Help Support Jude and Her Family
Donation protected
Hearts Leap parents have put together this GoFundMe page to help raise money for Jude and her family to pay for things that will come up related to her illness such as buying a wig, childcare, cleaning services, take-out food, gardening, etc. We are attaching the following email from Rich to friends sent out this week. We are all sending Jude and her family our support and love!!!
From Rich:
We have some shocking and difficult news. Jude was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia Tuesday.
Backstory: Jude had been feeling short of breath, having headaches, and moments of racing heart for about 10 days. We thought the symptoms were due to her pms and a very bad pinched nerve in her neck. But things were getting worse rather than better. As most of you know Jude is not a complainer and very tough. We called the advice nurse Sunday (Oct 30) morning and made an appt to see a doctor the next day. However that night after getting up from the couch Jude'sknees buckled and she was unable to walk; her legs felt heavy, she had difficulty breathing, and racing heart. We called the advice nurse again and were told to go to the Emergency Room. Sage was already asleep so we had a neighbor come over while Jude & I went to the ER. They didn't know what was going on and were very concerned with her blood test results (i.e., very low white blood cell count, very low hemoglobin count, & very low platelet count). They did lots of different tests over the next 2 days, having very little answers or info for us, and then came the diagnosis.
She was transferred from Kaiser Walnut Creek now to Kaiser Oakland hospital this morning and begins chemo therapy this afternoon/evening. This is where the Leukemia specialized treatment is located.
The treatment will last about 6 months and then 2-3 yrs of maintenance. The first part of treatment requires living the next 30 days in the Kaiser Oakland hospital, with the added difficulty of not being able to see Sage at all in-person :-( The treatment after the first month will be determined based off how she responds to the first 30 days. The treatment really complicated (different days is different chemo cocktails, some days no chemo) and is flexible, in terms of looks different day to day depending on how her body responds. Generally people feel the worst the 3rd week and start to feel better the 4th week.
This is so shocking and a whirlwind, but we are all doing "well" considering. Sage is handling things like a champ and it was a seamless transition to daddy being the parent doing most of the care-taking for now. Jude remains strong & optimistic as we roll with the punches. Jude's mom arrived Monday night and her dad arrived this morning for support & help, which has been an immense help.
All donations will go directly to Jude's husband, Rich Chiovarelli, who is doing an amazing job supporting Jude, Sage, family and friends.
From Rich:
We have some shocking and difficult news. Jude was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia Tuesday.
Backstory: Jude had been feeling short of breath, having headaches, and moments of racing heart for about 10 days. We thought the symptoms were due to her pms and a very bad pinched nerve in her neck. But things were getting worse rather than better. As most of you know Jude is not a complainer and very tough. We called the advice nurse Sunday (Oct 30) morning and made an appt to see a doctor the next day. However that night after getting up from the couch Jude'sknees buckled and she was unable to walk; her legs felt heavy, she had difficulty breathing, and racing heart. We called the advice nurse again and were told to go to the Emergency Room. Sage was already asleep so we had a neighbor come over while Jude & I went to the ER. They didn't know what was going on and were very concerned with her blood test results (i.e., very low white blood cell count, very low hemoglobin count, & very low platelet count). They did lots of different tests over the next 2 days, having very little answers or info for us, and then came the diagnosis.
She was transferred from Kaiser Walnut Creek now to Kaiser Oakland hospital this morning and begins chemo therapy this afternoon/evening. This is where the Leukemia specialized treatment is located.
The treatment will last about 6 months and then 2-3 yrs of maintenance. The first part of treatment requires living the next 30 days in the Kaiser Oakland hospital, with the added difficulty of not being able to see Sage at all in-person :-( The treatment after the first month will be determined based off how she responds to the first 30 days. The treatment really complicated (different days is different chemo cocktails, some days no chemo) and is flexible, in terms of looks different day to day depending on how her body responds. Generally people feel the worst the 3rd week and start to feel better the 4th week.
This is so shocking and a whirlwind, but we are all doing "well" considering. Sage is handling things like a champ and it was a seamless transition to daddy being the parent doing most of the care-taking for now. Jude remains strong & optimistic as we roll with the punches. Jude's mom arrived Monday night and her dad arrived this morning for support & help, which has been an immense help.
All donations will go directly to Jude's husband, Rich Chiovarelli, who is doing an amazing job supporting Jude, Sage, family and friends.
Organizer and beneficiary
Hearts Leap Parents
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
Richard Chiovarelli
Beneficiary
