Jessica’s Journey

UPDATE 12/21:

We are still accepting donations for services to lay her to rest.

On Thursday 12/21 Jessica went home with the Lord. Her faith, courage and strength got every single one of us through this heartache. To say our hearts are broken would be an understatement. We watched her “fight like a tiger” as our dad would say, for the last year. She didn’t give up and we are so unbelievably proud of her. She was an inspiration to MANY, even those that never met her. This is so devastating to everyone that ever had the pleasure to know her. 41 years was never enough time. Until we see her again at the gates of Heaven ❤️

On Monday 12/18, our family made the incredibly hard decision to move Jessica to hospice. The vascular disease that caused the circulation issues to her limbs had taken over. She had 2 more inches from each arm in October. After that surgery, Jessica wasn’t able to return to the nursing home. She was receiving care at Mercy Select, as her body couldn’t regulate itself and she needed medical help. Within the last month she has struggled with being coherent, she was on and off of a feeding tube and oxygen. On December 5th Jessica was deemed stable enough to go back to the nursing home. Before she was able to leave she suffered a seizure and we later found out she was also suffering multiple strokes. Jessica’s body had fought so hard but it started to shut down. Her organs started to fail, which caused many other issues.

We are raising money to help our sister, Jessica, for the challenges she is facing and will continue to face for some time becoming a quadruple amputee. Our main goal is to afford at least 1 functional bionic prosthetic arm. Jessica is only 41 years old and an amazing mother to 3, and a devoted wife to her husband Steve. She has so much to live and fight for! She is so strong in her faith, has never questioned why she is going through these things. She has been the rock that has held everyone together during these times. She was strong for all of us, though she didn't have to be.

Jessica was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 4. Since then, she has been very self-sufficient. She was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2020 and was put on the transplant list. She has been receiving daily dialysis since then. Unfortunately, because of her other health issues - she cannot receive a transplant right now. It’s so cliché to say she is the most selfless and strong person we have ever known, but to say anything less would be a disservice.

In the summer of 2022, she stepped on a piece of cat food that caused a cut on her foot. Because she is diabetic the cut on her foot got severely infected. She fought gangrene and sepsis until doctors decided they needed to amputate her foot to the area below her knee/above her calf. The amputation occurred on Thanksgiving Day 2022. Jessica remained positive and trusted God to know there was a plan for her through this; never once did she complain.

In July 2023, she was taken to the hospital with what she thought were bruised fingers. Her fingers were turning black on both hands, as well as the toes on her remaining foot. She was hospitalized and during this time, she fought through MRSA and suffered a stroke due to a spike in her blood sugar. In an attempt to save her hand, the doctors amputated to the first knuckle on her right middle finger. She was transferred to Akron General Hospital and the care she received was amazing, there was such an improvement in her health. She was allowed to go home!

After 4 days home she started to show signs of infection again. Her right hand had caused her to become septic and the next step was to amputate it. Due to the condition of her heart and other organs, the doctors weren't positive she would make it out of the surgery. They didn't want to risk taking only her right hand and put her through another surgery - they decided to take both hands simultaneously. As this was not only a scary time waiting for her to pull through the surgery, but we also knew things for her would never be the same. Just a week later - it was determined the last source of infection was her remaining foot. They amputated it to the same spot her right leg was amputated.

Jessica's incisions are healing so well! All of this happened in less than 2 months, it is the biggest adjustment you could imagine. This is not only a physical challenge, but also a huge mental and emotional challenge. All we want is to help her adjust to these changes in the best way possible. She is currently in a healthcare center as she becomes rehabilitated.