Help Jessica Levi
Jessica Levi is a Lymphoma survivor. She was first diagnosed and treated 5 years ago, but the disease has recently come out of remission with a vengeance.
After beating cancer the first time, Jess returned to UVM to complete her degree. Jess is the primary wage earner in the household- her husband has been diagnosed with a medical condition that prevents him from working full time. Jess has been very active in the Autism community since her own son was diagnosed in 2002; she co-founded AAWARE (Approach Autism with Advocacy, Recovery & Education) and has testified before the Vermont House on numerous occasions when bills related to autism were being debated. She has also served on the Vermont Autism Task Force, as well as Autism related committees and boards, and works one on one with autistic children.
Here’s a letter that was sent out in Jessica’s behalf:
Dear Friends:
We are writing this to you all because our dear friend, a beloved member of our community, Jessica Levi, has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma.
After barely surviving this disease 5 years ago, it has come out of remission with a vengeance.
Due to medical problems that render her husband unable to work full time, Jessica is the sole financial provider for their family, which includes their 11 year old son who has autism. While she is now on medical leave with her cancer diagnosis, she has been ill for some months and unable to work, and so no income has been coming in for the family’s needs.
A woman who always goes out of her way to help others—during her last bout with lymphoma she still managed to be very active in the autism community helping some of our most vulnerable community members. And now she has become one of our most vulnerable community members and I am hoping that we all can help her.
Stephanie