Hi! My name is Dr. Dongmei Cheng. I am writing today with an urgent update and plea for my friend’s daughter, Jewel Widner, an incredibly resilient 15-year-old in the fight of her life against a rare brain tumor.

In September 2025, Jewel was diagnosed with Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma (ACP). On October 29th, 2025, she endured an 11-hour surgery. The tumor’s critical location meant surgeons had to make an impossible choice: to save her life, they performed a complete removal of her pituitary gland. They could only partially remove the tumor itself.

The aftermath of this surgery is profound and lifelong. The latest MRI confirms severe brain injury, including encephalomalacia (softening of brain tissue) and confirmed damage to her optic chiasm. This damage is the direct cause of her significant vision loss, chronic debilitating headaches, crushing exhaustion, memory challenges, and cognitive deficits.

Jewel is now managing a daunting list of permanent conditions caused by the tumor and surgery:

• Diabetes Insipidus & Adrenal Insufficiency: Life-threatening hormonal imbalances requiring constant, precise medication.

• Hypothyroidism & Reproductive Insufficiency: Requiring lifelong hormone replacement.

• Failure to thrive: Making nutrition and growth an ongoing battle.

• Vision loss: Permanently altering how she experiences the world.

Now, Jewel faces a new, frightening development: She is showing signs of seizures, a known risk from this type of brain injury. She is scheduled for an EEG soon to assess this new threat, adding another layer of treatment and anxiety.

Through it all, Jewel’s spirit amazes us. She is navigating a reality no child should know—one of endless doctor visits, a pharmacy of daily medications, and the knowledge that more surgeries and radiation are in her future when the remaining tumor grows.

Jewel’s mom is a single parent and the sole provider for Jewel and her two teenage siblings. She works tirelessly, but the financial reality is crushing. The costs are endless: lifelong specialty medications, complex specialist co-pays, upcoming neurological tests, vision aids, adaptive therapies, and the daily expenses of caring for a critically ill child while trying to keep a household afloat.

We are raising funds to give this family a fighting chance. Your support will go directly to:

• Jewel’s current and future medical expenses.

• Her essential, life-sustaining medications.

• Supporting the family’s basic needs so they can focus on Jewel’s care and healing.

Please, help us lift this unimaginable burden. Donate today to show Jewel she is not fighting alone. Share her story to spread hope. Every contribution is a step toward stability in this family’s long, difficult journey.

Thank you for your compassion, your generosity, and for being part of Jewel’s village.

With deepest gratitude,

Dr. Dongmei Cheng