Help out Jessi

Hello all,

Our friend Jessi has had many health issues throughout the years but in 2021 things got very bad for her. Jessi is legitimately one of the nicest, most pure hearted people I have ever known. I could never properly articulate all of her struggles so I asked her to send this to me—————————————-

About Me: My name is Jessica Davin, most people know me by Jessi. I’m a 33 year old mother of two beautiful girls. I live in Florida with my husband and children, and have been a stay-at- home mother since 2016 while also working hard to create a platform for myself on Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch. I am mostly known for my reactions to professional wrestling, which I post across various social media platforms, mainly Twitter, using it to interact with other fans to enjoy the shows together virtually. I am in recovery from severe anorexia nervosa, and have used my platform to raise awareness for eating disorder treatment. I am an avid Ohio State fan, having grown up as the daughter of two Ohio State alumni. I followed in their footsteps and attended The Ohio State University as well, and am an avid fan of all Buckeye sports.

What the money will be used for: Our health insurance has a $10,000 out-of-pocket maximum, with a variable copay of 15-20% of total costs of services within in-network providers. In addition to helping pay for my health insurance costs, this money will help me pay the monthly costs for my ileostomy supplies. These are absolutely crucial for my physical health, as my ileostomy bag is what holds the ostomy, or opening of intestines in my abdominal wall, safe and clean and what holds my waste output. I cannot control the output of waste, so this bag is essential. These supplies are not free, however. Here is a recent itemized bill of costs that are charged to me monthly. I am assuming some insurance coverage will pay for part of this, but to pay even a small amount of this bill every month exceeds $300. I need these supplies to survive.

This money will also go towards the monthly

costs of my medications needed for my mental and physical health. I am currently on a combined six different medications, two for mental health and four for physical health.

Due to the complexity of my diagnoses and complications, my local doctors have decided that I need a higher level of care. They referred me to The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. I have had one virtual initial consultation, which was over $800 alone. In addition to the virtual consults, I will need to travel to Jacksonville regularly for testing and continuation of care.

After my first visit, these are the tests ordered:

Labwork: CBC & CMP

Procedures and tests: Upper endoscopy with anesthesia, including multiple biopsies 4 hour gastric emptying study

Mesenteric Doppler Ultrasound

MR Enterography

Return visit to clinic to discuss results and update plan of care

By car, I live four hours away from Jacksonville. The cost of gas and lodging (Mayo Clinic prefers these procedures and tests to be done on an outpatient basis - I will not be staying inpatient at the hospital and must pay for my own hotel and travel) will be extensive. These funds will also help pay for these essentials.

This money will also go towards possible child care needed in rare events where I need someone to look after my children if family is not available.

My Story: On November 2nd, 2021, I was sent to the emergency room for severe abdominal pain at the suggestion of the other mothers in my neighborhood as we were all walking to the elementary school to pick up our children after school. I was crippled over in pain, leaning on the stroller I was pushing for support. I begrudgingly agreed to go to the hospital, thinking I would be sent home for gas pain in a few short hours. I was exclusively breastfeeding my youngest daughter at the time, who had just turned 9 months old. I didn’t have time to waste in an ER. But I wanted to be sure it wasn’t anything serious.

I was in for a rude awakening.

After numerous tests, it was determined that I had something called pneumatosis intestinalis. To quote the findings and impression from the initial CT scan: There was “a large amount of intestinal pneumatosis involving the right hemicolon, which can be a sign of bowel ischemia.” I was told my bowel was about to perforate, which would give me a 50/50 chance of survival if I waited to treat this any longer.

I was told that I would have to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. They typically start out with conservative treatment, which means monitoring and IV antibiotics. If that fails, then surgery is needed to remove the infected part of the colon to avoid perforation and death.

Of course, the treatment plan started as such - I was admitted and was on IV antibiotics for about 7 days.

Side note: Once they started the antibiotics, I was unable to breastfeed my daughter, or send my breastmilk home to her. I was also prevented from seeing both of my children due to COVID. The entire time I was hospitalized, I pumped and dumped, hoping that I would be able to still breastfeed once I got home. Unfortunately, doctors eventually forced me to stop pumping entirely, abruptly ending my breastfeeding journey while unable to see my children.

On November 10th, 2021, a repeat CT scan was done, which found no improvement to the pneumatosis in my colon. In fact, the dilation had gotten worse, measuring at 9.2cm and extending through the entire colon.

After my team of doctors discussed my situation, it was decided on November 11th, 2021 that I would have an emergency exploratory laparotomy with possible colectomy the following day. I was told that the level of seriousness could not be assessed until they actually got inside the operating room.

On November 12th, 2021, I went into the operating room, and when I woke up, I had found out that my colon had “basically died” (to quote the surgeon) and they were unable to salvage most of my colon, removing an entire eight feet. This, unfortunately, left me with something called an ileostomy. An ileostomy, according to cancer.org, is “an opening in the belly (abdominal wall) that’s made during surgery. It's usually needed because a problem is

causing the ileum to not work properly, or a disease is affecting that part of the colon and it needs to be removed. The end of the ileum (the lowest part of the small intestine) is brought through this opening to form a stoma, usually on the lower right side of the abdomen. An ileostomy may only be needed for a short time (temporary), maybe for 3 to 6 months, because that part of the colon needs time to rest and heal from a problem or disease. But sometimes a disease, such as cancer, is more serious and an ileostomy may be needed for the rest of a person's life (permanent).”

I was notified post-colectomy that they were unsure if my ileostomy could be reversed, however, I do have “all of the parts” that make it possible to have it reversed, if my condition ever improves.

My surgery went well, but my recovery did not come without some serious complications.

On November 17th, 2021 I was awakened as I always was - at 4am for lab blood draws. I was able to fall back asleep after my blood was taken, but not for long. Unfortunately, just an hour later, I awoke to the phlebotomist and my nurse, along with the charge nurse, in my room preparing me for something. When I asked what was going on, I was told that my labs had come back with a critical low value. My hemoglobin dropped below 7, which meant I needed a blood transfusion.

I received the blood transfusion, and continued on my journey to recovery. However, throughout this recovery process, I was having some issues with an extreme level of output from my stoma - the opening in my abdomen that I now used to have bowel movements. They tried numerous medications to try and slow down my output, but unfortunately my output continued to increase, and suddenly, the pain began to increase as well.

The night of November 22nd, 2021 was rough. My pain and nausea were out of control. I spent the

entire evening on the floor of my bathroom, trying not to vomit. By the next day, my condition had severely deteriorated, resulting in a rush of doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and radiologists rushing to figure out what was wrong with me.

I ended up being diagnosed with a severe ileus. My entire digestive system had stopped working, resulting in excruciating pain and severe stomach distention. My stomach was so swollen, it was pushing on my spleen. I ended up needing a nasogastric suction tube to decompress my stomach and intestines. At the

time, because of all of the health complications, my weight was dangerously low. I could not afford to lose anymore weight, and unfortunately, due to the ileus, I was medically unable to consume any food or drink. This is when the decision was made to insert a

PICC line, a central line that goes to a main artery in the heart that can supply needed medication and nutrition directly to the body

without the need of the digestive system. This is where I was supplied with TPN, which kept me from losing weight and kept me alive.

Once the ileus was healed, I still was not medically stable. My weight was not going up the way they liked and I continued to need inpatient care. However, due to COVID restrictions, I was left unable to see my children for six weeks. This had made me incredibly anxious, emotional, and distraught. After my daughter’s sixth birthday, which I had to spend in the hospital, it was decided that the hospital environment was doing me more harm than good. My treatment team then came up with a plan that allowed me to have the essential medical attention I needed, while being able to be home with my children.

On December 10th, 2021, I was discharged from the hospital to my home, still with a PICC line and on IV nutrition, where I had home health care come weekly to draw labs and change my PICC line. Every single night, I had to self administer my own IV bags of TPN. I was taught once by home health, and was then on my own. After 118 days, I finally had my PICC line removed.

While I am not using a PICC line anymore to keep myself nourished, my journey to a healthy weight has not been without complications. I have already had to be re- hospitalized with an intentional blockage, and my stoma has prolapsed. If my prolapse doesn’t improve, I will need surgery to repair it.

I continue to struggle and fight every day for my health, both physically and mentally, with this drastic new life I am living. Every day continues to be a blessing and a curse, while I fight to focus on my blessings.