Help Our Family Fight for Jimena’s Health
Donation protected
This is Jimena, my goddaughter and niece. She is only 19 months old and has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Her mom is my very strong and brave cousin, Tatiana. Since Nov Jimena has been in and out of hospitals with seizures and no diagnosis. Tatiana recently relocated and got an apartment closer to the hospital in order to make things easier on Jimena. It’s been scary constantly holding her baby while racing to the ER and not knowing what is happening.
On Friday of last week, Jimena was finally given a diagnosis. She was diagnosed with Gaucher Disease type 2. Gaucher type 2 is the acute neurological form of Gaucher disease. It is characterized by early-onset and severe neurological involvement of the brainstem and it decreases her life expectancy to a maximum age of 4. As a mother of two babies under two years old, it kills me to imagine being told my baby only has a few months and/or years left to live. The thought alone has kept me up at night. Sadly for my cousin and her husband they have had to live with this for the past week.
My cousin initially requested a leave of absence with her job. Her hope was to utilize that time to visit doctors who would observe and test Jimena’s conditions. It was all geared towards narrowing in on the issue and getting Jimena a diagnosis so they can begin treating it. Her job only offered her a 10 week leave of absence at partial pay. You can only imagine how difficult that deduction in pay has been for her and her husband with all the new unaccounted for medical costs. She is now coming up on the end of her leave of absence in two weeks. Two weeks is not enough time for any parent to spend with their baby in these conditions. She has an opportunity to take an extended leave but it would be unpaid.
Additionally, a family friend found a doctor in Virgina that has treated a similar child and the baby is currently 5 years old. This has excited our family and given us hope. They have their first appointment scheduled for next week. This means they’ll have to now spend on traveling expenses and more medical cost but it’s all worth it if it gives Jimena a healthier and longer life span.
As a mom, I know all I would want during these times is to spend all my time and money trying to get the best doctors for my daughter and enjoying every minute I get with her. That’s why I have created this Go Fund Me for my cousin and goddaughter. It is my way to hopefully help her come up with some supplemental income while she spends time helping her daughter get through these next few months.
Our goal is to reach $20,000. Even if all you have is $5 dollars, it will still goes a long way. It can go even further if you share this story with your friends and family and help us raise more donations. Every little counts and especially when a lot of kind people come together.
Please help me and my family focus on hope instead of obstacles. We appreciate you for taking the time to read through this and thank you in advance for your support.
On Friday of last week, Jimena was finally given a diagnosis. She was diagnosed with Gaucher Disease type 2. Gaucher type 2 is the acute neurological form of Gaucher disease. It is characterized by early-onset and severe neurological involvement of the brainstem and it decreases her life expectancy to a maximum age of 4. As a mother of two babies under two years old, it kills me to imagine being told my baby only has a few months and/or years left to live. The thought alone has kept me up at night. Sadly for my cousin and her husband they have had to live with this for the past week.
My cousin initially requested a leave of absence with her job. Her hope was to utilize that time to visit doctors who would observe and test Jimena’s conditions. It was all geared towards narrowing in on the issue and getting Jimena a diagnosis so they can begin treating it. Her job only offered her a 10 week leave of absence at partial pay. You can only imagine how difficult that deduction in pay has been for her and her husband with all the new unaccounted for medical costs. She is now coming up on the end of her leave of absence in two weeks. Two weeks is not enough time for any parent to spend with their baby in these conditions. She has an opportunity to take an extended leave but it would be unpaid.
Additionally, a family friend found a doctor in Virgina that has treated a similar child and the baby is currently 5 years old. This has excited our family and given us hope. They have their first appointment scheduled for next week. This means they’ll have to now spend on traveling expenses and more medical cost but it’s all worth it if it gives Jimena a healthier and longer life span.
As a mom, I know all I would want during these times is to spend all my time and money trying to get the best doctors for my daughter and enjoying every minute I get with her. That’s why I have created this Go Fund Me for my cousin and goddaughter. It is my way to hopefully help her come up with some supplemental income while she spends time helping her daughter get through these next few months.
Our goal is to reach $20,000. Even if all you have is $5 dollars, it will still goes a long way. It can go even further if you share this story with your friends and family and help us raise more donations. Every little counts and especially when a lot of kind people come together.
Please help me and my family focus on hope instead of obstacles. We appreciate you for taking the time to read through this and thank you in advance for your support.
Co-organizers (2)
Paula Escobar
Organizer
Jacksonville, FL
Tatiana Villanueva Colman
Beneficiary
Johana Marin
Co-organizer