Jaime Neff Medical Care Fund
Donation protected
Dear Friends and Family,
My sister Jennifer and her family are in need of our help. As many of you may already know, Jen’s daughter (and my niece) Jaime, has a rare and debilitating disease called neurofibromatosis type 2 that has riddled her body with aggressive and damaging tumors.
As you can imagine, after 8 years, 7 major surgeries (and counting) and countless hospital stays, the medical bills have stacked up. At this point, the costs have simply become too overwhelming for my sister and brother-in-law to manage, despite their best efforts.
They need our help now, more than ever: to help them tackle the tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt they face, and to continue to provide the medical care Jaime needs to survive and manage her condition.
As I write this, Jaime is once again in the midst of another multiple-week stay at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, facing life-threatening complications resulting from a massive surgery in August to remove tumors from her abdomen that claimed one of her kidneys and both adrenal glands. My sister has been by her side for every minute of her care, and if not for her dedication as a mother and caregiver, along with Jaime’s courageous spirit and positive, never-give-up mentality, and the unending support from her father Jason and brother Jason Jr., it’s possible we could be having an entirely different conversation.
We have all been amazed by them over the years, and even more so in recent months as they faced yet another bout with this awful disease. To give you a better idea of just what Jaime and her family have been through over the years, please read on.
--
Jaime’s story begins in April 2011, when she was a 9-year-old student in the 4th grade at Barrett Elementary Center in Cresco, PA.
The month before, Jaime had developed a persistent cough that wouldn’t go away, and even after being treated with antibiotics, the cough remained. A return visit to her doctor and a chest x-ray revealed what appeared to be a large mass near her heart; this immediately became an urgent situation.
She was in need of immediate medical attention and she was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia the very next day. A biopsy on the mass was performed the day after that, and within 3 days, Jaime underwent 11+ hours of surgery to remove the tumors that had cruelly wrapped themselves around her aorta and spinal cord.
The surgery was mostly successful, removing the majority of the non-cancerous tumors, but complications would follow.
Two months after that surgery, Jaime was diagnosed with a bone cyst in her right thigh; after it was surgically repaired, she spent that summer wearing a full back brace, confined to a wheelchair.
By October, Jaime had learned to walk again.
Over the next fifteen months, she had three more spinal surgeries to remove more tumors and to place titanium rods and screws on her spine.
Through all of this, Jaime travelled to Philadelphia for numerous MRIs and clinical tests every three months for the first two years, then every six months for the next two years. Jaime and her family live more than 100 miles away from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In late summer 2017, Jaime started experiencing severe, chronic abdominal pain; tests revealed more tumors growing in her abdomen.
In the Spring of this year, further tests revealed Jaime’s right kidney was significantly smaller than her left; Children’s Hospital referred Jaime to the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital transplant team.
In early August of this year, Jaime underwent 8+ hours of surgery at Jeff to remove large tumors from her abdomen. The surgery was successful in removing the majority of the tumors, but the surgical team was unable to save her right kidney, and both of her adrenal glands are gone, resulting in her now having Addison’s Disease.
Complications with the large incision on her abdomen resulted in multiple infections, which the antibiotics did not help. Jaime endured weekly trips back to Philadelphia to see the surgical team and many painful dressing and wound vac changes over the next five weeks.
In early October of this year, Jaime’s fever spiked to 103 degrees, and she was rushed once again to Jeff in Philadelphia, and from there she was admitted back into Children’s Hospital on October 4.
As of today, October 21, Jaime is still in Children’s Hospital, and will most likely need more procedures in the next few weeks to deal with the ongoing issue of lymph leakage. She also has a chest tube, which is quite painful.
Jaime and her family have been handling all of this on their own for the past seven plus years, and have not asked for any assistance until now. Medical and living expenses have become overwhelming; we will be most grateful for any and all help for Jaime’s ongoing treatment.
***
Jaime is now seventeen years old, a cyber-school senior with great grades at Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater, PA. She’s a fighter, an angel, a warrior, a precious gift to us all; her strength is amazing, her intestinal fortitude unflinching, her bravery unwavering. Through it all, her smile is the light of our family’s life. We love her beyond words, we are all Blessed to have Jaime in our lives, and we are Blessed to have the support of our friends and family in this time of need. Thank you all for your love and support.
My sister Jennifer and her family are in need of our help. As many of you may already know, Jen’s daughter (and my niece) Jaime, has a rare and debilitating disease called neurofibromatosis type 2 that has riddled her body with aggressive and damaging tumors.
As you can imagine, after 8 years, 7 major surgeries (and counting) and countless hospital stays, the medical bills have stacked up. At this point, the costs have simply become too overwhelming for my sister and brother-in-law to manage, despite their best efforts.
They need our help now, more than ever: to help them tackle the tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt they face, and to continue to provide the medical care Jaime needs to survive and manage her condition.
As I write this, Jaime is once again in the midst of another multiple-week stay at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, facing life-threatening complications resulting from a massive surgery in August to remove tumors from her abdomen that claimed one of her kidneys and both adrenal glands. My sister has been by her side for every minute of her care, and if not for her dedication as a mother and caregiver, along with Jaime’s courageous spirit and positive, never-give-up mentality, and the unending support from her father Jason and brother Jason Jr., it’s possible we could be having an entirely different conversation.
We have all been amazed by them over the years, and even more so in recent months as they faced yet another bout with this awful disease. To give you a better idea of just what Jaime and her family have been through over the years, please read on.
--
Jaime’s story begins in April 2011, when she was a 9-year-old student in the 4th grade at Barrett Elementary Center in Cresco, PA.
The month before, Jaime had developed a persistent cough that wouldn’t go away, and even after being treated with antibiotics, the cough remained. A return visit to her doctor and a chest x-ray revealed what appeared to be a large mass near her heart; this immediately became an urgent situation.
She was in need of immediate medical attention and she was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia the very next day. A biopsy on the mass was performed the day after that, and within 3 days, Jaime underwent 11+ hours of surgery to remove the tumors that had cruelly wrapped themselves around her aorta and spinal cord.
The surgery was mostly successful, removing the majority of the non-cancerous tumors, but complications would follow.
Two months after that surgery, Jaime was diagnosed with a bone cyst in her right thigh; after it was surgically repaired, she spent that summer wearing a full back brace, confined to a wheelchair.
By October, Jaime had learned to walk again.
Over the next fifteen months, she had three more spinal surgeries to remove more tumors and to place titanium rods and screws on her spine.
Through all of this, Jaime travelled to Philadelphia for numerous MRIs and clinical tests every three months for the first two years, then every six months for the next two years. Jaime and her family live more than 100 miles away from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In late summer 2017, Jaime started experiencing severe, chronic abdominal pain; tests revealed more tumors growing in her abdomen.
In the Spring of this year, further tests revealed Jaime’s right kidney was significantly smaller than her left; Children’s Hospital referred Jaime to the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital transplant team.
In early August of this year, Jaime underwent 8+ hours of surgery at Jeff to remove large tumors from her abdomen. The surgery was successful in removing the majority of the tumors, but the surgical team was unable to save her right kidney, and both of her adrenal glands are gone, resulting in her now having Addison’s Disease.
Complications with the large incision on her abdomen resulted in multiple infections, which the antibiotics did not help. Jaime endured weekly trips back to Philadelphia to see the surgical team and many painful dressing and wound vac changes over the next five weeks.
In early October of this year, Jaime’s fever spiked to 103 degrees, and she was rushed once again to Jeff in Philadelphia, and from there she was admitted back into Children’s Hospital on October 4.
As of today, October 21, Jaime is still in Children’s Hospital, and will most likely need more procedures in the next few weeks to deal with the ongoing issue of lymph leakage. She also has a chest tube, which is quite painful.
Jaime and her family have been handling all of this on their own for the past seven plus years, and have not asked for any assistance until now. Medical and living expenses have become overwhelming; we will be most grateful for any and all help for Jaime’s ongoing treatment.
***
Jaime is now seventeen years old, a cyber-school senior with great grades at Pocono Mountain East High School in Swiftwater, PA. She’s a fighter, an angel, a warrior, a precious gift to us all; her strength is amazing, her intestinal fortitude unflinching, her bravery unwavering. Through it all, her smile is the light of our family’s life. We love her beyond words, we are all Blessed to have Jaime in our lives, and we are Blessed to have the support of our friends and family in this time of need. Thank you all for your love and support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Donald Langsdorf
Organizer
Willow Grove, PA
Jennifer Neff
Beneficiary