Hi everyone,

I’m Jean Kelly-Lee, and I’m writing this alongside my husband, Chris Lee, and our 12-year-old son, Jayden Speed. We are turning to you today because our family is facing a crisis that we cannot overcome on our own.

Life was "perfect" and fast-paced.

Before October, our lives were a beautiful blur of practices and games. Jayden is a 3-sport athlete who lives for the field—to everyone, he is simply known as "Speed." He’s so fast that back in elementary school, they actually made him run a gym race in his socks just to give the other kids a fair shot! We were planning for the 12u Cooperstown tournament in New York, Jayden had just made the Rails travel baseball team for his second season, and Chris was on the coaching staff.

Then, the world stopped.

Everything changed when my L4 slipped over my L5, crushing my sciatic nerve. I had no choice but to undergo a major decompression lumbar spinal fusion and facet cyst removal on October 16th. But the hardest blow came just seven weeks later, on December 3rd, when Jayden was diagnosed with FND (Functional Neurological Disorder).

Our "Speed" went from the field to having up to 20+ non-epileptic seizures a day. We had to make the heartbreaking decision to take him off the team. Chris had to step down from coaching and take two months of unpaid emergency FMLA leave from Ford Motor Company just to help me keep Jayden safe. We went through our entire savings during those months without a paycheck.

What We Need to Get Through This:

We are also in the middle of a massive transition in Jayden’s care. We had to make the difficult choice to leave a pediatrician he had since birth because they did not understand the reality of FND, dismissively suggesting it was something he could "stop on his own." We are now building an entirely new team of specialists and a pediatrician who specialize in complex neurological disorders.

This campaign is to help us build a bridge to that new care. Our three major goals are:

1. A Reliable Vehicle: This is our biggest hurdle and an absolute necessity. Without a car, I cannot get Jayden to his new specialists, his critical Physical and Occupational Therapy, or the intensive outpatient program he needs. I also cannot get to my own post-op spinal fusion rehab or the heart specialist for the stress test I now need.

2. Cereset Treatment for Jayden ($1,500): An unmedicated treatment in Ann Arbor to help reset his nervous system and stop the seizures.

3. Cereset Treatment for Me ($950): To help my body finally exit the "fight or flight" PTSD and Fibromyalgia flares this crisis has caused so I can be the healthy mom my son needs.

Chris and I have lost our parents and grandparents; we don’t have any family safety net left to fall back on. My Social Security claim has been stalled since November, and we are quite literally on our own.

When I asked Jayden about creating this page, he said he’d be "really happy." We want to show our son that even when you have no family left to turn to, the community can become your village.

If you would prefer to donate directly and avoid platform fees, you can also find me on Venmo: @jkelly1977.

Thank you for seeing us, hearing us, and considering supporting our journey to safety and healing. Any donation, share, or word of encouragement means more than we can put into words.

With hope and gratitude,

Jean Kelly-Lee, Chris Lee, & Jayden Speed