also be made in the following ways: Cash App: $JennahLRancour Venmo: @Jennah-Rancour Chime: $CultureClub