Hello to all our Family & Friends,
To view Jessica on Fox TV, Click on Link Below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW_vstm0bS8
I am so sorry that I haven't blogged sooner, but it has been a couple of weeks that have been like no other.
First, and foremost, Jessica is awake and is out of the ICU and back up to the 8th floor!
She is doing very well!!!
The hospital is all talking about the miracle that happened here this past week. Quite honestly, from Angeles - Jessica's nurse that morning on the 8th floor when she was not doing well, to Carlos - her nurse in the ICU when she awoke - they are all amazed at her recovery.
Throughout this journey with Jessica I have witnessed firsthand the many times that God has truly revealed himself to us. This past week was another one of those revealing times. What began with Jessica being rushed down to the ICU having difficulty breathing and not doing very well at all, is now a celebration in that she has recovered from the pneumothorax, infections and fevers, and when she emerged from the coma, is with much less pain, the lesions are healing as well, and she is able to move her legs once again! Jessica is smiling again!!!
I wanted you all to know this most special news!!!
Let me just say that we should never underestimate God.
He truly does work in mysterious ways.
We must always believe that He Can - and not that He Can't.
And...remember to always believe in that "rainbow" that appears after a "mighty storm" because it is God's revelation or "message" to us that the dreams that you dream of really can and do come true!!!
We pray that you are all well. Please pray for Jessica. Pray that she keeps smiling her beautiful smile. Pray that the pain, the lesions and the infections stay away. Thanks be to God for his mighty works. And many thanks to Dr. Cantu ( a doctor like no other-aka Dr. "CanDo"), Dr. Luigi (always there for Jessica), Dr. Dillman (the infection control doc) and all the staff here at the hospital.
And......many thanks to all of you for your prayers for a miracle for Jessica!
In God's love and praise, always
Sarah Gina (Jessica's Mom)***
A Special Birthday Message to Jessica's grandma - Nanny "Yum-Yum" - my mother - who turns 87 today!!! Happy Birthday and thank you for praying for a miracle for Jessica!!! We love you very much!!!
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Jessica's Journey to Getting Her Life Back
By Sarah Gina (Jessica's Mom)
As we begin this journey toward renewed health we would like to express our sincere heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick and all the work he has done and continues to do in order to bring patients like my daughter Jessica back to a more meaningful life and restored from this devastating illness. Also, special thanks to Dr. Fernando Cantu and his team of doctors in Mexico for taking on a difficult case like my daughters, Words cannot express the renewed sense of hope that we have that one day, our Jessica, can regain her life that has been taken away from her – God Bless you all!
Jessica’s Story
Once an A+ student who loved school, was involved in many extracurricular activities, played varsity tennis, lacrosse and gymnastics and enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, our daughter Jessica has spent the last 3 years incapacitated, paralyzed, unable to sit or walk and eat. She spends her days confined to a hospital bed, wearing sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones, due to severe light and sound sensitivity.
Jessica and her sisters, 2 mos. before becoming illThe pain she feels is indescribable and all attempted treatments have not even come close to relieving her suffering.
She has seen many doctors, undergone numerous painful tests and procedures, has been prescribed various medications, and has been hospitalized frequently including being intubated and on a ventilator. She is severely debilitated and currently is only 92 pounds. This is certainly no life for a 21 year old young woman!
Jessica is suffering from neurologic Lyme disease and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a severely debilitating and painful neuromuscular disorder. She suffers daily with constant sharp, stabbing, tingling and burning pain; throughout her body; severe headaches; paralysis; intense muscle spasms; gastroparesis; seizures; twisting of her limbs (dystonia); sensitivity to any touch (allodynia); extreme sensitivity to lights and sounds; excessive sweating; swelling; fevers; softening of bones; decreased hair growth; redness and discoloration of the limbs; and painful skin ulcers. The pain is constant and unrelenting, but despite her suffering, her faith in God remains and she still has hope for her future.
Jessica's painful skin lesionsJessica's journey began in 1999, when she was only 11 years old. She became very ill with Mono and was bed bound for 3 months. She subsequently developed RSD (stage 1) of the lower right leg. She received early intervention and returned to playing sports and enjoying her life.
Jessica, age 15, at summer campFour years later, in 2003, while away at a sleep-away camp, she developed a rash behind her right knee, coincidentally in the same leg that previously had RSD!
At the time, the camps nurse & doctor told her that it was “duck rash” – a rash from swimming in the lake with duck feces. However, Jessica was able to obtain photos from camp from another camper which shows the classic “bulls-eye” rash from Lyme disease! It wasn’t until much later and only after developing symptoms and becoming very ill, was the diagnosis of Lyme disease and Babesiosis (another tick-borne infection) made.
Most people (and doctors!) have no idea how serious Lyme disease can become and no clue how to properly diagnose it. Unfortunately, if she would have been promptly diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease, the RSD would not have been triggered and she would not be suffering.
July 2003, Jessica's Lyme disease rashDuring these past three years and with the pain becoming more intense and unbearable she has been seeing Dr. Finkelstein for pain management. He has even made house calls to spare her the pain of coming by ambulance to his office. Jessica has been treated with multiple pain medications, at the highest possible doses, as well as an implanted dilaudid pain pump, which delivers potent medication straight into her spine. Many doctors have told us that with the amount of medications Jessica was taking would be enough to “kill a horse”—yet they had little to no effect on her. If it wasn’t for Dr. Finkelstein trying to alleviate her constant, severe, unrelenting pain, I don’t know how she would have managed. He is very special to us as well.
Recently Jessica was transported by air ambulance to Tampa, Florida to see Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, a world renowned RSD expert. Dr. Kirkpatrick told us that Jessica is one of the most debilitated patients he has ever seen.
Jessica getting into the air-ambulance to go see Dr. KirkpatrickUpon his testing and because Jessica's condition is so severe, Dr. Kirkpatrick is recommending the only treatment available that can possibly help relieve her suffering, and afford her some semblance of a “normal” life - the Ketamine Coma Procedure - a clinical trial that is being conducted in Monterrey, Mexico.
During this procedure Jessica will be put into a coma , with the hope that her nerves, brain and spinal cord will “reset” -so that her nervous system sends the correct signals to her brain.
Yes, this is a radical, scary treatment, however, for Jessica, "scary" is thinking that she could spend the rest of her life in this condition, unable to walk, eat, or take care of herself. Since all reasonable treatments have failed to help her, we feel we must try everything possible to help Jessica regain her life.
We understand that due to Jessica’s fragile condition, there is a high risk associated with this procedure. We are also aware that other patients with severe RSD like Jessica's have had success.
Jessica’s goal is to one day become a doctor. Our hope is that with this study she can have that chance. As her Mom, I know that she will be a great doctor because when a patient presents in her office and says “Doctor, I am in pain and words cannot express how bad it is” – my daughter –Dr. Jessica– will be able to say - :I know how you feel, I’ve been there too. So, take a seat and let me tell you a story”….
We are so thankful and feel so blessed to have been led to Dr. Kirkpatrick.
God is good and with his help guiding Dr. Cantu and Dr. Kirkpatrick, our hope is for Jessica to be able to return to us whole again and pain-free!
13 comments:
Dearest Jessica and Gina, WHAT WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM FILLED WITH JOY AT THIS NEWS!!! As I sit here with the tears running down my face, I thank God for all the times that He has shown Himself to you and to all of us!!!! I am so very happy for you and for your whole family. The great God that created us gave us the gifts of faith and hope so that we can have something to hold on to when everything seems so dark. He must love you very very much, Jessica!!! I am so thrilled with how much better you are feeling!!!!!:) Gina, with your persistent prayer and trust in Him, you are also actively participating in the healing process!!!! The rest of us, in our own small ways, are also right there with you every day in prayer and love. I pray for you every day and I am confident that all of our prayers are heard and answered. Hang in there ladies- more miracles are coming!!!!!!!!! Love always, Angel xoxoxoxoxoxo p,s, Happy birthday Nanny Yum-Yum!! You will always make the BEST cookies!!!!! :)
Jessica! I am so glad you are doing better! Your strength in all of this is amazing. Keep on fighting the fight. God bless you.
We are so happy for your miracle. It has been a busy week with Roger's mother passing-memorial service Sept 4. Your message was encouraging as we have lots on our plates here and it is comforting to know that the rainbow is there for all of us, we just need to follow God's word and it is there.
Dear Jessica and Gina,
We have been waiting anxiously for the this wonderful news about Jessica. Your faith is truly awesome. Thanks be to our God for His wonderful daily provision of care and love for all of us!
Thank you again for sharing this ongoing miracle with us.
Ann
Gina and Jessica,
I heard from David of the great news. I am so happy. Jessica's strength is unbelievable... I am grateful for the miraculous progress... best wishes...
Lenny
That is AMAZING and JOYFUL news! What a wonderful answer to prayers! God is working in Mexico. Praise be to God!
We are so happy for you and your family. Somehow I think we are not done seeing all the miracles He will perform in your lives.
Your faith in our awesome God is truly inspiring! God's work in your lives is truly amazing!
May He continue to bless you and your family! May He bring your sweet Jessica to complete healing! May you continue to see more miracles!
With love & prayers,
The Turners
There's dancing going on all over the world sweet gals!!
And...Singing praises to our A-W-E-S-O-M-E GOD!! It's a JOYFUL sound.Thank you for the healing!
Jessica may each day bring you closer and closer to coming home to the USA!
Thanks to our "Miracle Team Helpers" in Monterrey Mexico!!
XOXOXOXOXO
Nancy and Joe
It was real nice to talk with you on Skype. Those moments are precious to me.
I thank you for your encouraging words and testimoony of steadfastness and perserverance. God has done mighty things for all of us and we need to always remember that our mountains will move when He is ready that they should.
Next time, put Jess on so I can see her smile. I miss talking wiht her as well as you and I say an extra special thanks to God for bringing this around. I also pray that it remains and she gets stronger every day. Keep those nasty infections away from her and allow healing to take place.
All our love,
Theo and Fern
Dear Jessica and Mom ( sarah gina) , my name is sabrina and my mom mary is sitting with me typing this since I cant use my hands from the crippling RSD that I have, I have it so severe in my face, hands and legs along with lesions like jessica, we have so much in common, and I am living in fort lauderdale,fl....ive been basically living in the hospitals here and the healthcare is terrible so many doctors don't even know where to start for rsd, ive been through the works, blocks, and dr kirkpatrick is my doctor as well and I needed some support because my mom and I are thinking of making our way to dr cantu in monterray very soon because of my deteriorating condition..I just turned 26 years old and its been such a journey as well as for you....hey jessica thank the lord we have our mom's huh? they are a blessing to be right by our side through it all. Please email us at Sabrinapassariello@gmail.com Sarah Gina I would love to talk to you if you don't mind im Mary call me anytime 954-707-2700 if you dont mind...I know we would have so much to talk about, we are going through the same battle with our daughters. thank you and God bless! Hope to hear from you soon
Mary & Sabrina
excellent news! congrats, jess! glad to hear your nap has produced the smile you misplaced. we'll continue to thank the Lord Almighty for all He has done, and pray for continued good health.
blessings,
emily, your coma buddy
Dear Jessica & Sarah Gina,
We feel truly blessed to have met you and your wonderful family. In less than one year, we have witnessed with our own eyes the highs and lows of what you have gone through with RSD pain, lesions and fevers. We are among the few who have recently seen the miracle you received in Monterrey and it is awe inspiring. God has plans for you Jessica. The two of you have done so much to strengthen our faith and for that we are very grateful. We pray that our Lord continues your progress towards complete healing and that this journey brings you both home soon to the open arms of all your family and friends.
With much love,
Rosemary and John
Hello ladies, Also feel overwhelming joy about your great news!!
Praise be to GOD!
Always keeping you in my thoughts & Prayers,
Jodi
PRAISE THE MIGHTY LORD!!!! Jessica, if God is for you who can be against you and then you have so many who are lovingly praying for you each and every day...we consider you such a great miracle already, and will continue to wait on the Lord to complete it. Stay strong and courageous...God bless you and your mom always!
Love
Angela & all the boys!
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