An accident that changed her life….

Jacee was in a horrible car crash in July 2025. She suffered life-changing injuries including:

traumatic brain injury

broken vertebrae

severed spinal cord

broken ribs - punctured lungs

cracked sternum

lacerated spleen

…and damage to veins in her neck that caused a massive stroke.

Jacee required a craniotomy - removing a flap from her skull - so she might survive the swelling of her brain after the stroke. Next, a major surgery on her spine to re-align the two broken pieces and fuse her back together. Sadly, the damage to her spinal cord is permanent, and she is now paralyzed from her midsection down.

The trauma to Jacee’s body and brain was extensive and we didn’t know if she would survive. Jacee stayed in NeuroTrauma ICU for a month as her body began to heal. We watched her fighting to survive. She was struggling to breathe with tubes in her chest to remove the fluid from her lungs, drains in her head to reduce pressure, and more IV drips then we could count sometimes. Early on, she had to be heavily sedated because she tried to lift herself out of bed and yanked the breathing tube out of her mouth. Some of the nurses called her feisty. Jacee’s strength to fight gave us hope that she would make it through, but each day was a battle.

Once she was stable enough to move past the ICU, the challenges were not over. In addition to fighting a few rounds of pneumonia and other infections, Jacee developed a rare condition called “sunken skull” where the atmospheric pressure began creating internal pressure on her brain, pushing her brain down toward her brain stem. Thankfully, a nurse recognized the signs in time and Jacee was rushed back for emergency surgery. They had to lift her brain back up in place and then replace her skull flap. She survived yet another traumatic circumstance, but her brain and body paid the price.

The surgery was a success, but she had to be monitored for seizures and will remain on seizure medications indefinitely. The additional affects on her brain set back her recovery and put more obstacles in the way of regaining muscle control and function of her right arm.

Recovery and Rehabilitation

In October, Jacee moved to Craig Hospital to participate in intensive inpatient rehabilitation. They provided specialized therapies as her consciousness improved and addressed challenges with regaining functionality. Not only was the therapy for Jacee critical, but the training and education for us - her parents, and now, primary caregivers- made it possible for her to finally leave the hospital.

Coming Home!

Jacee spent over 5 months in hospitals before finally getting to come home. Yay!! But, now we face the reality of life for her in a wheel chair. The changes to her body and brain present many challenges for her and for our humble family home - a cabin in the woods at high elevation.

Honestly, setting up a Go Fund Me was out of our comfort zone, but people keep asking how they can help Jacee and if we had a GFM set up. So, here we are. We are raising funds to help with the costs of making our home accessible, safe, and therapeutic for our Jacee.

Home modifications needed: new doors, widening of door ways, new flooring, electrical improvements for medical equipment - especially oxygen support, bathroom and shower modifications, and more. It’s an old cabin….and so, we may have to leave this place and build a house that would offer total wheel chair access.

Access to house: wooden ramp over 110 feet long to access the main floor only, re-level or resurface of parking by the ramp for loading /unloading Jacee in her wheel chair, modifications to make basement entrance wheel chair friendly- she has no access now, and still looking at ways to create access to the rest of the house.

Adaptive vehicle: must be four-wheel drive because of our location and elevation (snow & ice). If you haven’t looked, adaptive vehicles come with serious sticker shock!! Outdoor access to our property- ?? wheel chair ATV of some sort??

Whole home generator: to ensure Jacee has OXYGEN support and that all medical equipment will operate, even during a snow or wind storm. (Quotes are $20,000+)

Adaptive & therapeutic equipment: tools and equipment that will help her continue to recover and gain functionality - adaptive tools and technology for communication and daily living, equipment for physical and occupational therapies, and other helpful items we have yet to learn about.

Medical bills: even with insurance and now Medicaid, the bills keep coming.

Jacee continued with Outpatient Therapy at Craig Hospital and she is making progress every day. We are thrilled to see her smile and show some personality as we kept hope that we will hear her voice again one day!! She has come far in healing from her injuries, but the journey of rehabilitation is long and it continues on.

We are grateful for any and all support to help our girl learn to live again.

Jacee before the accident…