Support the Unden Family's Medical Crisis

Hello! My name is Jasmine Stark. I am a close friend of Jenna’s. I have started this GoFundMe on behalf of Jenna and the Unden family.

On Thursday, October 24th, the Unden family was blindsided with a medical emergency. Jimmy took a hard fall down the stairs. He suffered 8 broken ribs, a fractured scapula and clavicle, along with a hemothorax, pneumothorax, a concussion, and a heart block. In non-medical terms, he broke half of his ribs, a break in the shoulder blade and bone, there is blood and air pocketing in his lungs, a concussion and his heart is beating abnormally low.

Jim was admitted to the ICU and treatment started with a dopamine drip to keep his heart rate in a safe range while they waited for a pacemaker implantation surgery on Friday, October 25th, to fix the heart block. Surgery went well, but unfortunately, they ran into complications with the lungs. Since he has so many broken bones, he is in constant excruciating pain, making it hard to breathe and keep the lungs at full capacity. Because of this, unfortunately, Jim developed pneumonia and has 50% lung capacity. He is taking antibiotics and steroids to combat the infection.

On the 26th, Jim’s condition took a critical turn for the worse. His providers were extremely worried he would not make it through the night, so he was sedated, intubated, and is on mechanical ventilation. He is still battling pneumonia and remains intubated until an improvement is made in his lungs. His nurses told Jenna and Jo that when they are with him, they notice a lowering trend in his blood pressure that immediately rises when they leave. This lets the girls know that Jim is aware of their presence and is more calm when they are near.

The plan now is to slowly wean Jim off sedation; however, it’s been a struggle. It is a very uncomfortable process because he needs to be able to tolerate the tube in his throat without pulling it out on top of all the pain he is still in from the broken ribs, clavicle, and scapula. They have been trialing this for the past 3 days but are at a standstill for now.

Meanwhile, Mary has been cared for at Solvay. Since Jim is Mary’s primary caregiver, he is granted 5 days of respite care each month. These 5 days have come and gone. Each additional day at the facility costs the family $450 out of pocket.

Jenna is a full-time nursing student, in the thick of school on top of working at her job. She has since taken an intermittent leave of absence to be present in making critical medical decisions for her dad and mom but still wants to work when able due to planning her wedding this spring. Johanna has taken a week off of grad school at DePaul to fly home to be present for her family. She will need to return to Chicago in the coming few days to finish up her 3rd semester and continue working to earn an income. She hopes to come back to Duluth as soon as possible. Aaron is raising his 3-year-old son with his partner Sharon and working full-time in the cities.

Jim’s medical bills are rising every day and he has a long road to recovery. They expect a bare minimum of 10 weeks of rehabilitation once he is discharged. Mary’s care is costing $450 a day. The family is considering long-term care, but they require $10,000 up front in addition to $9,000-$13,000 a month thereafter. The girls want to keep Mary at home if possible, but she will remain at Solvay until other arrangements can be made for her care.

Anyone who knows the Unden family knows how incredibly caring, authentic, sincere, compassionate, and selfless they are.

Please consider donating $10, $25, or $50 to help this family in their time of need. If you are unable to make a monetary donation, please consider passing along this link to others. Proceeds will be allocated to Jim’s medical bills and Mary’s care.

Thank you for taking the time to read their story. The Unden family is eternally grateful for your donation, sympathies, and kind words.

UPDATE 11/1/2024

Jim has successfully started weaning off sedation. Today he was able to tolerate being awake with the tube in his throat. He is fighting hard to regain strength in his muscles after being bed bound the last few days. He is a bit overloaded with fluid so was started on a medication to help with that. This is great news and a huge step in the right direction!! The Unden family is overwhelmed with the tremendous show of support and are so so grateful for your donations.

UPDATE 11/5/2024

On 11/2 Jim had been improving enough for the breathing tube to be removed. He was able to last a few hours breathing on his own and things seemed to be taking a turn for the better. Unfortunately, Jim's lungs just were not able to tolerate breathing on his own. His heart rate was too high, and his oxygen saturation was dropping to a dangerous level, so he had to be intubated for the 2nd time. The providers informed Jenna that weaning off a ventilator the 2nd time is much harder and were considering a tracheostomy but wanted to see how he did through the night. He gained 15 pounds in fluid and is taking medication to help with but it isn't as successful as they were hoping. At 4:30am on Monday morning Jim sustained a cardiac arrest. They are unsure why he went into cardiac arrest but ran an echocardiogram and others tests to determine what went wrong. A DVT was found in his left leg. He has a bleed in his chest which is collecting and pooling so a chest tube was placed and has since drained 2L of fluid. His is receiving blood to keep his hemoglobin up. Jim had an angiogram this morning and they found 3 major blockages related to Coronary Artery Disease. They are considering a stent placement or open heart surgery which he likely would not survive at this point. All they can do now is wait and hope he improves just enough to undergo heart surgery. His sedation was lowered to check his neurological status which seems to be okay.

Please check back in for an update in the following days and keep the Unden family in your prayers. This family just cannot catch a break.

UPDATE 11/19/24

Unfortunately there hasn’t been improvement in Jim’s status. He likely has sepsis and has been very delirious. A new chest tube was placed to drain infectious fluid. His left lung is nearly collapsed and if his lungs are not the source of the infection, there is a bigger problem at hand and his condition will likely worsen. Jim has encountered complication after complication and has been in the ICU for over 4 weeks. Please continue to keep Jim and his family in your thoughts and consider donating or sharing this link if you are able.

12/7/24

It breaks my heart to write this update. Jim Unden passed away early morning on December 6th. He fought hard but ultimately lost the battle and is no longer suffering. Jim’s funeral arrangements are being made however it will cost Jenna and Jo $15,000. On top of the medical fees that accrued during Jim’s hospital stay. Mary has a full time PCA who is with her however that cost is out of pocket as well. Please help the family through their time of grief by donating. If you are unable to do so, please share this post to reach others. Every bit helps Jenna and Jo who are just trying to get on their feet after being knocked down again and again. Thank you

Jim will be missed dearly by many people. Rest is peace Jim.