Help Jessica Fight Acute Myeloid Leukemia

UPDATE: Jessica will be going into the hospital on Monday, December 11 to start the long process for her bone marrow transplant. She will be in the hospital for about a month and then will have a long recovery. We both are a ball of nerves, and our emotions are anywhere from extremely happy to extremely scared. On top of this, Jessica‘s short term leave is ending mid December and she will no longer have a salary coming in to help her. Her health insurance will also be ending at this time too.

We both are so very thankful for the help and support that we have received this far, but if you could pass this GoFundMe to other friends and family, it would be so appreciated. It is such an extremely frightening time to know that your income and health insurance will no longer be there! She is not used to not being able to pay for the things that she requires so this has also been hard on her to seek help from others. She already has gone through so much physically and mentally with her treatment and she struggles with not having her father since he passed of cancer when she was young. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers and as I mentioned, please share her story! Thank you in advance for any help!

My name is Maria Polink and I am a loving mother of a beautiful 27-year-old daughter named Jessica. On July 11th, our whole world was turned upside down. Jessica thought she had a sinus infection, but the doctor told us to go straight to the emergency room since her white blood cell count was extremely high. Once at the hospital, they informed us that she would need to be transferred to a larger hospital for care. We were then transferred to VCU hospital to their critical care building where we received the news that Jessica has Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

If you know Jessica, you know that she is not the one to ask for help. She is fiercely independent and has always held a job since 10th grade. With her diagnosis, she is not able to work. While she regains her footing, she will be needing help with her medical bills and living expenses. On top of that, her college (VCU) loan payments will be starting this Fall. She had hoped to be able to pay those off so she could be even more independent.

I would love to have Jessica back home with me in northern Virginia where she would not have to worry about living arrangements, but she has an incredible team of doctors, nurses and friends in the Richmond area. She wants to continue with this care group in her fight. Jessica will require additional doses of chemo, blood transfusions, additional platelets, bone marrow biopsies and eventually a bone marrow transplant. To make matters worse, Jessica’s father who would have been the best bone marrow match passed away when Jessica was just 14.

This diagnosis is truly a nightmare and the last thing I want my daughter to worry about is the financial burden of her medical and day-to-day expenses. The added stress will not allow her body the opportunity to recover. Any amount donated will be used for Jessica’s bills. And any amount that you can contribute would be so helpful and greatly appreciated. If you are unable to contribute at this time, please share Jessica’s story with your family and friends. Please also keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She is my whole heart and all I have in this world.