Help Jessica Fight Lymphoma
Donation protected
JESSICA (Roche)Thomas is a proud mother of 2, a funny, thoughtful, and dear friend, a fiercely loyal sister, a loving daughter and generally regarded as everyone’s favorite cousin. Kind and generous, she brings laughter with her everywhere and it's widely known that she would do just about anything for her friends and family. Jess has always shared her loving heart and strong spirit with those of us lucky enough to know her, and I could not be sorrier to be saying that right now, Jessica needs our help.
ON SEPTEMBER 27TH Jessica’s world was turned upside down. Having spent weeks trying to find the source of a mysterious pain in her shoulder, all that she’d learned was that although her shoulder was actually fine, her heartrate was extremely high while her blood pressure was alarmingly low. When she finally arrived at Northwestern’s ER that night, she didn’t know what to expect. She was 39 and an active mom in excellent overall health. What was happening?
The following week was a whirlwind of tests with the results coming back slowly and not immediately answering any questions. ”Something” was causing one of her aortic valves to beat irregularly and her still very low blood pressure was being attributed to a mysterious “thickening” which had been discovered around her gall bladder, pancreas, kidneys, liver and heart.
When the doctors told her the unthinkable, that an aggressive, stage 4, non-hodgkins lymphoma was found in her blood and bone marrow, and that it was likely responsible for whatever was surrounding all of her organs, Jess immediately thought of her 2 young children and could not stop crying. It took such powerful medication to keep her relaxed and her heart rate down that for the next week she couldn’t stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time while her abdomen continued to swell.
Looking back, it was probably for the best that she slept through that terrifying week and doesn’t remember too much of it.
WHAT WE NOW KNOW is that the doctors believe her disease to be curable. We are told that it is going to be a difficult road, but Jessica has a lot going for her…she is young, she is healthy, she has a strong support system, she is getting the best possible care and most importantly, she knows she can and IS READY TO BEAT THIS.
JESS HAS ALREADY STARTED CHEMOTHERAPY treatments which she will have every 2 weeks, each one requiring a week-long hospital stay. Her mother Denise and sister Judy are becoming experts in her care at home and with incredible support from their father Vito, Jess is able to continue to be as active as possible with Sophia (7) and Antonio (3) who very much need their mother.
THANK YOU for taking the time to read this through and for the outpouring of support everyone has shown her so far. Keeping her spirit up is so crucial right now.
JESSICA IS GRATEFUL to be in such capable hands with such an overwhelming show of support from her loved ones, however, the reality is that her insurance simply does not cover some of the most critical aspects of her long-term care and these costs are already significant. The doctors have told her to be ready to fight for her life and she is ready, but we are sharing her story with you now because she needs all of our help if she is going to win this fight.
We are asking that you please consider a donation of whatever you can and keep our beautiful sweet sister Jessica in your prayers. Let's help our girl to come back stronger than ever.
Thank you.
ON SEPTEMBER 27TH Jessica’s world was turned upside down. Having spent weeks trying to find the source of a mysterious pain in her shoulder, all that she’d learned was that although her shoulder was actually fine, her heartrate was extremely high while her blood pressure was alarmingly low. When she finally arrived at Northwestern’s ER that night, she didn’t know what to expect. She was 39 and an active mom in excellent overall health. What was happening?
The following week was a whirlwind of tests with the results coming back slowly and not immediately answering any questions. ”Something” was causing one of her aortic valves to beat irregularly and her still very low blood pressure was being attributed to a mysterious “thickening” which had been discovered around her gall bladder, pancreas, kidneys, liver and heart.
When the doctors told her the unthinkable, that an aggressive, stage 4, non-hodgkins lymphoma was found in her blood and bone marrow, and that it was likely responsible for whatever was surrounding all of her organs, Jess immediately thought of her 2 young children and could not stop crying. It took such powerful medication to keep her relaxed and her heart rate down that for the next week she couldn’t stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time while her abdomen continued to swell.
Looking back, it was probably for the best that she slept through that terrifying week and doesn’t remember too much of it.
WHAT WE NOW KNOW is that the doctors believe her disease to be curable. We are told that it is going to be a difficult road, but Jessica has a lot going for her…she is young, she is healthy, she has a strong support system, she is getting the best possible care and most importantly, she knows she can and IS READY TO BEAT THIS.
JESS HAS ALREADY STARTED CHEMOTHERAPY treatments which she will have every 2 weeks, each one requiring a week-long hospital stay. Her mother Denise and sister Judy are becoming experts in her care at home and with incredible support from their father Vito, Jess is able to continue to be as active as possible with Sophia (7) and Antonio (3) who very much need their mother.
THANK YOU for taking the time to read this through and for the outpouring of support everyone has shown her so far. Keeping her spirit up is so crucial right now.
JESSICA IS GRATEFUL to be in such capable hands with such an overwhelming show of support from her loved ones, however, the reality is that her insurance simply does not cover some of the most critical aspects of her long-term care and these costs are already significant. The doctors have told her to be ready to fight for her life and she is ready, but we are sharing her story with you now because she needs all of our help if she is going to win this fight.
We are asking that you please consider a donation of whatever you can and keep our beautiful sweet sister Jessica in your prayers. Let's help our girl to come back stronger than ever.
Thank you.
Organiser and beneficiary
Jenny Roche Benjamin
Organiser
Homer Glen, IL
Jessica Thomas
Beneficiary