Hello, my name is Caitlin Jones. I’m a little nervous to be creating a GoFundMe page; however, after trying all avenues and filling out countless financial aid applications to no avail, I’m humbly coming here asking for your help.

I am 20 weeks pregnant and less than 4 weeks ago, I became seriously ill. I had just started a new full-time job and was really loving it. I had been there only a few weeks when my health took a sharp decline. This is my first pregnancy, so I wasn’t sure if I just felt this way because of pregnancy pains or if it was something else. It started out with muscle spasms and daily vomiting; I couldn’t keep anything down, including water. I was taken to the ER and quickly transferred by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Right away, they started testing me for everything you can think of. After a painful and emotional stay at the hospital, it was found I had Encephalitis and RSV. Thank goodness the baby has not been affected. The whole ordeal was grueling and especially difficult on my family. They saw everything. Now that I am back home, the doctor’s orders are to NOT go back to work until there’s evidence of a full recovery. Unfortunately, I have a long way to go. It’s difficult to gauge when that time will come and has placed a large burden on myself and family. Everyone is doing the best they can, but without my income, and with a new baby on the way, it’s hard to focus on rest and recovery. I’ve looked into unemployment and short-term disability; I don’t qualify for unemployment and the disability is still pending. I’m afraid by the time I hear back it will be too long and we are in need now. I’ve spent several days contemplating how I was going to do this. How does someone get out there and just ask for other people’s help? There’s zero obligation and whatever you can spare is beyond appreciated, and we are so grateful. I will keep everyone updated as we go.

Thank you to all you lovely people.