This is Ann Rowbory, Jenny’s mum and carer. Tomorrow, 29th April, is Jenny’s 39th birthday. A generous donor has offered to match donations on 29th April and also 30th April, up to the amount of £5000. If £5000 is raised during those 48 hours, he will donate an extra £1000 on top of that.
The 30th April was my late husband Ian’s birthday, Jenny’s dad. He always told Jenny that we would raise the money to get her the neurosurgery, however long it took. It is fitting then that the matching of donations will be happening across both Jenny and Ian’s birthdays on 29th and 30th April. This is the time to donate, since your donation will be matched! It would be wonderful if as many people as possible could share Jenny’s story and could tell people about donations being matched on these two days (up to the amount of £5000). Of course, you are free to donate more than that though because the target amount of money that we need to raise is so large. Fundraising page: https://gofundme.com/savejenny
At the end of March, the blood vessels in Jenny’s neck became even more compressed because of the instability of the metal and vertebrae, meaning that a lot less blood is reaching the muscles in her larynx and pharynx. She has lost the ability to control her swallowing and she chokes/aspirates even on water. She is now on puréed food but that is very difficult for her too. Eating is now an ordeal. The exertion of swallowing causes the muscles to seize up and block the airway. She cannot have a feeding tube due to medical reasons caused by the disastrous failed surgery in January 2020.
Due to the failure of the muscles in her larynx and pharynx, those muscles often seize up and block the airway. This means that Jenny is struggling even more to breathe than she was before.
We need to get Jenny the neurosurgery. The situation is even more desperate. There is nothing more that doctors in the U.K. can do for Jenny. She just needs to get to New York where the specialist equipment is and the specialist neurosurgeon.
Since the end of March, Jenny is now unable to speak at all because the speaking muscles seize up upon use due to lack of blood supply, closing up the airway, making her unable to breathe. She can’t speak if she wants to stay alive. Before the end of March, for the last couple of years, Jenny was able to speak in short bursts once every few days. Now even this has been taken away from her. She is devastated. It also means she won’t be able to use her voice on videos to fundraise for the surgery, taking away her ability to fundraise, unless she uses an electronic voice, which isn’t as effective.
Jenny’s youngest nephew once asked, “will Auntie Jenny be better by the time she’s 40?”. Let’s get Jenny the surgery she needs, as she enters the last year of her thirties. She has lost enough time. Let’s not fail her!
At the time of writing this update, we are 39% towards the fundraising target amount. If you, or a business/company that you know, are able to help further, please get in touch here: [email protected]
This video explains what is wrong with Jenny’s neck, the surgery that she needs, and the way in which she has to live every day in order to stay alive. This video answers any questions that you may have and it is also a useful link to share online with people to explain Jenny’s situation: https://youtu.be/j09KuknjrXY
Five years ago, after a disastrous UK operation, Jenny was figuratively placed to hang off the edge of a cliff by her fingertips, and there went I also, as her mum and carer, flinging my arms over the edge to catch her arms in mine before her fingertips slipped off, holding her there to keep her alive until help came. Today, we are still holding on, albeit 39% of the way towards pulling her up from where she dangles off the cliff. We just need some extra hands to come and help pull her up the full way. Whether stranger, friend or family, we are extremely grateful to all those generous souls who have given us support to date ❤️. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts and well wishes.