Jenna's battle

Jenna and her family need your help. The money will go to help cover the added expenses being incurred during this time while both parents are constantly by their daughters side. It is unknown how long Jenna will remain in the hospital or how long her recovery will be. Please read story below:

On December 16, 2023, Jenna was found on the floor, holding her head, crying in pain. 911 was called, paramedics rushed her to Vancouver General Hospital where they did a CT scan, they discovered a very large brain bleed. They quickly performed an emergency craniotomy to save her life. A few days later, Jenna turned 18 while in the ICU fighting for her life. She is paralyzed on her right side and the road to recovery will be a long journey. She is currently in the Neuro ICU.

Jenna has battled severe health issues since she was 8 years old when she suffered her first brain hemorrhage which left her paralyzed on the right side of her body. After many trips to the hospital, it was determined that she had had a stroke. She was later diagnosed with Polyarteritis Nodosa, a very rare blood vessel disease that can affect the whole body. Through rehabilitation she slowly regained her strength and after months and months of hard work, determination and frustration, she was able to walk, swim and play with her friends again. Several months after that, she started having severe belly pain, she was given high doses of morphine to try and combat this to no avail. Her bowels eventually perforated which resulted in an emergency surgery. This meant more hospital stays and recovery time. Four months later, the same thing happened again. This meant another bowel surgery to remove a section of her bowels that wasn’t getting proper blood flow.

A few years went by and when Jenna was eleven, she seemed to be doing well. She was in school again full time, made some good friends in British Columbia after moving from Newfoundland. One day while at her friend’s house, she experienced a sudden headache. Her parents picked her up as she was having numbness and tingling in her face. She was quickly rushed to the emergency department and they discovered that she had an aneurysm. Another procedure was done to place coils in her brain so that it was less likely to rupture. Recovery from that was very unpleasant as she suffered episodes of vertigo and ongoing headaches.

A year later, in July 2023, Jenna’s right eye started drooping so her sister took her to emergency. This time they noticed that the aneurysm had gotten bigger and would need to be addressed promptly. The doctor placed a stent in her head and placed her on blood thinners to keep her blood flowing through without clotting.

Notwithstanding these ongoing health battles Jenna continues to be the type of person who lights up every room she enters. Her personality shines bright in everything she does and her positivity and outlook on life is nothing short of amazing. Her resilience is unbelievably inspiring and her sense of humor is what makes her extra special. She is truly one of a kind.

Both parents are constantly by her side and her sister withdrew from college for the upcoming semester and quit her job to be with Jenna as much as possible.