Help Jill Newlen with Medical Expenses

The Newlen’s lives changed in a BLINK of an eye!!!

They are a very tight knit family.  The family Mother, Jill Newlen was the center of the family. She is married to Robert (Bob), she has three children (Chris, Robin, & Justin), and 8 grandchildren (Austin, Caitlynn, Braydon, Collin, Keira, Henry, Reece, and Carson). She would have done anything for anyone and her helpfulness and thoughtfulness used to be never-ending.  Jill enjoyed attending all of her children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events. She supported all their teams fundraisers and  and she rarely missed a game! Jill has done so MANY things for so MANY people!  It is NOW time for all of us to show our appreciation of this lovely lady, both friends and family, for all that she has done, and help support her, now that she needs OUR help!!

 

On Monday, February 15th 2021 (President’s Day), Jill and Bob’s home caught fire.  Both Jill and Bob got out safely with only the clothes on their backs (Bob even without shoes….out in the snow). They had one cat and a sugar glider that Jill  had kept after the unexpected death of her grandson, Caleb Newlen, five years ago.  Jill could not stand the thought of getting rid of the sugar glider, because it used to be Caleb’s.  Unfortunately, the little sugar glider did not survive the fire, but the cat was rescued later that evening by Jill’s son Justin. Other than being covered in soot, soaking wet, and freezing cold, he faired OK.

 

The family has been working closely with the insurance company (thank you, Deanne Fisher!) and the family is getting things squared away on the fire damage.  Jill and Bob were not able to take much with them as they escaped.  There is extensive damage to everything from the fire, smoke and water.  The house is a TOTAL loss!

 

Although the fire was devastating, this is NOT why we come to you all today asking for HELP.  The night of the fire, Jill  passed out and hit her head on the door at the hotel, where they were temporarily housed.  She laid there for two hours because Bob could not hear her calling for help.  He is hard of hearing.  When she fell, she hit the door and it closed. Finally, after 2 hours on the ground, the rescued cat was howling so loud that Bob finally heard the confusion and woke up in the other room.  They called the ambulance and took her to Soin Hospital. They began testing to figure out why she passed out and figured that it was either the smoke, or it was a heart attack.  They put her on blood thinners to play it safe in case it was a heart attack.  Early Thursday morning on the 18th, the nurses at Soin found Jill unresponsive.  They took her for a CT scan and it revealed that she was having a massive brain bleed. Family was called at 4:30 in the morning and told they were rushing her to Kettering Medical Center for emergency brain surgery. The doctors had to relieve the pressure and stop the bleed. After surgery, the surgeon explained to family that the bleed caused her brain to shift 15 millimeters off center and that it most likely caused catastrophic damage to her brian. We were advised that the next 72 hours would be crucial.

 Jill did not wake up for 10 days after the surgery.  Doctors told family that she would most likely never wake up, and if she did, she would have catastrophic brain damage.  After talking further with the doctors, they recommended she go to hospice.  BUT, Jill had OTHER plans!!  She is a very strong woman!! She ended up WAKING up that morning!  Family didn’t know if that was her last gesture to tell her family goodbye, or if she was actually starting to get better.  We prayed HARD for the ‘getting better’ plan!  We put Hospice on hold to give her more time to let us know exactly what she wanted. 

 

Jill has had a very rough road and has a very LONG road of recovery ahead.  She’s been transferred from the ICU to an LTAC (long term care) and now to a rehab facility.  She is slowly….very slowly….improving. She is still bedridden and can’t move anything on her right side of her body.  She can’t speak well, and only moves her lips.  They believe that’s from the brain damage.  Her memory is very poor, but she seems to make improvements daily.  She has a peg tube and that’s how she gets all her nutrition (she can’t eat or drink). 

 

She pleads with us daily to bring her home!

She is running out of days that insurance will cover at the rehab facility. In two weeks, her care will go up to $180 per day. From the rehab facility, she will likely go to a skilled nursing facility until she can recover enough to come home (if she ever does).

 

Jill’s medical bills are piling up! Whether she goes to a skilled nursing facility or home she will require 24/7 care out of pocket.  We are asking for any help towards these expenses so we can work towards bringing her home!!! She does not like being away from her family. ANYTHING you can contribute to this ‘Go-fund-me’ is greatly appreciated!!  Thank you to each and every one of you!!  Jill would absolutely do the same for you!!!