Hello Friends and Family! I just wanted to reach out and ask a small donation of any size to help out my cousin, Jenna. Many of you know Jenna and some of you do not. However to give you a little background she suffers from a severe form of lupus. For those of you unfamiliar with lupus – it is one of many progressive autoimmune diseases. There is no cure just treatments to stop or slow the progression. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs ("foreign invaders," like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues ("auto" means "self") and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body. Each autoimmune disease is assigned to specific parts of the body. Lupus is generalized and attacks any and all parts of the body alike.
In the past two years Jenna has been hospitalized with two heart surgeries and numerous other cardiac related problems due to her lupus attacking her body. The past month has been especially hard on her. At the beginning of the month she was hospitalized for almost 2 weeks due to a faulty Mitral valve on her heart. At this time it is being medically managed but she will eventually have to undergo surgery on it. She was eager to get back to work and was at work for only 2 days when she fell ill once again with a clotting disorder that her Lupus had caused by attacking her own blood. She was hospitalized for 2 weeks again for numerous surgeries and therapies to remove and dissolve blood clots. She now is on continued therapy for her anticoagulation of her blood and is unable to return to work until this is stabilized.
Jenna is a single mother to 2 young boys and independently supports herself. Her job itself is one of giving to others. She is a fulltime Nurse on a cardiac care unit (in fact it is the one she so often frequents as a patient!). Jenna has worked as a nurse for 5 years and she truly loves it. She has no other source of income other than what she brings in from her paycheck. She does not have any more sick time to cover her time absent from work. For those of you who know Jenna you know she always has a helping hand for anyone in need and always has a laugh to share with her jovial sense of humor. She is not one to ask for help so I decided to take it upon myself to ask for her! My goal was to try to raise enough money for her to be able to pay all of bills and living expenses incurred during one month so she can concentrate on healing and not on stressing to get back to work. Every little bit helps of your generosity and I know she will be overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you so much!
love & appreciation,
Maranda Coe