My name is Austin Sabers and I am one of Jillian Nitschelm’s older brothers. Over the last couple of weeks, Jillian has been dealing with what we thought was just a virus. Despite several trips to the urgent care for a persistent sore throat and cough, she just wasn't getting any better. On Sunday November 20th, Jillian went in to the Bozeman Emergency Room in hopes of some answers and more aggressive treatment. Upon arrival to the ER her oxygen was 78% on room air (normal is >90%), she was coughing up a significant amount of blood and in severe respiratory distress. She was placed on a high flow oxygen machine to get her oxygen levels back up, and a significant amount of testing was started. Around 10:30pm on Sunday, she was admitted to Bozemans Intensive Care Unit, and the decision was made by doctors to place her on a ventilator to assist with her breathing and attempt to get her lungs to recover. An initial diagnosis of severe atypical pneumonia, has now turned to septic shock related to a bilateral bacterial pneumonia. Her road to recovery, is going to be a long one with ongoing testing and heavy antibiotics to combat the infection, and high level respiratory support. Drs are predicting at least several more days of being on the ventilator. With that being said, Jillian will have significant financial burden when this is all over with, with loss of income and hefty medical bills. I am hoping to lessen that burden for her by fundraising, so she can focus on recovering and healing. Jillian is set to graduate from Montana State University this coming May in Nutrition and Dietetics, and has been working so diligently to complete it. Her professors and MSU staff are all working hard to keep her on track, and we want to thank them for that. With a little bit of your help, Jillian can worry less about the financial stress and focus on getting healthy and back on track for graduating. Jillian is one of the strongest women I know, she has huge dreams and expectations, and with a little extra prayer she will get through this. Thank you so much for considering even a small donation and keeping Jillian in your thoughts and prayers.

I will do my best to update this as I can, but feel free to reach out via social media if you’d like an update on her status.