The Girl on the 6th Floor: Wide Awake Through the Nightmare

Description

Jenny pulls into the parking space of a shopping mall parking lot, just a short distance from the entrance to her place of employment. She gathers her things, gets out of her car, and begins the short walk to the entrance door to begin her shift… …the next thing she realizes it is more than two months later, now only recalling bits and pieces of the rehabilitation process as she rejoins her family and a “normal” life, one small step at a time. Jenny contracted an extremely rare illness in March of 2013. It was 35 days before doctors were able to diagnose the illness, during which time her family and friends were forced to stand by and helplessly watch as she deteriorated from a healthy and active 26-year-old woman, to someone who’s physical and mental capacities resembled a newborn baby. Not even the doctors were able to help her…or save her from the torment that the illness caused. By the time her condition was diagnosed, Jenny could not talk, eat on her own, or walk. As if this wasn’t enough, many times a day she would be visited by what her family came to view as demons that would create frightening hallucinations for Jenny to endure. Even once the illness was identified and treatment began, it was another 48 days before she was released from the hospital. Her mother and father learned a new definition of “a parent’s worst nightmare.” What took place during this process was nothing less than horrifying. It is not an exaggeration to say that during her illness Jenny appeared possessed by the devil. Recounting many of her experiences here is meant to ensure awareness of the rare illness she was eventually diagnosed with, so that others will not have to suffer as Jenny and her family did through the longest three months of their lives. The Girl on the 6th Floor recounts her father’s experiences while witnessing his child going through this odyssey. This book is an honest and intimate look at what took place day-by-day coping with a devastating illness. It reveals the fear and pain of a family, the compassion and dedication of medical professionals, and the difficulties others faced while dealing with something they didn’t understand. Surprisingly, there is also some laughter along the way. Jenny doesn’t recall any of the nightmare that her father has recounted for her in these pages. They have decided to share this account of the 74 days she spent in the hospital and a rehab facility so that the journey for others diagnosed with this illness may be shorter and less devastating than it was for Jenny and her family.