Jessica Smart Recovery Fund
Donation protected
March 11, 2017
Jess drove down to Orange Beach, AL from Iowa with friends on March 10th to spend spring break on the beach and visit her parents. She arrived at her parent's house after a 16-hour drive with a mild headache. The next morning, she walked a 5K at McGuire’s. That afternoon she started feeling nauseous and her headache was much worse. Since she suffers from an occasional migraine her parents took her to a walk-in clinic where they treated her with antibiotics and pain medicine as they believed she had a sinus infection. Over the course of the next 7 days, her headache and nausea continued to worsen and she was seen by doctors at 3 different clinics and an Emergency Room. On March 20th, they took her to the University of West Florida Hospital ER. After waiting for 12 hours in excruciating pain, she was finally examined by a doctor. They did a lumbar puncture and admitted her with suspected viral meningitis. Over the course of the next few days her condition worsened rapidly and she lost all feeling in and use of her legs; lost her hearing and started having difficulty speaking. She went through a myriad of testing and treatments but no diagnosis or relief was obtained. After 2 weeks at UWF they transferred her to the University of Alabama in Birmingham via ambulance on April 3rd. There she has been seen by a team of Neurologists, Infectious Disease Doctors, Rheumatologists and Dermatologists all running every possible test and scan they could imagine. After 2 weeks at UAB they still don't have a diagnosis. She has developed pneumonia and has been on life support for the past week. What the doctors do know is that whatever is affecting her is causing inflammation in her spinal cord and her brain.
During this ordeal, Jess had to withdraw from college in Iowa and has obviously not been able to work. She still has an apartment under lease until October so those bills are still accumulating. As you can imagine her medical bills are well over $100,000 already and she is still in ICU with tests and medications and multiple doctors so this bill is rapidly growing. Her parents have not been able to work during this time and are also accumulating multiple expenses. Once Jess recovers she is looking at an extremely long, difficult and expensive recovery. She will need to basically relearn how to walk, talk, swallow, dress and pretty much everything again. Her recovery will take many years.
She has suffered an acquired brain injury from unknown cause menengio-encephalitis. We are desperate for a diagnosis and/or an effective treatment plan.
Any assistance, even if it's only a few dollars, will help. Please consider helping Jess with these overwhelming expenses.
Thank you and God bless each and every one of you.
Jess drove down to Orange Beach, AL from Iowa with friends on March 10th to spend spring break on the beach and visit her parents. She arrived at her parent's house after a 16-hour drive with a mild headache. The next morning, she walked a 5K at McGuire’s. That afternoon she started feeling nauseous and her headache was much worse. Since she suffers from an occasional migraine her parents took her to a walk-in clinic where they treated her with antibiotics and pain medicine as they believed she had a sinus infection. Over the course of the next 7 days, her headache and nausea continued to worsen and she was seen by doctors at 3 different clinics and an Emergency Room. On March 20th, they took her to the University of West Florida Hospital ER. After waiting for 12 hours in excruciating pain, she was finally examined by a doctor. They did a lumbar puncture and admitted her with suspected viral meningitis. Over the course of the next few days her condition worsened rapidly and she lost all feeling in and use of her legs; lost her hearing and started having difficulty speaking. She went through a myriad of testing and treatments but no diagnosis or relief was obtained. After 2 weeks at UWF they transferred her to the University of Alabama in Birmingham via ambulance on April 3rd. There she has been seen by a team of Neurologists, Infectious Disease Doctors, Rheumatologists and Dermatologists all running every possible test and scan they could imagine. After 2 weeks at UAB they still don't have a diagnosis. She has developed pneumonia and has been on life support for the past week. What the doctors do know is that whatever is affecting her is causing inflammation in her spinal cord and her brain.
During this ordeal, Jess had to withdraw from college in Iowa and has obviously not been able to work. She still has an apartment under lease until October so those bills are still accumulating. As you can imagine her medical bills are well over $100,000 already and she is still in ICU with tests and medications and multiple doctors so this bill is rapidly growing. Her parents have not been able to work during this time and are also accumulating multiple expenses. Once Jess recovers she is looking at an extremely long, difficult and expensive recovery. She will need to basically relearn how to walk, talk, swallow, dress and pretty much everything again. Her recovery will take many years.
She has suffered an acquired brain injury from unknown cause menengio-encephalitis. We are desperate for a diagnosis and/or an effective treatment plan.
Any assistance, even if it's only a few dollars, will help. Please consider helping Jess with these overwhelming expenses.
Thank you and God bless each and every one of you.
Organizer
Mary Smart
Organizer
Perdido Beach, AL