Vail Valley Charitable Fund: A series of unfortunate events
Vail Valley Charitable Fund
Courtesy photo
Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed my life would turn out the way it has.
I have been a valley native since I was 2 years old. I grew up a normal, healthy, and happy child. That all changed when I was 12 years old. While playing frisbee in a park with my dad, I was knocked over unconscious and rushed to the hospital. I began experiencing pain on my right side, which turned out to be nerve damage brought on by a small broken bone in my back that cut into a nerve. By the time we figured that out, I had a new array of symptoms. I was then set out on a seemingly never-ending health journey that could only be described as Lemony Snicket’s “a series of unfortunate events.”
I began down a road of exploratory surgeries to find the cause of that nerve pain which they would finally discover was chronic necrotizing pancreatitis. I spent years in and out of various hospitals, saw dozens of specialists all over the state, and sought help through the Mayo Clinic. None of these visits brought any relief from the pain, and no answers were found.
In 2007, I was hospitalized 14 times with pancreatitis, and each episode lasted over two weeks. More than half of that year was spent in a hospital bed. By the time I was 20 years old, I began testing for pancreatic cancer, and was told I had an 80% chance of contracting it. My pancreas was a ticking time bomb.
When I reached 27, I was showing signs of pre-cancer, and it required immediate removal. Off to the University of Minnesota I went to have a total pancreatectomy with auto islet transplant. The procedure completely removed my pancreas and transplanted insulin cells into my liver. It was a two-year recovery, and while it greatly improved the quality of my life, I now have diabetes and can’t digest food well.
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I have always been supported and helped by our community, and the gratitude I have cannot be expressed in words. When I had the transplant, our community rallied around me and helped me raise the money I needed to have the procedure and all the other medical expenses required.
The latest turn in events arrived last August when I was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines, which are migraines accompanied by stroke symptoms. This has left me unable to work or function on a daily basis, and financially floundering. This is when the Vail Valley Charitable Fund stepped in to help. They supported my medical and living expenses so that I could find a way to recover and survive here in the valley. All I can say is a simple “thank you,” but it is nowhere near enough. Please consider supporting them so they can support others like myself in need.
Jessica Barton is a Vail Valley Charitable Fund grant recipient. Find out more about the VVCF’s mission at VVCF.org.
