Jill's Health Journey

Organized by Amber Cutsforth on behalf of Jill and Kris Neumann.

Our neighborhood is like one of the neighborhoods out of a 1950s movie. Kids ride their bikes around the block, run across yards to each other’s houses, go house to house to find the group of kids to play with, jump through sprinklers or on trampolines, and where parents hang out together at bonfires and watch out for one another. The (dreaded) ice cream truck even comes through almost every week in the spring and summer. It’s the kind of place you hope to raise your kids and where you feel lucky to be part of the community.

About three years ago, I was at a bonfire at one of our neighbor’s houses when I met a mom who was “new” to the neighborhood. “New” to me because she and her family had moved in less than a year prior and I had not had the opportunity to meet her. Even though they were in the neighborhood for less than a year, I heard the kids talk about Harper and Hayden often since they are the same age as my daughter, Evelyn. Evelyn and her friends liked to play with Hayden and Harper and were over at their house a lot. It was through Evelyn and Harper’s friendship and the neighbor’s bonfire that I met and got to know the “new” mom, Jill, and the rest of her family.

Jill and I hit it off because of mutual social anxiety and still trying our best to be social as well as feeling comfortable talking about our uncomfortableness. We bonded over the struggles and triumphs of being moms and wives, being foodies, and our love of a good Moscato. We can hang out, visit and laugh for hours, even until 3 – 4 am, as we have been known to do. During our hangout times, the kids were usually with us, so we were able to get to know and love each other’s children as well. Jill’s oldest son, Hayden, said it best when he introduced me to one of his friends as “basically his 2nd mom” (oh my heart!).

Little did I know that the “new” mom and her family would become part of my family in such a short amount of time. My family and our neighborhood lucked out when the Neumann family chose to move here. Their kindness, generosity, caring and fun nature have impacted everyone who has had the opportunity to spend time with them. I have seen them help out so many people in any way they can. From giving parents and children rides to activities, taking care of other children when parents had to work or had an appointment, setting up meal trains for sick friends, organizing fundraisers, providing food for a struggling family, or offering a shoulder to lean on for anyone who needs it. They have taught me that caring and taking even the smallest generous action can have big impacts on more than just the person they are intending to help.

Which brings me to the reason you are here reading this story. In the years that I’ve known Jill, she has had various health issues. Most people would not know the extent of her health issues because she powers through and does amazing things, even when she is on the verge of collapse from exhaustion. Jill cares so much for others that she puts herself on the back burner until she has no choice but to tend to her health. Unfortunately, this is where she is now and why I want to help Jill and her family.

To put this in perspective, I want to share Jill’s health struggles that she has been dealing with for the past few years, with her permission of course.

Just over 3 years ago Jill underwent surgery to separate her intestines, bladder, and uterus, which had fused together at some point. The surgery was successful and she recovered from the procedure.

The following year Jill had to have surgery to clean out and stretch her bladder due to it being half the size it is supposed to be. The procedure went as planned, however, they found that the surgery that she had the previous year to separate her bladder from her intestines caused her bladder to go into a position that didn’t allow it to function properly. Once Jill had time to recover, the doctor recommended that she have a bladder stimulator implanted to resolve the issue.

So that is what they did in the Spring/Summer of 2022. Jill had a long recovery after this procedure and had some setbacks with the implanted device moving and becoming inflamed and painful to the point that they were watching for an infection. After some tweaks and a few doctor visits, the device was working, and she was able to heal and get back to her active self.

In 2019, before the issues and procedures explained above, Jill was having other health problems that brought her to a neurologist. After multiple MRI scans and other tests, the doctors told her that she has Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Her MS symptoms come and go and have varied in intensity over the years. Jill, like the superwoman that she is, takes it in stride and tries to slow down when the symptoms flare up.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2023. Jill started having one type of seizure where her face went numb and tingly on one side and started drooping. She had a hard time finding words and speaking. She went to the ER where they ruled out any type of stroke or heart issue, then sent her home.

She started having other symptoms where her vision flips sideways or upside down. Her face still gets numb at times, and she has a hard time finding words and has short-term memory loss. She also started falling a lot and would miss periods of time. She explains it like looking at a flip book or watching a cartoon by quickly flipping through the drawings in a book.

In April, Jill was able to see a different neurologist and he suspected some of these symptoms could be from a functional neurological issue. He prescribed some new medications as well as speech and occupational therapy because her body needed to relearn how to do things.

Unfortunately, the seizures continued and have gotten progressively worse. She now has full-body tremors and can’t speak or control her body during the seizures. When the bigger seizures started, she mainly had them at night. Now she has them at all times of the day and night. Short-term memory loss and difficulty speaking and finding words also continue to happen. Her neurologist now wants to do a weeklong, in-hospital seizure study. She is currently receiving care through the U of MN, which is where the study would take place. However, per Jill and Kris’s request, her doctor is working with the neurologists at Mayo to see if they can get her in there. At this point in time, they are waiting to find out when and where the seizure study will take place.

In May 2023, Jill ended up with a kidney infection and was put on antibiotics to treat it. She finished the medication, but the kidney infection is still there. Since she has had bladder and kidney issues in the past and the treatments have not been successful long-term, she was able to get an appointment at Mayo with Urology, which is scheduled for the end of June!

Although this is exciting news for all of us, getting to Mayo and being treated there will be an additional financial hardship for Jill and her family. Jill and Kris are a one-income family with an already large stack of medical bills that need to be paid, which will only increase as they continue to search for answers and treatments for Jill.

Jill’s husband, Kris, is also an amazing, caring, generous and fun person. He works full time, volunteers as a football coach for Hayden’s team, and helps out the Girl Scout troop whenever and however the help is needed. He has taken on the sole role of driver, getting kids to activities (including taking my daughter if we can’t!) and caring for Jill. He started working from home full time once Jill’s seizures began happening daily so he can help her and make sure the kids are ok. I have witnessed one of Jill’s full-body tremor-type seizures and it is scary and leaves one feeling helpless. Kris handled it like a champ. He held Jill’s hand, remained calm, and told her she was ok through the whole episode, which, as scary as it was to see, was beautiful to witness their love and strength. They are an amazing team.

Both Jill and Kris are doing everything they can to keep the kids in activities and are doing their best to provide a normal environment for them. They are doing a great job and continue to be wonderful role models for Hayden, Harper, and Michael.

Jill is a kind, loving, giving and warm person who truly does anything for any and everyone. She is a stay-at-home mom who is passionate about volunteering and is an amazing, creative Girl Scout Troop leader and mentor. She is active in the community and with her children’s sports, clubs, and events. She is the parent who volunteers for PTA events and creates a Facebook page for her son’s football team to make it easier to communicate and organize meals and travel. Unfortunately, due to her multiple health issues, she is not able to do any of these things. She is not able to drive and is unable to walk without a cane or walker or stand for long periods of time.

They have a long road ahead to find answers and to get Jill back to her normal, active self. Which is where you and I come in. As I shared above, they have medical bills that have compiled over the last 4 years and they have had to continue adding to them. They are paying what they can, especially those for the specialists so Jill can continue to see those doctors. However, with one income and three children, they need our help.

Please consider donating to Jill’s Health Journey so she can get the help she needs to heal and get back to what she loves - volunteering, helping others and taking care of her family.

Every donation helps, even if you have one dollar to give.

If you are unable to contribute a monetary donation and would still like to help, there is a meal train set up for the Neumanns as well. Here is the link if you want to sign up to provide a meal for the family:

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/32r06l/

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading this story and helping in any way you can.

The Neumanns appreciate everyone’s support!