One of our own

[jdmcbean]

Good Afternoon... This is not something we would generally do, but it is one of our own.
Many of you know Jud Parker.. He has been with us now for almost 10 years.. and has been a friend for almost 20 years. He handles our factory build SLSA program but also does about everything Kitfox!
His has a wonderful family that has been hit with a hard blow.

Their daughter, Jessica, fell ill. Hit with this devasting illness of Acute Myeloid Leukemia 3 mo's ago and her world turned upside down. She has a very rare type of AML and needs immediate treatment.
She has had 3 rounds of Chemotherapy, and now has a promise for a donor for a Bone Marrow transplant, which is her only hope. She will be relocating to Salt Lake city for the Bone Marrow Transplant and Jud will be her 24hr caregiver for 4 months in Salt Lake.

Jessica a 23 yr old single mother with a 3 year old daughter. Jessica was going to school and working when this illness struck.

There is a fundraiser to help offset many of the medical and remote living costs. Every little bit helps. Please visit Youcaring.com (https://www.youcaring.com/jessicaparker-858277?utm_source=mandrill&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Link&utm_campaign=Donor) and help one of our own.

[DesertFox4]

Thanks for posting John. Prayers going out to Jessica, Jud, Clarissa and their family. Prayers for a successful transplant so Jessica can beat this illness. Knowing how important Jud and every member of the Kitfox Aircraft team is to daily operations in Homedale, thank you John and Debra for supporting our friends through this difficult battle. Please let them know they are in our prayers and daily thoughts.

[Esser]

Terrible news to hear about Jud and his daughter. Jud is the man who patiently answered all my questions at Oshkosh, even when I came back for a third or fourth time. In fact Jud's willingness to talk to a young 24 year old kid when most other kit manufacturers wouldn't give me the time of day is a large part of the reason I chose kitfox.

[Ramos]

Prayers have been, and will continue to be, sent. I am sure many here would appreciate updates as they become available.

[jrevens]

So sorry to hear this... I echo what Esser said about Jud. I hope that many people on this forum will do what they can to help. Our best thoughts and prayers are with you Jessica, Jud and your entire family.

[Cherrybark]

My immediate thought was to avoid crowdfunding fees by sending a check, payable to Jud, via the Kitfox address. A visit to the YouCaring site found, "YouCaring is dedicated to helping as many people as possible. This is why we will never charge anyone to raise money on our site." What a great crowdfunding resource! It would be great if this forum could quickly raise the $30,000 goal.

May God bless this family with a speedy rcovery.

[Paul Z]

If you decide to mail a check to Jud, write in the note area "Gift to Jessica Parker, or Judd Parker". By designating it as a gift they can avoid having to pay Federal Income Tax on any contributions that have that noted.

[Paul Z]

I'll be writing a Check! God Bless and I hope and pray for Judd, & Jessica and her daughter.

[DesertFox4]

Thank you Carl for the words of encouragement along with previous posts of good wishes and prayers.:) It would not be difficult for this community to get close to that goal with small amounts Carl. It is my hope also. Thank you so much to everyone who has and will donate.

Jud has spent at least 5 of the 10 years he's worked at Kitfox Aircraft just in the paint booth creating flying works of art. We all hope he can bring Jessica home soon with encouraging news for her future.

[efwd]

Thanks for the advice Paul. I prefer the check idea myself.
Eddie

[DesertFox4]

Thanks to our Kitfox family for pitching in and helping Jessica, Jud and his family at this trying time.:) Prayers still needed. Thank you all.
You guys are great.

Every little bit helps. Youcaring.com (https://www.youcaring.com/jessicaparker-858277?utm_source=mandrill&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Link&utm_campaign=Donor)

[jdmcbean]

Thank you for caring and helping! still a long road to go but it is going in the right direction.
It has been awhile and some may be watching the fund raiser updates... for those that have not I thought I would post the updates here..

The newest update is first..

Posted on August 9, 2017
Today Jessica's numbers were high enough that she has been released from the hospital. We have now moved into patient housing about 2 miles from the hospital. The next 80 days she will be required to remain within a few miles of the hospital in case something happens to her. She will also not be able to leave our new room for the next few weeks. Her immune system is still very week and we need to be very careful. This picture is Jessica erasing her name from the patient board in the BMT unit, it's a tradition there. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Posted on August 8, 2017
Here we are at day +17. Jessica's numbers continue to rise and now that her ANC level is above .5 she is allowed to leave the BMT unit. She still can not go outside, but at least we can walk around the hospital. After several months of Jessica's hair growing back it has all fallen out again. She was hoping it would make it through this round of Chemo. Due to stomach issues she is not eating as well as we would like, but she is eating small amounts. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Thank you to all.

Posted on August 7, 2017
Yesterday Jessica's pain had gone down enough that they stopped the continuous pain medication. Today she has started to eat solid food, finally. The problem now is her going to the bathroom. She had not gone in 8 days. Today she did, this was a big hurdle to get over. Her numbers continue to rise bringing her closer to engraftment. The moment the new stem cells begin to join with hers.

Posted on 08/04/2017
The past few days have been hard on Jessica. Today we seemed to have crested the hill as her numbers have begun to go up. her pain level has gone down a little leaving her to focus on getting better. She can now drink a little bit of energy drink which is helping. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers

Posted on 08/02/2017
Today was a tough day. The side effects of the Chemo she is on is Mucositis. Very painful sores in the mouth and throat. She is at a point were she can no longer eat or even drink water. Today they put her on a constant pain killer through her IV. She also has PCA where she can control more pain killer into her body. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Posted on 07/29/2017
Today Jessica has reached the point where here numbers have started to bottom out. Everyday Jessica and I (her Dad) have been taking walks around the hospital and outside to keep her lungs clear and to give her exercise. Unfortunatley now we will not be able to do this. We will have to remain within the small area of the BMT unit. She will be in Nadir soon, then she will begin the long rebuilding process. Thank you to all for your support.

Posted on 07/26/2017
We are on day +5 and her numbers have begun to drop. As her numbers bottom out the hard part really begins. This is where she will have such low White Cell, Hemoglobin and Platelets count that she will be very week and prone to infection. Yesterday they attempted to perform a Spinal Tap to remove fluid for testing due to her intense headaches. They ended up not being able to get deep enough because it was causing to much pain. They decided to take her down to a surgical room so they could sedate her with anesthesia. Also to help find the cause of the headaches they performed an MRI late last night. We are waiting for results. hopefully they will find something to help relieve the pain a little. Please continue to spread the words to help pray for Jessica, and please tell others about her fun raising website.

Posted on 07/22/2017
Watch our awesome video of Jessica's stem cell transplant. You can actually see the stem cells moving toward her body. Click on link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We-Wsd9qCwg&feature=youtu.be


Posted on 07/22/2017
Transplant Day! *Today is the first day of the rest of Jessica's life. *She did really well, slept through most of the process. **The process is similar to getting a blood transfusion, through a bag, and took about an hour. *Some of the hospital staff came in during the transplant and sang her Happy Birthday and brought her a balloon, a card and a gift, very touching. *She now will start her recovery process, which the next 48 hours are critical to watch for any kind of reaction to the transplant. *Although a rejection could possibly happen at any time. *Her body will be working extremely hard to try an assimilate the new stem cells into her own. *The next few days her blood counts will drop and she will be very very weak and Neutropenic (when you have no white blood cells to fight off anything). **The Bone Marrow transplant is truly a remarkable process. *The stem cells came in a special container that were flown in from Germany last night. During the process, we watched as the stem cells, that came from another person, go into my daughter to save her life. *Truly, what a miracle!
Thank You, with the deepest form of appreciation - to the unknown donor who has given us the gift of our daughters life - God Bless you.

Posted on 07/20/2017
Done with Chemo hopefully forever! *Had a rough night, headaches, nausea, vomiting, allergic reactions to hands and feet, and no sleep. *Today is day of rest. Tomorrow is Stem cell transplant day, 'Day -0-'. *Also known here as her new 'birthday'. Her numbers are still up, they will probably start going down in the next few days..that's the hard part.
Thank you to all our friends and family who have donated with gifts and financial donations, we are blessed. We would appreciate any continued donations and gifts, if you are able, as our expenses for transportation, meals, and lodging keeps growing. Thank you and God Bless.

Posted on 07/16/2017
We are now in Salt Lake, Jessica's hospital admission was delayed 1 day. This allowed her to explore Salt Lake a little. For the next 4 months she will not be allowed to leave the safety of her room, due to possible infection risk. Jessica will be starting Chemo tomorrow, which is Day -6. *Day 0 is the day of the Bone Marrow transplant. Jessica is in good spirits and good health, which all the doctors say is the best way to start down this path of replacing her immune system with someone else's. We really appreciate all your donations and are well on our way toward our goal. It is amazing how quickly cost add up when your away from home. *Your continued financial help and prayers are a blessing. *Thank You.

[Bud Davidson]

The sequence of events provided bring about deep emotions.
I sold my home on the seaplane base in Florida and my homebuilt seaplane to provide support for a daughter, diabetic with total kidney failure on dialysis. A year later she received a combination pancreas and kidney transplant. Her recovery is as described in this " One of our own" narrative.
Let me hint about the future.
My daughter is now a staff member of a local college and adjunct professor. Works a normal day. Must pay close attention to diet, medications and a reasonable schedule of doctor visits. None of this out of the ordinary.
The young lady in your case has a great future in store. We offer our prayers for just that.
And, I can resume a more normal life as well.

[Cherrybark]

There are a string of updating posts and pictures on the YouCaring web site. This latest picture, of Jessica following the tradition of erasing her name from the Patient Board was wonderful to see. Although my screen got a little blurry thinking about her experiences.

https://www.youcaring.com/jessicaparker-858277?utm_source=mandrill&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Link&utm_campaign=Donor