Friends of Vuong Truong

Jamie has always been the type of person who has forged through adversity with determination and a positive attitude. Throughout various life struggles she rarely complained or adopted a "why me" attitude. This trait directed her into a career working as a sign language interpreter in order to help others who face life challenges of their own.

In June of 2011, at the age of 30, Jamie was diagnosed with breast cancer and spent the next year going through treatment. She fought through the chemotherapy and invasive treatments and was declared free of cancer in January of 2012.

Having won that battle, Jamie was ready to move forward and make the most of the life she was thankful to retain. Jamie and her husband, Ryan, decided they wanted to start a family and in true "Jamie fashion" they decided to give their love to two inner-city foster children whose mother was unable to care for them. Jamie and Ryan opened their arms and welcomed two young girls into their family and home, with the intention of full adoption when possible.

In May of 2013, Jamie began to have very intense headaches and saw her doctor for tests. The results showed she had not one, but two, cerebral aneurysms. One of these was very advanced and required immediate intervention. On June 18th, Jamie went in for surgery to clip the aneurysm in an effort to ward off the impending rupture. During the surgery, things went terribly wrong and she suffered a massive stroke which caused major damage to the right hemisphere of her brain. Over the course of the next week, the swelling in her brain became so intense that a decompressive craniectomy was performed. This is a procedure that removes part of the skull to allow swelling outward. In tandem with this, she was put into a medically induced coma to reduce brain activity. Twice during these events, her family was called to her bedside to say their last goodbyes as the procedures were not working to stop the swelling.

Despite the grim prognosis and slim chance of survival, her family knew she was willing to fight and kept hope for a miracle. In late July, that miracle happened and Jamie came out of the coma. By August, she was out of intensive care and moved into 24-hour rehabilitative care. While her personality and memory were still intact, her brain had been damaged enough that initially there was no movement anywhere below her neckline. Through intensive rehab she is now able to talk and move the right side of her body. Unfortunately, as of this time, she still has no feeling or movement on the left side of her body which prevents her from taking care of herself.

As you can imagine, the surgery and three-month around the clock care at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee has been astronomical in cost, with expenses expected to total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This, of course, does not account for the ongoing care that Jamie is going to need over the coming months and possibly, years. Although she has insurance (as an employee of the same hospital that currently cares for her), coverage is only at 80%, which leaves an overbearing expense. Jamie was the primary support for the family, as Ryan had previously left his job to finish his degree. Adding to the tragedy, Jamie was let go from her job after coming out of the coma because she was not physically able to perform. As of December, the family will no longer have insurance. COBRA coverage is available, but at a cost of over $1000/month.

Jamie will need around the clock care to assist in her continuing recovery. Her husband Ryan is committed to being there for her and their foster children, who they still hope to adopt in the near future. Jamie's misfortune could have lasting effects on their future. Your donation will help them concentrate on family and healing, rather than the enormous financial burden they have been saddled with. Please consider helping out - every little bit goes a long way and can make a huge difference in their lives. Jamie is a fighter and once she recovers, will surely "pay it forward" as she has always done.