With each baby step, comes a big victory

Hi, my name is Rebecca Davis and I have had the pleasure of knowing Jennifer since eight grade.

Three days before this picture was taken, Jennifer was living life like the rest of us, only she had no idea of the turn of events that would turn her life upside down. She was about to be taken on a journey many couldn’t imagine. Not sure what to think of the numbness and tingling in her hands and feet one morning, she headed to the E.R. in search of answers. After a ten hour wait (whilst her condition was deteriorating), she was evaluated and given the diagnosis of Guillane-Barre Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that turns your good antibodies against itself, eating away at the protective covering that lines our nerves, resulting in paralysis that starts at the feet and travels up to your collarbone, all in a matter of hours. She spent the next four months going back and forth between the hospital and rehab. Back to back pneumonia, a collapsed lung and a three week stay in the I.C.U. where she was intubated and had lost all control over her own body. Two weeks ago, she was told that this condition that typically requires one round of treatment before it’s gone, is chronic. Meaning that every four weeks she will have to receive an infusion of the medication used to treat this awful condition with each treatment lasting approximately three hours, over the span of five days for the foreseeable future. She’ll have three good weeks of ambulating with a walker before the antibodies have built up enough to where she will be unable to walk……and then the cycle will begin all over again. Jen is the last person to ask for help and as someone who has spent her life taking care of others in her role as a Nurse, it is time for her to be cared for. Jennifer will require additional support services, most of which will be at an out of pocket expense. With her intensive treatment plan in place, her return to work date has yet to be determined, as she needs to continue with her IVIG therapy to stabilize herself to where she is ready. In light of that, I wanted to start this GoFund Me campaign in hopes of being able to give a little back to her as she has done so much for many. Thank you all so much……and to quote Jen, “everyday is a new opportunity to do and be better than yesterday”.