HELP GIVE LINDSAY HER LIFE BACK
Summary: $30K stem cell treatment can save Lindsay's life (the ethical kind, NOT fetal stem cells). Additional needs are travel expenses to the stem cell treatment center and funds to pay Lindsay's basic living expenses until she recovers (6 months to one year).
Lindsay's Condition:
If you saw Lindsay in line at the grocery store, you would have no idea that the cute black backpack she wears is not her purse, but the container holding the life-sustaining nourishment pumping from a tube hidden beneath her shirt directly into her intestine.
You would be jaw-dropped to know that through my sister's kind smile, she was fighting pain that felt like a knife searing slices throughout her body, both internally and externally, due to a severe autoimmune condition in which her digestive system basically fights itself.
You wouldn't know that piercing gastrointestinal distress made leaving her home that day for essentials an overwhelming risk because she wouldn’t have constant immediate access to a bathroom (I will spare you the details on this one).
You would be completely unaware because my sister Lindsay would be playing "I Spy" with her five year old son, and lighting up the line with her contagious smile and small talk with others as she pushed through the searing pain that at times is so unbearable, she can't even complete a phone conversation. Lindsay has an extraordinary determination, strength, and will to heal unlike any I have ever known.
Shortly after the birth of her son Ronin just five years ago, the health of my active, vivacious, younger sister began to rapidly decline. Within the span of a few short years, Lindsay went from a healthy, active young woman to a point of nearly nonstop pervasive suffering–the levels of which I truly do not have words horrifyingly strong enough to explain.
What began with nausea and an inability to keep down certain foods rapidly spiraled into not being able to keep down any form of food or water without violently vomiting. As her doctors looked for answers, Lindsay's weight plummeted rapidly.
When she was admitted to the hospital, she weighed in at 74 pounds.
Lindsay was diagnosed with severe Crohn's disease paired with gastroparesis–which basically means she has paralysis in her stomach and a digestive system that fights against itself in severe inflammation, often creating knifing slices leaving open wounds up to a half inch wide and other damage throughout her body which results in extraordinary physical pain so intense that it can render basic communication and interaction exhausting, and sleep impossible.
In addition, her body is also unable to hydrate or nourish her without activating extreme illness.
There are also other symptoms too intensely horrifying and personal that I will not reveal here, but I will testify that what Lindsay goes through physically every day would make your gut wrench and tears spill down your face.
The doctor's solution to this has been a life-supporting feeding tube that goes straight through an incision near her intestines, bypassing the stomach entirely. This means she lives in constant hunger, as her stomach always feels starving, while her only nutrition has been a corn syrup solution mixed with vitamins and minerals prescribed by her doctors. She has been living like this for over a year now.
Her doctors are not looking for underlying causes or solutions. The feeding tube is their solution. But the tube itself is a band-aid to the illnesses–it will not help her get better. And her condition is worsening. The paralysis Lindsay has been experiencing internally seems to be beginning to spread to her throat. She needs help now.
Personal Situation: Isolated in Colorado
In addition to battling intense physical suffering, Lindsay is also navigating intense emotional strain and an inability to now provide her own needs. Shortly before her illness began, she and her husband moved away from her large supportive family in Oregon to live near her husband’s family and job market in Colorado. She had no idea that within a few years, she would not only find herself in the depth of severely debilitating chronic illness, but divorced and isolated from her entire support system--unable to move close to family due to shared custody of her young son, yet stuck without a way to work.
Even though she is managing profound isolation during this most challenging time of her life– when support is most critical, Lindsay remains deeply resilient and determined. Against extraordinary odds, she perseveres for her children and her healing while simultaneously navigating systems that are failing to meet even her most basic medical and human needs.
We Can Help Now . . . Before It's Too Late.
Lindsay is a remarkable human being—determined, insightful, and fighting to persevere in hope.
But she can’t do it alone.
With a condition that continues to worsen, we are all staggeringly aware that Lindsay does not have much time to get the life-saving care she desperately needs.
Those of you who know my sister know that she would never ask for help for anything—she is always the one giving, always the one helping—always prioritizing her children and others before her own needs. That’s why I’m asking for her. Because this time she is the one who needs help. And she needs it quickly before it’s too late.
We thank you from the depths of our beings for your selfless hearts and willingness to help give our beloved sister, daughter, friend, and mom her life back.
LINDSAY’S NEEDS
PRIMARY NEED: FIX LINDSAY'S HEALTH
There are root causes that are not being found and addressed. Stem cell treatment can save Lindsay's life. Evidence shows that Lindsay's disorders can go into remission, and even be healed and recovered with proper care that addresses these complex root causes. But these incredibly expensive treatments are not covered by insurance.
*If you are or know of someone who is a functional doctor who specializes in severe autoimmune who you believe could help Lindsay, especially if you/they may be willing to donate services, please let us know as we will research and pray about any new information that comes our way. Thank you so much.
OTHER SIGNIFICANT NEEDS:
1. RECURRING MONTHLY LIVING EXPENSES
Since Lindsay is trapped in Colorado away from her family (who live in Oregon) due to shared custody of her son, she is forced to live on her own during this incredibly difficult time without any ability to work and provide for herself. So the problem is, Lindsay’s current bills for her small apartment and other basic bills are way more than the small amount of money she receives due to her disability.
Lindsay lives very simply. She doesn't get her hair done. Doesn't splurge on extras. Meeting these needs literally gives Lindsay a safe place to sleep. A vehicle to drive to the grocery store in. Electricity. A phone. And though it is against every ounce of her nature to ask for help, I guarantee you Lindsay appreciates it from the depths of her heart.
If anyone would like to donate on a monthly recurring basis toward very basic living expenses for Lindsay, just until her health recovers and she is able to work again, please click on the links below. I will update the page and let you all know when she is no longer in need and we can then immediately cancel monthly payments. You guys know how hard it is for Lindsay to accept help, so I'm sure this will happen the day she is able to work and gets hired somewhere. Alternatively, you can email me, Jessica, at jess.ahner.smith@gmail.com with your contact info and I will personally contact you to let you know when she is no longer in need. :)
2. Just throwing it out there . . . Two more significant needs that would help immensely.
Imagine being stuck in a small, dark apartment day in and day out. This is Lindsay’s reality. Every. Day. -- with the exception of running to the store and hoping she makes it without incident (I will spare you the details).
Having access to the outdoors is so crucial for healing and mental health. We can help bring her light—literally!
If you know of anyone who would be willing to offer a small home in the Longmont, Colorado region during this time (or even a significant discount on rent), please contact me. A yard would be stellar as this would enable Lindsay to experience nature and enable her kiddos to do the same with the comfort of a bathroom on her road to recovery.
- A Vehicle with a Bathroom
This is another huge need, but if Lindsay had a van with a bathroom, this would open up a whole world of freedom on Lindsay’s journey back to health. This would give them freedom from being confined to the cramped apartment. It would enable Lindsay’s son to play soccer (he couldn’t last year because the practice site did not have a bathroom), they could go outdoors and do things like fishing, and even run basic errands such as the grocery store with the peace of knowing she can pull over an use a facility in the comfort and privacy of her own vehicle at any time.
THANK YOU FROM THE DEPTHS OF OUR BEING FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND ENCOURAGEMENT
Our most heartfelt thank you for caring enough about my sister to consider helping. Your generosity is truly appreciated beyond words. Lindsay is so incredibly encouraged by your support.
Most importantly, we continue to ask and thank you for your prayers for healing, wisdom, guidance, encouragement, and blessing in every area of Lindsay and her children's lives. The Lord is ultimately in control.
I know these are big needs. But these needs would not only help one of the most giving, hard-working, and strongest-minded women on this planet to have a safe and healthy home, but the freedom to go outside and enjoy sunshine and fresh air again with her children on her journey back to health.
Meeting these needs not only bestows hope, but gives the irreplaceable gift of a mother back to three sons, and life back to an incredible human being.
Thank you.
