Let us introduce you to our dear friend Jennifer Schwab. Many of you know of Jen and her family and the strength they have needed over the years to survive the multiple tragedies in their lives. Paul and Judi Schwab have lost 3 daughters, a daughter in law and a son in law (Jen’s husband of 23 days) Jen’s sister Lisa lost her battle with Triple Negative Breast Cancer in 2009. Jen was diagnosed with this same aggressive Breast Cancer in 2021. She completed 18 rounds of Chemotherapy, Radiation and was completely cancer free for one year. June of this year brought the devastating news that her cancer was back. Jen is finding herself back in the same boat with her chemotherapy treatment and will be having a double mastectomy soon. After surgery she will have 9 months of immunotherapy. As if Cancer isn’t enough, Jen has also been dealing with blood clots in her lung and leg and kidney stones that resulted in ER visits and a recent hospital stay. Due to her health she is on a leave of absence from her job teaching (which she loves and adores her students) and while on leave she is not covered by the school insurance and needs to take out a Cobra insurance plan for $1044.00 per month and disability only pays 60% of her salary. Medical expenses are in the thousands and the stress this brings affects Jen’s physical and emotional health. Jennifer is a single mother of 3 beautiful girls and the sole provider for her household. She has a grand baby named Brielle whom she adores and will be getting another one to love in a few weeks. Jen has lived in Owatonna her whole life and has worked for Owatonna Public Schools for 14 years. She has been a committee member for From the Heart where her sister was the first recipient for the funds raised. She is a mother, daughter, auntie, mimi, sister and friend to many. Jen is the kind of person who would drop what she is doing at the drop of a hat to help anyone and she is humble to ask for help herself. She is a fierce warrior taking on this cancer with a positive attitude and a strong will to beat it. She needs our help to take some of the financial stress off of her plate so she can focus solely on her health. Please feel free to reach out to any of us should you have a question.

“And she will keep coming back to life, over and over again, because beneath the skin of this gentle human lives a warrior unstoppable.”

Annabelle M. Ramos

Margo McKay

Nancy Williams

Jodie DeKam Valentine