Hello everyone. My name is Jon Middlebrook or "JoJo" to our friends. I am starting this fund for my beautiful girlfriend Shylah Ward. I have donated anonymously to many of these funds in the past, but never thought that I would be starting one. If Shylah was awake, she would never let me do this because she never puts herself first. She is the mother of two boys. Jax is 14, and Liam is 12. She also has two more bonus kids Dylan and Taylor. She has helped so many people over the years without ever asking for anything for herself. She has been to two Emergency Rooms and has now been transferred to the Tampa General Hospital in the ICU Burn Unit. Now is the time for us to show her how much we love and appreciate everything that she has done for so many. Now is the time that she needs all the thoughts, prayers, and support that you can offer. The amount of medical bills is quickly increasing every day. She is still currently in the hospital. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but they can’t begin to describe the amount of pain she has had to endure.

Shylah has always had a difficult time medically. For years different doctors had suspected that Shylah has some form of an autoimmune disease, but none of the tests have been conclusive She is always the rare case that makes the Doctors scratch their heads. Her RA doctor started her on HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE as a trial to see if it made her feel any better and she has had an extremely severe allergic reaction. They started treating her for Steven Johnsons Syndrome / TEN but have since diagnosed her with Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis or, (AGEP) This is very rare and is only a reaction in 1-5 cases per million. She is also showing signs of Generalized Pustular psoriasis. Both can be caused by medicine reactions. Her body started attacking itself from the inside. This has been the hardest week of my life seeing the woman I love be in so much pain. The rash turned into blisters that covered her entire body. The skin temperature was so hot that you could feel the heat from holding your hand 6 inches away. There were days that they were giving her oxy, morphine, and dilaudid and she was screaming in pain in her sleep. Her skin eventually started pealing off and as we thought that it was getting better, it got worse and spread down her legs, to her hands, and her face.

This is her story…It could happen to any one of us by simply taking a medicine our doctor prescribes.

She started taking HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE on 8/29/23. When she noticed that she was breaking out with small, tiny red bumps. She called her dermatologist who said that it was sun exposure. Shylah told the doctor who prescribed the drug about the rash. That doctor told her that it was normal and to stay on it. We went to the ER and told them about the drug, and they ignored us. The ER doctor said that they felt it was viral or fungal. The second trip to the ER was so bad that they finally took us seriously. I had printed out medical journals and pictures documenting rare cases like this.

On 9/14/23 she started noticing small red bumps on her lip and by her nose. She made an appointment to see the dermatologist and was told that it was possible sun exposure and that it would run its course.

9/15/23 Her face breaks out more, she has a swollen lip, and by 1 p.m. there are three red dots on her stomach.

9/16/23 Today there a more bumps on her face and they are in clusters on her stomach and armpits.

9/17/23 Shylah is miserable by this point and very concerned. These red swollen bumps are way worse than the day before. Her entire torso is covered including her butt. Her hands are also now being affected. They are getting very painful by this point.

9/18/23 Her entire body is covered. Shylah is in a severe amount of pain. The spots are now large areas that are dark red and purple. They have the skin very swollen. Her cuticles are also red and swollen on every finger. We take her to the ER and explain that she has taken Hydroxychloroquine and that we feel this is an allergic reaction to the medical. The doctors dismiss what we are telling them because the spots are on her hands and feet. They tell us that it is viral or fungal and send us home.

9/19/23 Shylah set up an appointment with her RA doctor who prescribed the Hydroxychloroquine. The doctor said that she wanted Shylah to wait a day or two to see a colleague. Shylah refused, walked out, and headed to the ER. I met her there with articles that I had researched online.

The doctors started giving her morphine and prednisone at the Bartow, FL ER. They knew that they did not have the resources to handle what she was going through. They transferred her to Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, FL. TGH is one of the only hospitals with a burn unit. Shylah was admitted to the ICU Burn Unit and was in there for 4 days. Her skin was so inflamed and blistered that even the pain meds could not give her relief. The only thing that would make her feel better was taking soft clothes, ice, and sterile water and draping ice-cold cloths on her skin from head to toe. Every night her body would be coated in a cream and wrapped with wet towels. She would then be wrapped in a blanket. This was repeated for 5 days straight as the rash and blisters kept spreading. On the fourth day in the ICU Burn unit her skin started to come off. Her neck and torso looked like she had been burned and her legs and arms looked as if she had a severe case of chicken pox.

During this time TGH had a team of doctors working on her case. There were Dermatology, Optometry, Plastic surgeons, Hepatologists, and occupational therapists. So many nurses and consultants.

On the night of the 9/22/23 they moved her out of ICU and into the burn unit. This was another night of ice-cold water constantly being changed out and draping it over her body.

9/23/24 was a better day. Some of the blisters on her back and shoulders looked better. She was joking and talking in between naps until the sun went down. Everything started flaring back up and getting worse. Her liver numbers were up from 300 to 1000. Shylah was having difficulty swallowing food.

9/24/23 Shylah woke up and her face was red and swollen, her legs were blistered worse, and her hands were worse than they had ever been. Her liver numbers had come down to 536.

We are not through all this yet, I would like to thank Aunt Terry and Angela for all your help. I would like to thank everyone else for all your thoughts and prayers. Keep sending Shylah your love and support.