Help Jess Achieve Remission

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for visiting this page. I am creating this fundraiser for an incredible couple that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for the past year and a half. I met Jess Cummings and Andrew Eibling at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine where we are all studying to become physicians. I have gotten to know them further through our school’s running club and our shared membership in various study groups. Jess and I also co-coordinate a local free health clinic together to help those in our community to gain access to health care. Through all of this, I have come to know that Jess and Andrew are two of the kindest people I’ve come across, and they have suddenly had their lives turned upside down.

Last spring, Jess was devastatingly diagnosed with an extremely rare disease, a disease so rare that many doctors are still trying to figure out how and why this could’ve happened to her. To give a little backstory, before her diagnosis, Jess was an incredible, dedicated runner, in fact, one of the most talented athletes I have ever met. Jess ran on an almost daily basis and found time for it despite our busy medical school schedule. She also thoroughly enjoyed hiking and biking. With this disease, however, Jess’s health took a drastic turn that rapidly paused many of her aspirations and goals, including her medical education and wedding planning. Within a few months, she went from training for a marathon to being unable to walk.

Due to this, Jess needed to take a medical leave of absence from school. Andrew courageously also put his medical education on hold to help care for and support her through these challenges. In doing so, however, they both lost financial support through student loans, and Andrew lost his health insurance that was covered through our medical school. In finding medical care for Jess, they have spent multiple thousands of dollars on doctors' appointments, assistive devices/mobility aids, treatments not covered by insurance, and travel to see out-of-state providers, which includes out-of-state lodging and transportation costs. These, added to the normal expenses of living, have caused a great deal of financial strain, prompting me to create this fundraiser for them.

Doctors have told them that the majority of people with Jess’s condition do not achieve remission, but that it is still possible for her. While the future may be uncertain, we know that continued support will certainly make a positive difference in her health journey and outcomes. Donations will enable them to continue seeing doctors, searching for answers, obtaining treatment that will help maximize her health, and get her back on her feet and on her way to becoming the incredible, empathetic, and caring physician that I know she will be. Jess is a one-of-a-kind person with a beautiful soul and a drive to make a positive change in the world. Any donations to this fundraiser will support her healthcare and her fight with her diagnosis. Thank you so much.