John Jastrzebski

Mikayla’s journey has been one of hardship, resilience, and hope. My name is John and I am here today to ask for your help with providing Mikayla with access to life-changing therapy. Where It All Began... This story began the Winter of '98-99. I was a young college student, still living at home, and decided to embark on a 3 week surf trip with 2 friends to the very tiny island of Barbados located in the western Atlantic Ocean, situated just east of the Caribbean Sea. This spontaneous trip evolved into a life-changing experience I hold close to my heart still to this day. The night we arrived my friends and I had spent some time sipping rum punch at a local bar while we played billiards on the St. Lawrence Gap. A small group of local "kids" had walked through the door. I can still hear the sound of the change slapping the rail of the billiards table as I heard a thick Bajan accent yell "I got winner!" His name was Iain. Known as "Piper" to many. This was the very start of a lifelong friendship. We spent the night collectively as a group of 7, squeezed into Piper's car exploring the tiny little island known as "The Gem of the Caribbean". Over the next 3 weeks we had spent countless hours together, getting to know one another as these 4 amazing new friends Piper, Robert, Fiona and Mark showed us their home. We explored caves, travelled to different surf breaks, spent many nights sipping rum together and even watched the sun rise over the east coast on Cattlewash Beach New Year's Eve (referred to as Old Year's by many Barbadians). Those 3 very short weeks had made such an amazing impact on my life and have continue to bring me back to BIM over a dozen times since, sharing this amazing little island with my family and many friends. Through the postal system, then Myspace and later Facebook, Ive been fortunate to stay in touch with Piper over the many years. I have had the pleasure of watching him wed the love of his life Natalie, as well as watch his beautiful family grow. During one of our visits a few years back, my family and I had the pleasure of meeting his then youngest daughter Mikayla. This beautiful little girl clung to me as if she had known me since day one. She was quiet, didn't talk much at all, but I could see in her eyes she completely sensed the World around her... and I was part of it. As my kids and I played with her at Pebbles Beach that day, I knew in my heart this little angel was special in so many ways. Mikayla's Story... After difficulty at birth and time spent in NICU, Mikayla grew into a bright, bubbly little girl who loved singing nursery rhymes, both English and Spanish, and helping her friends at preschool. Around the age of two and a half, her family started noticing a change. Mikayla slowly lost her voice, her eye contact faded, sleep became difficult and everyday life just became increasingly filled with challenges and uncertainty. When Mikayla was four years old, the family had travelled to Jacksonville, Florida to meet Dr. Julie Buckley — a woman they lovingly describe as Mikayla’s "Fairy Godmother". While she would laugh at being called a guru in the World of Autism, to the McChlery family she became a guiding light during one of their darkest seasons. Dr. Buckley introduced Mikayla to the powerful connection between gut health, brain health, and hyperbaric therapy... opening a door to hope they never knew existed back home on their tiny island. The changes the McChlery family witnessed after Mikayla began hyperbaric therapy were immediate. As you could imagine this was an extremely emotional time. After one of her first sessions, she ran to her grandfather, hugged him tightly, and said, “I love you Grandad! Thank you!” — a full, unprompted sentence that left him in tears. From there, improvements in her sleep, communication, emotional regulation, and overall happiness became more recognizable. While hyperbaric therapy is not a cure-all, its benefits extend far beyond neurodiverse individuals. Increased oxygen delivery throughout the body have been shown to help support brain function, reduce inflammation, improve recovery, assist circulation, support the nervous system, promote healing, and aid in overall wellness and cognitive clarity — benefits that many neurotypical people also experience through consistent treatment. For Mikayla and the McChlery family, however, these benefits have been life changing! In March of 2026, The McChlery family set off for yet another visit with Dr. Buckley in Jacksonville, Florida in search of answers after Mikayla had been suffering a number of frequent seizures. While drawing blood for labwork, Dr. Buckley asked if Mikayla was still having issues with communication after trying various therapies. Upon realizing they had yet been introduced to "Guided Communication", Dr. Buckley made it possible for them to meet with Hope Delemeester, the Director of the Communication Clinic at BIG North Florida. On March 23rd, 2026 Mikayla had "found her voice"! The World around her was finally opened. She was able to type. She typed so well that her first night she did not want to play puzzles, or watch tv, she wanted to type a full essay. Hyperbaric Therapy has helped Mikayla tremendously, and is now a necessity even more as she faces new neurological challenges including seizures. Combined with assisted communication therapy, it has helped her find her own voice. Mikayla now describes the chamber as “the perfect hug for my whole body,” saying it helps her think more clearly, feel more calm, sleep better, reduces anxiety, and allows her to communicate more effectively. Why I am Asking for Your Help... Unfortunately, access to hyperbaric therapy in Barbados remains extremely limited, leaving many families with few options outside of expensive trips overseas for treatment. I have been working with Piper and Natalie over the last several months to help make their dream a reality. My goal is to obtain a soft-shell hyperbaric chamber for Mikayla so she can continue receiving the therapy that brings her comfort, healing, confidence and an overall better quality of life. More than anything, I want to continue helping Mikayla grow, thrive, and share her beautiful voice with the rest of the World as she has recently done with me. After her most recent trip to Florida, I had received the following message from Mikayla through the use of her Guided Communication. ”I remember him. I had so much fun that day.i thought it was a dream. I thought it was not real. It you told me I would have said it was entertaining good to time to be real. I had a ton of fun with him and mummy ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ . I was so happy and aware that day too. I remember there being him, his wife and two daughters.And one daughter reminded me of Beth so much that it made me laugh. I was super happy to be alive that day!” Through countless hours of research, we have found a soft-shell hyperbaric chamber and oxygen concentrator which helps increase the oxygen levels inside the pressurized chamber. This has been shown to hasten the healing process for Mikayla. Piper was able to source a shipping company who has offered to ship this machine from the states to their home in Barbados for cost. The "S2S Grand Dive" chamber is roughly $13,995 plus a 10L concentrator $1,300 for a total of $15,295. Your contributions will go towards making this dream of a better life happen for this amazing young lady, as well as the McChlery family as a whole... all of which are an extension of mine. I thank you ahead for your generous contribution and have confidence we can bring some peace of mind to these amazing "neighbors" of mine that live 2100 miles away in my home away from home... Barbados. On behalf of the entire McChlery family, I thank you for your support and ask that you please share this in hopes of fulfilling our goal!

The morning of Thursday, February 26th started as any other weekday for Adam Jastrzebski. The same morning routine as always, but shortly after waiving his kids off to school, the entire World around us had changed as he unexpected and prematurely passed while in the company of his loving wife. Born December 5th, 1974, Adam was the first of 2 sons to his surviving parents Thomas and Dorothy Jastrzebski. Adam was born and raised in Barnegat Township, NJ alongside his younger brother John. Attending Barnegat Elementary School and Southern Regional Highschool, Adam had managed to befriend many throughout his short time here on Earth where he was often referred to as the "Unofficial Town Mayor" by many. Known as "Adam J" as a young boy, later know as "Jazz" in his teen years and finally as "Coach Adam" in his most recent life, Adam had a passion for sports. Growing up playing soccer, basketball and baseball, his love of these sports continued to show during his extensive time volunteering as a coach for many of our local youth programs while raising his 3 very talented and loved children. Adam was a family man! In 2004 Adam married the love of his life, Casey (Sciarrillo) Jastrzebski of Waretown, NJ who many know through her exceptional volunteer work as an active member and/or officer of the Barnegat Township board of PTA for many years. Together, Adam helped raise his step-daughter Sadie Sciarrillo (29), daughter Avery Jastrzebski (16) and their son Grayson Jastrzebski (12) which he all loved incredibly. Adam had an amazingly unique family situation that often confused (but mostly amused) many that knew him. His brother John had married Corey Sciarrillo, Casey's sister. Yes, two brothers married two sisters! Local business owner of Ace of Spades Lawn Care, John and his loving wife Corey have raised their daughter's Kaia and Zoey Jastrzebski just a few blocks away. This unique family relationship has made for an incredibly tight bond over the years. As the main provider for his family of 5, for many years Adam worked tirelessly and effortlessly for his family of 5. Over the last few days, many have offered meals, but due to severe food allergy restrictions between his 2 younger children, this often times is difficult. As his brother, my main concern is his family's future expenses. Making sure Adam’s family continue to live in the house that our parent's built where he and I were born and raised, and Adam continued to live in with his loved family. With two younger children that will soon be off to college, your contribution of any amount will help ease the burden and stress on his family at this incredibly crippling time. Since Adam's untimely and abrupt passing, many have reached out to offer their condolences and share a quick memory of my loving brother. I thank everyone for their kind words that have brought so much light during this extremely dark and dismal time. Please continue sharing these memories of my loving brother Adam, so his family and friends will always remember and cherish his time here with us. Adam... my one and only brother, best-man and best friend, you have made such an incredible impact on so many lives that you will be forever remembered for your love and compassion for those around you. A nurtured son, a role model of a brother, a hard working and dedicated husband, a loving father and uncle… but most importantly a truly one-of-a-kind friend to so many others no matter what age. Thank you for all the memories we had made throughout the years. Thank you for being a role model for not just me, but so many others in this World. Thank you for being the best uncle my kid’s could ever ask for. I promise to continuing loving, caring and providing for your children as if they were my own. I’m thankful for the time we had spent together. I am thankful that we had never once hesitated to tell each other how much we loved one another as we would hug goodbye. I wish I could have one last conversation so I could tell you how much you mean to not only me, but also the lives around you that you have touched. Deep down inside I know you already do. I am not sure which was harder, learning about your passing or having to be the one to tell mom and dad that you were no longer with us. Often times I question my purpose here on Earth and sadly it took your passing to have found it. I now realize that not only am I here to help raise, nurture, love and provide for my family, but now I know I must continue to do the same for yours as you would do for mine. I promise to do so with all my heart and will continue to do so until my dying day. I wish we could share one last beer together. I love you brother. You will forever be my best friend! "In Heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink it here. And when we're gone from here, all our friends will be drinking all that beer!" I will continue to keep an update on services for my dearly beloved brother Adam, as well as the cause of death as we anxiously wait to hear back from the medical examiner. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers while we continue to struggle during this most difficult time.