Jackie Celske's Medical Treatment Expenses

My sister, Jackie Celske, has been battling a host of chronic autoimmune diseases for more than 16 years. If you have had the privilege of knowing her personally, you know how hard it is for her to ask for help when she needs it. She has given so much of herself to her family, friends and community over the years - now it's our turn to give back to her.

Since beginning this medical journey, Jackie has experienced constant pain, 8 major surgeries, countless tests and procedures, life-threatening infections, expensive hospitalizations and unsuccessful exploratory treatments (often not covered by health insurance). Not only have her physical symptoms debilitated her and robbed her of the life she deserves, but the mental toll of advocating for herself alone, missing out on opportunities and the financial stress of medical bills continue to weigh heavily on her and those who love her.

Five months ago, she made the difficult decision to relocate to Florida to find new doctors after her specialists in Iowa City had run out of ideas, leaving behind her home, her friends, her life and ultimately her career. Since quitting her job, she has undergone two major surgeries - one to remove stage 4 endometriosis that was dominating her pelvis and abdomen so severely that it was pushing her organs out of place, and another to replace a neuromodulation device on her spinal cord with a more progressive machine. We all believed the new diagnosis and treatment plan would be the answer, but unfortunately Jackie has experienced no symptom or pain relief.

Yet, in true Jackie fashion, she wasn't ready to give up. She researched and connected with oncologist and hematologist, Dr. Dipnarine Maharaj, in Boynton Beach, FL. Founder of the Maharaj Institute of Immune Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Maharaj conducted extensive studies on Jackie's stem cells and cellular function and diagnosed Jackie with Immune Senescence. This means that Jackie's immune system is aging and deteriorating at a much higher rate than it should be for her age, leaving her with too few natural killer cells to fight off infection. The low count of natural killer cells that she does have are only functioning at about 20-25% compared to the normal efficiency range, so any viruses and bacteria that enter Jackie's body cannot be properly fought off and are now infiltrating her nervous system. This leaves her entire body in a constant state of inflammation that wreaks havoc on literally every bodily system and can explain her unpredictabe symptoms and unresponsiveness to traditional treatments. We are confident this is the root cause of the majority, if not all, of her health concerns.

The good news is that Dr. Maharaj has a treatment plan and is hopeful that the damage in her immune system can be reversed through a combination of IV infusion therapies and injections of the IL-2 protein needed to activate her natural killer cell function. The bad news is that the treatment is not covered by health insurance and is going to cost Jackie a minimum of $65,000 out of pocket before she can get started.

It is my hope that all of us who love Jackie can rally together to at least raise a small portion of the funding needed to get her on the path to healing she so badly deserves. I don't want to see my sister have to sell her home or sacrifice the things she has worked for just to have a chance to feel well again. Please know that ANY amount makes a huge difference and your prayers, messages and words of encouragement are just as needed to help relieve the financial burden and emotional stress of this process.