Help JP Heal
Donation protected
Help JP Heal, Pay for Medical Bills, and Get Back on Her Feet
WHAT HAPPENED
JP started experiencing symptoms of covid-19 in Los Angeles on January 18th of 2022. She had three days of fever, aches, cough, sore throat, and fatigue. The symptoms subsided and though she was tired, she gained a 95 on her pulse oximeter and was able to dance to Aretha Franklin without incident after about 5 days.
JP has multiple sclerosis and is immunocompromised. She gets infusions of Rituxin every six months to manage her disease.
JP was feeling sufficiently healed, she tested negative for covid, and felt confident getting on a plane to Isla de Mujeres to celebrate her 50th b-day, a plan over a year in the making.
Once she was on the island, however, the hot and humid weather seemed to activate her MS symptoms, which isn’t out of the ordinary. Her feet felt more numb than usual (MS), her legs were cramping, she had some brain fog and fatigue. This didn’t feel strange under the circumstances, and JP just made time to rest, chalking it up to the new climate.
What she didn’t realize, however, was that covid wasn’t finished with her yet, and while she was no longer contagious, it had burrowed deep into her lungs and began to turn them to popcorn. The fatigue slowly began to worsen, she felt very dizzy, her nails changed color and everything began to taste strange. Water tasted salty, black beans tasted acidic, tangy home-made green sauce was bland, and the only things that tasted good were pineapple and bananas. Her personality changed, she was irritable, too tired to get out of bed, disinterested in everything. Her friends took notice and took action.
She was taken to an ER where the doctor gave her fluids and took an X-ray, but she was released without any antibiotics. The X-ray showed serious lung congestion, which was largely ignored and not taken seriously by the medical facility.
She was dismissed, and then okay for a day, and then JP started to tank again. She saw a hotel doctor who prescribed cough syrup, pain meds, and an antibiotic that was, at this point, not going to take care of the now uncontrollable raging infection inside of her torso. After 3 nights of trying to make the meds work with symptoms worsening, it was time for the ER again. Friends and fam raced her to the hospital at 4:30am. It took three tries to find a place that would take her.
JP’s friends and family saved her life with fast talking and pleading to get her into a good facility. Luckily, the third time was the charm. Hospital Azura was an excellent and knowledgeable establishment specializing in covid treatment and rehabilitation.
The Hospital Azura doctor shook as he hurriedly placed an oxygen tube over JP’s nose. One’s pulse oximeter reading (measuring oxygen in the blood) should never be in the 80s. When JP got to Hospital Azura at 4:30am, her pulse oximeter reading was 34. Her lips were blue, she was completely disoriented and incapacitated. She is lucky that she wasn’t sedated and intubated. A CT scan revealed a grave situation indeed; so serious that the doctor instructedtold JP’s friends and family to not to show it to her. Her lungs were severely swollen and inflamed.
The oxygen started working its magic, and JP reached stabilization and the hospital then moved checked her into a room and began a comprehensive care routine to start addressing the inflammation and swelling. For 8 days, hospital staff worked toward brining they brought JP back to better health, and for 8 days, The Bear Family (two fabulous queer wives and their precocious 7 yr old) didn’t leave JP’s side, Theyand paid her medical bills, and looked after her, moved to a hoteland stayed across the street from the hospital in a hotel, and visited her every day as well as checked in with staff for updates on JP’s progress.whenever they could.
JP’s sister-in-law, Sherry, paid previous bills at the other for the earlier hospitals visit and hotel doctor bills, and looked afterwatched JP ‘round the clock while administering care and meds before JP was admitted to hospital Azura. Friends both in Mexico and the US formed a task force and made calls to her US doctors, and advocated for JP’s health as sheJP was incapable of the awareness and cognizance needed to care for herself.
Eventually, more than a week later, the doctors at Azura approved JP for a commercial flight back to the US without having to be accompanied by medical personnel. This was an ambitious assessment, and JP’s pulse oximeter plummeted down to 83 when the plane reached 10,000 feet. Alaska Airlines provided supplemental oxygen to JP for the remainder of the flight. Upon landing, she was wheeled through customs and baggage, and her ultra-friends whisked her to the ER at Kaiser Hospital on Sunset where she was admitted and treated for severe covid infection and a kidney injury.
HOW THIS EFFECTS JP NOW
JP is now in isolation until February 28th. She tested negative for covid in Mexico on Feb 14th, and then tested positive at Kaiser on February 15th. She’s been consistently yo-yoing on testing since she first contracted the virus. She was told that covid will probably remain in her body, and she’ll continue to test positive for the next three months.
JP cannot work. Her legs are pretty wobbly, she has brain fog and short-term memory issues, and is rather forgetful. Oxygen depletion in your body does weird things. There are aches and pains difficult to describe, she is delicate and tender, but able to shower and balance adequately. She can’t really do stairs very well, and deep breaths feel very raw, almost like a burning sensation.
She’s doing PT for her lungs daily and has not needed supplemental oxygen since her flight, but she has a tank and a machine just in case. She is safe and happy at home with her dog and house mate and very happy to be eating good food delivered by friends.
WHAT IS RECOMMENDED TREATMENT FOR JP
JP’s MS symptoms persist, thrown out of whack from covid, but they are calming down, which is good. Rest really helps. She is scheduled to have her routine (twice a year) 4 hr infusion of Rituxin on March 7th that slows the progression of her multiple sclerosis. She has been hit with the double whammy of having to manage two major health problems at one time, and the orders she has received are to rest as much as possible, exercise the lungs, do daily easy walking, go really slow, and continue monitoring her vitals, and follow a specific diet built on bolstering her health. She monitors and records her blood pressure and pulse oximeter readings 4 times a day, and is keeping good levels.
She will be doing more tests and labs, following up with her doctors, hopefully meeting with a pulmonologist, and continuing the best practices and ongoing dialogue for best management of her condition(s).
HOW YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP
Costs are wracking up, and while JP’s insurance will pay some things, it won’t pay others. Funds you give will help pay for JP’s past care and reimburse her family and friends for the bills they paid overseas to help save her life, and be there with her during her treatment and pay for her hospital discharge.
Funds will also help her with continuing tests, labs, treatments, and appointments for both covid and multiple sclerosis. Your contribution will also help pay for her daily cost of living, making it possible for JP to take the time off needed to focus on getting better and stronger. This is not a quick recovery, but it is a sturdy one.
Because she was vaxxed and boosted, her recovery progress has been incredible, and with lots of rest and rehabilitation and new strategies, she should be able to return as the artsy bartender reverend puppeteer community leader you’ve come to know and love over the years.
PURCHASE SOME JP ART
Donating to the GoFundMe is so very helpful, and greatly appreciated! But as you know, JP is an artist, and she recently put a bunch of paintings up on her store: juliannaparremporium
Currently, all sales from the JP Emporium go toward her GoFundMe, and she loves it when her art finds a good home. Take a look and get something for yourself or a loved one and help this artist keep arting.
WHAT HAPPENED
JP started experiencing symptoms of covid-19 in Los Angeles on January 18th of 2022. She had three days of fever, aches, cough, sore throat, and fatigue. The symptoms subsided and though she was tired, she gained a 95 on her pulse oximeter and was able to dance to Aretha Franklin without incident after about 5 days.
JP has multiple sclerosis and is immunocompromised. She gets infusions of Rituxin every six months to manage her disease.
JP was feeling sufficiently healed, she tested negative for covid, and felt confident getting on a plane to Isla de Mujeres to celebrate her 50th b-day, a plan over a year in the making.
Once she was on the island, however, the hot and humid weather seemed to activate her MS symptoms, which isn’t out of the ordinary. Her feet felt more numb than usual (MS), her legs were cramping, she had some brain fog and fatigue. This didn’t feel strange under the circumstances, and JP just made time to rest, chalking it up to the new climate.
What she didn’t realize, however, was that covid wasn’t finished with her yet, and while she was no longer contagious, it had burrowed deep into her lungs and began to turn them to popcorn. The fatigue slowly began to worsen, she felt very dizzy, her nails changed color and everything began to taste strange. Water tasted salty, black beans tasted acidic, tangy home-made green sauce was bland, and the only things that tasted good were pineapple and bananas. Her personality changed, she was irritable, too tired to get out of bed, disinterested in everything. Her friends took notice and took action.
She was taken to an ER where the doctor gave her fluids and took an X-ray, but she was released without any antibiotics. The X-ray showed serious lung congestion, which was largely ignored and not taken seriously by the medical facility.
She was dismissed, and then okay for a day, and then JP started to tank again. She saw a hotel doctor who prescribed cough syrup, pain meds, and an antibiotic that was, at this point, not going to take care of the now uncontrollable raging infection inside of her torso. After 3 nights of trying to make the meds work with symptoms worsening, it was time for the ER again. Friends and fam raced her to the hospital at 4:30am. It took three tries to find a place that would take her.
JP’s friends and family saved her life with fast talking and pleading to get her into a good facility. Luckily, the third time was the charm. Hospital Azura was an excellent and knowledgeable establishment specializing in covid treatment and rehabilitation.
The Hospital Azura doctor shook as he hurriedly placed an oxygen tube over JP’s nose. One’s pulse oximeter reading (measuring oxygen in the blood) should never be in the 80s. When JP got to Hospital Azura at 4:30am, her pulse oximeter reading was 34. Her lips were blue, she was completely disoriented and incapacitated. She is lucky that she wasn’t sedated and intubated. A CT scan revealed a grave situation indeed; so serious that the doctor instructedtold JP’s friends and family to not to show it to her. Her lungs were severely swollen and inflamed.
The oxygen started working its magic, and JP reached stabilization and the hospital then moved checked her into a room and began a comprehensive care routine to start addressing the inflammation and swelling. For 8 days, hospital staff worked toward brining they brought JP back to better health, and for 8 days, The Bear Family (two fabulous queer wives and their precocious 7 yr old) didn’t leave JP’s side, Theyand paid her medical bills, and looked after her, moved to a hoteland stayed across the street from the hospital in a hotel, and visited her every day as well as checked in with staff for updates on JP’s progress.whenever they could.
JP’s sister-in-law, Sherry, paid previous bills at the other for the earlier hospitals visit and hotel doctor bills, and looked afterwatched JP ‘round the clock while administering care and meds before JP was admitted to hospital Azura. Friends both in Mexico and the US formed a task force and made calls to her US doctors, and advocated for JP’s health as sheJP was incapable of the awareness and cognizance needed to care for herself.
Eventually, more than a week later, the doctors at Azura approved JP for a commercial flight back to the US without having to be accompanied by medical personnel. This was an ambitious assessment, and JP’s pulse oximeter plummeted down to 83 when the plane reached 10,000 feet. Alaska Airlines provided supplemental oxygen to JP for the remainder of the flight. Upon landing, she was wheeled through customs and baggage, and her ultra-friends whisked her to the ER at Kaiser Hospital on Sunset where she was admitted and treated for severe covid infection and a kidney injury.
HOW THIS EFFECTS JP NOW
JP is now in isolation until February 28th. She tested negative for covid in Mexico on Feb 14th, and then tested positive at Kaiser on February 15th. She’s been consistently yo-yoing on testing since she first contracted the virus. She was told that covid will probably remain in her body, and she’ll continue to test positive for the next three months.
JP cannot work. Her legs are pretty wobbly, she has brain fog and short-term memory issues, and is rather forgetful. Oxygen depletion in your body does weird things. There are aches and pains difficult to describe, she is delicate and tender, but able to shower and balance adequately. She can’t really do stairs very well, and deep breaths feel very raw, almost like a burning sensation.
She’s doing PT for her lungs daily and has not needed supplemental oxygen since her flight, but she has a tank and a machine just in case. She is safe and happy at home with her dog and house mate and very happy to be eating good food delivered by friends.
WHAT IS RECOMMENDED TREATMENT FOR JP
JP’s MS symptoms persist, thrown out of whack from covid, but they are calming down, which is good. Rest really helps. She is scheduled to have her routine (twice a year) 4 hr infusion of Rituxin on March 7th that slows the progression of her multiple sclerosis. She has been hit with the double whammy of having to manage two major health problems at one time, and the orders she has received are to rest as much as possible, exercise the lungs, do daily easy walking, go really slow, and continue monitoring her vitals, and follow a specific diet built on bolstering her health. She monitors and records her blood pressure and pulse oximeter readings 4 times a day, and is keeping good levels.
She will be doing more tests and labs, following up with her doctors, hopefully meeting with a pulmonologist, and continuing the best practices and ongoing dialogue for best management of her condition(s).
HOW YOUR DONATIONS WILL HELP
Costs are wracking up, and while JP’s insurance will pay some things, it won’t pay others. Funds you give will help pay for JP’s past care and reimburse her family and friends for the bills they paid overseas to help save her life, and be there with her during her treatment and pay for her hospital discharge.
Funds will also help her with continuing tests, labs, treatments, and appointments for both covid and multiple sclerosis. Your contribution will also help pay for her daily cost of living, making it possible for JP to take the time off needed to focus on getting better and stronger. This is not a quick recovery, but it is a sturdy one.
Because she was vaxxed and boosted, her recovery progress has been incredible, and with lots of rest and rehabilitation and new strategies, she should be able to return as the artsy bartender reverend puppeteer community leader you’ve come to know and love over the years.
PURCHASE SOME JP ART
Donating to the GoFundMe is so very helpful, and greatly appreciated! But as you know, JP is an artist, and she recently put a bunch of paintings up on her store: juliannaparremporium
Currently, all sales from the JP Emporium go toward her GoFundMe, and she loves it when her art finds a good home. Take a look and get something for yourself or a loved one and help this artist keep arting.
Co-organizers (3)
David LeBarron
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Julianna Parr
Beneficiary
Veronica Lebron
Co-organizer