Hello everyone,
We have discovered that there has been some confusion about what actually happened to Jen. We decided as a page that it was necessary to give you all the most accurate information so that you understand this situation as best as you can.
Jen had been having difficulty breathing for several weeks in November/December. Her friends and family told her she needed to see a doctor because she had been very uncomfortable and needed medical attention. She went to the doctor and told them she was having difficulty breathing and they sent her home dismissing the situation. On Christmas morning Jen collapsed, she couldn't breathe. Her brother and father gave her CPR until the paramedics were able to get her to the hospital. Due to the stress on her body, her heart stopped several times which left her brain without oxygen. Thankfully, the paramedics were able to resuscitate her.
When the brain is left without oxygen for over four minutes, it starts shutting down. That is where her brain injury stemmed from. When she made it to the hospital, they took chest x-rays and found she had multiple pulmonary embolisms, or clots of the lungs. They air lifted her to a larger hospital in Albany where they specialize in this type of injury. She was placed in a medically induced coma for her body and brain to stabilize and allowing the doctors to run tests to figure out where this came from. She stayed in the coma for about a week.
It turns out that Jen had blood clots in her legs, and they broke loose and travelled to her lungs. There were several of them and they made breathing extremely difficult for her. That morning, her lungs were not absorbing enough oxygen which is what caused her collapse. Jen suffers from a genetic disorder called Deep Vein Thrombosis that predisposed her to getting these blood clots. While it did not cause them, it allowed for them to form. We are still unsure what caused these clots, and it might be a combination of many factors.
Once Jen's body was stabilized, she was moved to the rehabilitation facility that she is currently in. She had to learn to breath on her own and continues to relearn how to control her body. She is able to move certain parts of her body when asked, but it requires a great deal of concentration. She is fully aware of her surroundings and we believe her memory remains in tact.
Jen began laughing a few weeks ago. It is a relief to know she is able to sense when something is humorous and even remembers inside jokes from the past few years. She laughs when Niall talks to her and when Rachel and Ashley show her old videos of herself. Her and Nicole share inside jokes all the time and she will laugh when reminded of things from several days prior.
Jen is a resilient young lady. She has come a long way since December and continues to recover at her own pace. She is doing incredible things that surprise even the most seasoned doctors. Jen has a long road ahead of her and that is why we are here. We want to make her future recovery possible with the most up to date technologies, giving her the best chance of recovery possible.
Thank you for reading,
The Help Jen Team
We have discovered that there has been some confusion about what actually happened to Jen. We decided as a page that it was necessary to give you all the most accurate information so that you understand this situation as best as you can.
Jen had been having difficulty breathing for several weeks in November/December. Her friends and family told her she needed to see a doctor because she had been very uncomfortable and needed medical attention. She went to the doctor and told them she was having difficulty breathing and they sent her home dismissing the situation. On Christmas morning Jen collapsed, she couldn't breathe. Her brother and father gave her CPR until the paramedics were able to get her to the hospital. Due to the stress on her body, her heart stopped several times which left her brain without oxygen. Thankfully, the paramedics were able to resuscitate her.
When the brain is left without oxygen for over four minutes, it starts shutting down. That is where her brain injury stemmed from. When she made it to the hospital, they took chest x-rays and found she had multiple pulmonary embolisms, or clots of the lungs. They air lifted her to a larger hospital in Albany where they specialize in this type of injury. She was placed in a medically induced coma for her body and brain to stabilize and allowing the doctors to run tests to figure out where this came from. She stayed in the coma for about a week.
It turns out that Jen had blood clots in her legs, and they broke loose and travelled to her lungs. There were several of them and they made breathing extremely difficult for her. That morning, her lungs were not absorbing enough oxygen which is what caused her collapse. Jen suffers from a genetic disorder called Deep Vein Thrombosis that predisposed her to getting these blood clots. While it did not cause them, it allowed for them to form. We are still unsure what caused these clots, and it might be a combination of many factors.
Once Jen's body was stabilized, she was moved to the rehabilitation facility that she is currently in. She had to learn to breath on her own and continues to relearn how to control her body. She is able to move certain parts of her body when asked, but it requires a great deal of concentration. She is fully aware of her surroundings and we believe her memory remains in tact.
Jen began laughing a few weeks ago. It is a relief to know she is able to sense when something is humorous and even remembers inside jokes from the past few years. She laughs when Niall talks to her and when Rachel and Ashley show her old videos of herself. Her and Nicole share inside jokes all the time and she will laugh when reminded of things from several days prior.
Jen is a resilient young lady. She has come a long way since December and continues to recover at her own pace. She is doing incredible things that surprise even the most seasoned doctors. Jen has a long road ahead of her and that is why we are here. We want to make her future recovery possible with the most up to date technologies, giving her the best chance of recovery possible.
Thank you for reading,
The Help Jen Team
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