Jessica Humphries

Jessica Humphries, the daughter of Gail Shorter, was in a near fatal car accident in July 2021 that left her with multiple broken bones and internal injuries. While treating these injuries, it was also discovered that Jessica had a cancerous brain tumor. The last year has been a roller coaster for the family and over the last few weeks they have continued to receive unsettling news, the latest being that Jessica only has a short time left here with her family. Jessica has two young children, Ava -8 and Annistyn -5. As they navigate through the coming weeks and months, they have asked for thoughts and prayers.

Jessica’s Story in the words of her Mother, Gail Shorter.

On July 26, 2021, just back from a week's vacation at the beach, Jessica Pettit Humphries and her two daughters, then 7y/o and 4y/o, were on their way to daycare and work when a driver crossed the center line and hit them head on. The girls sustained minor injuries, one with a sprained wrist and one with a sprained ankle. Jessica was airlifted to Spartanburg Regional with multiple injuries. Her pelvis was broken on both sides, her right leg was broken from the knee to the toes, her left leg from the knee up was broken and her colon had been detached.

Jess had many scans and x-rays in the trauma unit that morning. She had eight surgeries in the eight days following. On the 2nd day, the Dr told us they had what’s called an “accidental finding” of a brain tumor. As bad as that sounds, it was way down the list of our worries. She had been sedated with a breathing tube for two days, and we didn’t know if she would be able to walk again. Jessica came off the breathing tube after the 4th day, and she woke up. On the 8th day, the tumor was biopsied. The surgeon said it “looked” like a cyst but would send it to the lab.

Jess was in the hospital for about four weeks. Just before she was moved to a rehabilitation facility, she had brain surgery to remove the tumor. We learned it was an astrocytoma level 3 cancer. Not good but not the worst tumor to have.

Jess was moved to rehabilitation for ten days to learn how to transfer herself from the bed to a wheelchair. She aced it! She didn’t start walking again until the 2nd week of October. She was determined to get back to normal. Shortly after that, Jessica’s Prince Charming, Brent, proposed to her amidst all this!

The day after Thanksgiving, Jess started radiation five days a week for six weeks. Jess rang the cancer-free bell at the end of the six weeks. Cancer free, walking, still healing from the injuries but getting back almost to normal. Jess started on chemo pills. Five pills. Five days, every six weeks, for 12 rounds. She went back to work in January.

At work one day just before Valentine's Day, Jess noticed some involuntary head movements. That evening as she was washing dishes, she had a seizure. A few weeks later, a scan showed some reoccurrence of the tumor. So back for the 2nd brain surgery in April. Again, it was a successful surgery, and we felt good about it; however, some of the medicine to reduce swelling in the brain was causing her body and face to swell.

Jess had been planning her wedding for November. She LOVES fall but felt like she needed to move that date closer in, so the first week of June, she and her fiancé Brent flew to Vegas to be married by “Johnny Cash”. She had a seizure soon as they got there. She was able to make it to the chapel to get marred but before and after was in bed unwell until they left to come home. About 4wks before the wedding trip, Jess started having trouble with her motor skills on her right side, and she was losing the use of her right arm and leg.

Jess had a family beach vacation planned for the 2nd week of July. So she rested up, and they all went on vacation. She pushed through it, made a lot of family memories, and they all had a wonderful time. They came home, and she went straight to bed for days. On Friday, 7/22, feeling worse and her right side getting weaker, we took her to the ER. She was admitted and had a CT Scan and a MIR. Her Drs here consulted with Drs at Duke to be certain they had tried every treatment available. They talked about giving her immunotherapy drugs that would work in conjunction with the chemo to reduce the swelling in the brain. The swelling was causing the issues she was having moving her right side.On the morning of her 4th day in the hospital, when the oncologist made his rounds, I asked to speak to him outside Jess’s room. I asked him If she was facing another surgery, and he said no, it would be too dangerous. He said the tumor had come back aggressively and with a vengeance. It was large and burrowed down into her brain. I was stunned. This was 7/26/22, the one-year mark from when the accident happened, and I asked the question I didn’t really want the answer to. How long? He said a few weeks to a few months. I felt like I was just hit by a 1000 bullets in that moment. He said she had 2 options: take the immunotherapy drugs every 2 weeks or go on hospice. To go on hospice means all treatments cease, and the patient is kept comfortable for the best quality of life for as long as they have left. I did not know hospice meant all treatments ceased, and we weren’t ready to give up just like that.

Jessica is just 30yrs old with two young daughters. She had been a single mother until July, when she married her true love of only three short years. We wholeheartedly believed this was just a blip on the screen of life, and soon we would all be back to normal. But there would be no happy ending. The million-dollar question is; what if the accident never happened? She never had any symptoms. Did the accident prolong her life? What if the tumor had been left undisturbed? Would she have lived longer?

Was it a “God works in mysterious ways” instance?

These questions will always be with us on this side of Heaven. Jessica is “Okay” right now; walking, talking, eating… fairly normal “considering”. The doctor said she would back off eating and drinking in the final days. She would sleep more and one day just not wake up. I’m terrified now every time I see her eyes closed. I remember when I first brought her home, as an infant, my first baby, I was constantly checking to see if she was breathing. A first-time mother's fear, I guess. But here I am 30 years later, touching her as she sleeps to ensure she’s breathing.

Jessica’s babies need their mother; I need my daughter; her sister needs her sister. All we can hope for now is a miracle. In the days just after the accident, we experienced an overwhelming outpouring of love. And one year later, we are in awe of the love, support and innumerable prayers. So today, I want to ask everyone that hears or reads this story to please say a prayer for Jessica, ask for that miracle, just say her name and ask for a miracle. Thank you in advance for every single prayer lifted up.

♥️

#jessicastrong

#TeamJessica

#prayforamiracle

#cancersux

Contributions will be used to purchase a Door Dash Gift card to help with meals.

With any remaining funds, we would like to do something to continue Jessica’s legacy and would use the remaining contributions in the following ways:

• 529 for Ava (8) and Annistyn (5) in their mother’s name

• A trip for the family to help create lasting memories with Jessica for the girls