In support of the Aquilano Family

Donald Aquilano is my nephew and Godson and he has just lost his beloved wife, Jennifer, his "Pickle" after fighting a long battle with a chronic illness.  

 

On May 16, 2022, Donald and Jenny's 18th wedding anniversary, Jenny closed her eyes and was placed on life support to try and give her lungs a chance to heal and get stronger; however, her body was too tired and on June 7th, Don's beloved Jenny opened her eyes in Heaven.

 

 

 

 

Please take a few minutes to read about Don and Jenny and their love story:

 

A Modern Beauty and the Beast

 

Donald fell head over heels in love with his beloved Jennifer but as the story is told, she wasn't exactly on board at the time. It took some work but Don finally won Jen's heart and they married and had their 1st child.  As many young couples do, Don and Jen had some hard times but love, hard work and perseverance won and they built a good life together.  Life got better and a few years later they decided it was time to grow their family a little more.

 

In 2009, during her pregnancy with Donald and Jenny's second child, Jenny was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG), a chronic autoimmune, neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles that are responsible for functions involving breathing and moving parts of the body, including the arms and legs. Jenny was very sick and remained in the hospital after their daughter was born, during that time she was on life support for 20 days. Jenny was so ill that the doctors didn't think she would survive and everyone said their goodbyes. But anyone that knows Jenny, knows she is a fighter and she was determined to get better and to go home to be a mom to her girls and wife to her husband.

 

 

 

 

Don will tell you that Jen saved him, that she made him the man he is today. Jenny said that Don was her blessing and she couldn't imagine her life without him, he was her prince. Neither of them ever gave up on each other, their family or their love. They had their very own fairy tale, as they said, their own modern day Beauty and the Beast story.

 

 

 

 

Although there were a lot of ups and downs, hospital stays and the illness was always there, through God's blessing, Jen was thankfully able to fight for another 13 years until her body couldn't fight anymore.  As we all know, Jenny fought valiantly and was a warrior!

 

During their marriage Don structured his life around caring for his Jenny and their girls. He was a full time husband and caregiver to Jenny and an excellent father to their daughters.   All while working full-time at a job that allowed him to stay close to home. For that, Don is grateful.

 

Don will tell you he's the richest man alive, he has everything he ever wanted (his family) and his heart is full although broken with the loss of his beloved. He won't tell you that Jenny's benefits were crucial to their monthly expenses and he is now faced with trying to restructure his life and figure out a way to make ends meet. All this while he is still recovering from injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident.

Jenny's Gift

Jenny's legacy lives in her sweet, beautiful daughters, they are truly wonderful young ladies.  They have the best of their mom and dad in them.  Her legacy also lives in the hearts of the many people she has touched.  But in true Jenny fashion, she has gifted some of her organs to people who we will never meet and others to science so that perhaps she can aide in a treatment or cure for MG.  Jenny's gifts to this world will have a long lasting ripple effect.  Jenny is an inspiration to many.

It takes a Village

 

I wish there was something that I could do to help Donald and to heal his and the girls' hearts but only God and time will do that. All I can do is try and help Don like he's helped others, through fundraising to try and lighten his load to give him a chance to re-group and restructure his life.  To try and take some of the financial burden from his shoulders so that he can take care of himself and his girls needs during this most difficult time. I live too far away to help in his daily life and am hopeful that this attempt will make a difference for him and the girls.  Don has already faced the reality that he will have to sell Jenny's van in order to purchase a vehicle for Hailey, just like he and Jen did for Denise, as he will not be able to manage both vehicles.  I'd hate for him to have to cancel the vacation that he and Jenny planned for the girls in order to pay bills.  This is a tangible gift that their mom was part of and it is already paid for and something they are looking forward to.  We are doing our best to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

I also thought by organizing a fundraising page, it would help other people who want to help Don and the girls, to give others a chance to help Jenny's family in this sad time, and to honor Jenny's memory.  I can think of no way to honor Jenny more than to help the family she loved so dearly.  I know she will be watching with pride and love.

 

It is my hope that people who know Donald, Jenny, their girls, and their extended families would consider donating. To help us give Don time to restructure his life and be available to help his girls grieve, to give him the means to stay afloat until he figures out his next steps. Unfortunately there is only so much I and our immediate family can do, and sometimes we have to look outside our own village for additional help and support.  I used $9,000 as a benchmark but that will only help for a few months as benefits have already been cut.  It may take longer for Don to possibly receive benefits for the girls and for him to figure out his next steps.  Every bit that we can generate will be most helpful and appreciated.  

 

If anyone would like to contribute to this effort but would prefer to send a check, please contact me and I will be happy to give you an address.  

Thank you for reading this far and for your help.  A donation, a loving message to Donald and the girls, or a share of this page would be greatly appreciated.  I would also ask that you offer a prayer of peace and comfort to Jenny's entire family, a lot of hearts are hurting.  Jenny will be missed by many. 

 

(Don walks annually to honor the 9/11 victims and raise funds for the military, for those who don't know. Here is a link to his 2018 walk: Walk to NYC 2018 )


#insupportofDonandJen


Aunt Kathy 
[email redacted]