Hi, I'm Dani and I want to give you a little background and an update on Janay. (Janay has approved this message.) I was a student of Janay's and now teach at Gallaudet University. She mapped out my career and aided me to get to where I am today. I'm hoping to give back to her.

TL:DR - Janay has spent her life giving to the community but now she’s in a desperate situation and needs your help. Janay needs a safety net, and we hope you can be a part of it!

ASL version - https://youtu.be/bp_1zWH-Iqg

Janay's Background:

While earning her BA in Psychology at the University of California, Davis, Janay began working as a caregiver and independent living support to students on campus. After graduating with her Masters degree in Interpretation from Gallaudet University in 1994 (being the second Deaf person and first Deaf woman to graduate from the program), Janay founded and served as the program director of the Signed Language Interpreter Training Program at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. She impacted hundreds of students between 1996 and 2002. That’s where I met Janay. We became fast friends, and she has been a teacher, mentor, best friend, and family to me since 1998. Years later, in 2008, she became a state-certified teacher to Deaf and hard of hearing children from pre-K through fifth grade until she had to retire due to medical issues in 2020. She has also been a long-time dog trainer and support to many dog parents! In fact, she still hopes to return to training pups ASAP.

ASL version - https://youtu.be/NzKu8z9rPwA

How did she get into this dilemma?:

Janay has been dealing with various health issues over the years. She has managed diabetes for a long time now. Back in her 30s (in 2004), she had a major heart attack with a triple bypass (called a “cabbage”). While having her chest cracked open slowed her down a bit, she got back up swinging. Fast forward about fifteen years, Janay began having issues with her eyes. For a time, she even lost her eyesight. She regained some of her vision through the wonders of medical technology (several surgeries and medication). However, she still has blurriness in one eye and is entirely blind the other. In 2020, Janay had the stroke that led to her retirement. When severing from the district, she lost access to her health insurance and all that comes with it. Her husband (at that time) would not discuss options, did not help with care or rehab, refused to help with filing for disability, and would not add her to his health insurance coverage. She could not sustain COBRA for long without income.

Since 2020, she has had several ups and downs. She seemed to be progressing; however, the lack of access to health care started to take its toll. Her husband failed to get her the medication she needed to thrive. She continued to try to manage her diabetes through diet but her legs continued to swell, pushing her further into congestive heart failure.

In August of 2021, Janay fell in her home. She was too weak to stand on her own. She stayed pinned to the floor, trapped near a large dog crate for at least 12 hours overnight. Her husband finally called a family friend to try to help get her up after Janay repeatedly asked him to call emergency services. That friend saw the urgency of the situation and her inability to help and immediately instead called 911. Janay was hospitalized for over a week and later sent to rehab to heal. She was unaware that her husband had already filed for divorce in February of that same year.

During that hospitalization, the doctors noticed that she was leaking liters of fluid from her legs and had open wounds that were ulcerating. When she was released, they ordered follow-up home wound care.

Janay slipped through the cracks. She had no insurance to pay for emergency transport, hospitalization, and/or rehab. Wound care was discontinued.

In early 2022, her husband left Janay and their dogs (Mia, Jake, Kenji, and Charli), moving out of Texas. He later took Mia and Jake, and a few belongings from their shared home. A few months later, the divorce was finalized without Janay’s awareness.

ASL version - https://youtu.be/IuvGWUDHix8

Where is she now?:

By November 2022, Janay needed extensive help to file for disability, figure out medical care, and get some kind of health insurance coverage (after an additional hospitalization). I came down to Corpus to help out. We were able to get some applications in and limited Medicaid coverage from the county. She began following up with wound care as she still had ulcers and weeping from her legs. She could see doctors for diabetes and heart medication through the Hector P. Garcia clinic for minimal fees. She started getting things together. However, it has been too little, too late.

Janay has been living in squalor with both Kenji and Charli, basically staying in a 5-foot by 5-foot space in the “living room” of the house. She spends her time in a recliner (even sleeping there). She has not been able to pay her utility bills for several months and, even now, has no running water in her home. She does not have access to a kitchen (no refrigerator or stove) or a working bathroom. Her electricity has been shut off and on many times in the past 6 months. Even now, she has a negative checking account balance and owes thousands of dollars to various utility companies. This amount does not include any of her medical expenses.

In early January this year, Janay was so weak that she fell several times in her home. At one point, she split her forehead open, which required another call to 911, transport to the ER, and several scans to determine that she hadn’t suffered a concussion. When she fell, she was so weak that she could not get up on her own. A couple of friends went to her home on several occasions to physically help her up.

I quickly arranged to work remotely and drove to Texas from DC to support her. I honestly didn’t know how bad she was. When I arrived on Saturday, January 21 (with dim sum from Golden Wok in hand), I moved her and Charli into the Airbnb I rented. The first two days, she showed signs of hopefulness. We did some dog training with my Frenchie, Molly (https://youtube.com/shorts/gWLSUUoajBY). I bought ingredients for her to cook dinner. She was excited.

Unfortunately, she started getting weaker and weaker to the point of being unable to stand or move. The pain from her weeping, ulcerated legs continued to grow as infection seemed to set in. Late Wednesday night, I rushed her to the ER for pain management as she was at a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale. They refused to admit her and sent her home with meds and me as a caregiver. I provided round-the-clock care from Wednesday, January 25, to Monday, January 30. By her follow-up appointment on Monday, it took us over 2 ½ hours to get her from her recliner to the car. As she explains it, she was in severe pain again – “a dazzling spray of pain.”

The resident at the clinic did a direct admit to Spohn Shoreline to their trauma floor to try to get her legs under control and avoid further infection, with worries of sepsis. On our first night there, her purse and some other belongings went missing from her room when I left to teach my class – they were luckily recovered the next day after filing reports with security. I have been staying with her for hours at the hospital, taking care of Charli (and Molly) at the Airbnb, taking care of Kenji at the house, and trying to maintain my full-time job. Janay’s hemoglobin levels dropped significantly low on Friday, and she vomited dried blood. As she was receiving a blood transfusion that afternoon, the hospital’s case worker and social worker told us that she had been denied transfer to the rehab center we were hoping would provide interim care and that they would be looking to discharge her for “home health care.” I explained that she does not have a suitable home for care. I also reminded them that I would be leaving soon. Their response was that they could try to set up outpatient care but could not help with housing.

Overnight, around 4:00am on Friday, Janay was transferred to the ICU. I stayed with her most of visiting hours Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This morning she was transferred to a cardiac unit. They are working to keep her blood pressure stable, her pain under control, and her circulation moving.

I will spend this next week working on getting her Social Security straightened out, an application for Medicare put in, and (hopefully) getting her transitioned into a skilled nursing facility. This is where you come in. Janay seldom asks for help; however, she knows that there is an army of angels out there, ready and willing to do what they can to get her well, get her in a safe living space, and get her literally back on her feet. We will be eternally grateful if you can donate any amount to help with this. She hopes to one day be able to repay your favor.

ASL version - https://youtu.be/rgD_3PPxylg

All funds will be disbursed either to Janay directly or to payees to cover medical costs, utility bills, and general living expenses.