Jen had just made the big decision to accept a new position in Southern Oregon when another life-altering event crossed her path. “I found out I had Stage 1 ovarian cancer,” says Jen. “It was a huge shock. It doesn’t run in my family. And not to mention, I was in the middle of moving from Colorado to Oregon for my new job, so everything was already expensive.”
As with most career transitions, Jen had a lapse in her employer-offered health insurance and had to sign up for COBRA. This also meant that her medical team was back in Colorado – hundreds of miles away from her new workplace.
“My first day of work was October 3 and I had my first flight back to Colorado on October 5,” Jen recalls. “Since then, Angel Flight West has helped me fly back every three weeks for chemotherapy.”
Through the Passenger Assistance Fund, Angel Flight West was able to cover the cost of commercial airline tickets for Jen. For one of her travel dates, the winter weather cleared up, and in a relay flight, volunteer pilots Meyer Goldstein and Marc McAtlin flew Jen more than 1,000 miles to access her appointments. “I was so grateful they donated their flight and time for me,” says Jen.
Her last round of chemo was December 30, and Jen rang in the new year by ringing a special bell that signifies the end of months of cancer treatment. Click here to watch the video!
“I’m in remission,” Jen says. “The treatment went really well and was luckily caught at an early stage. Starting a new job, learning new names, and managing a new environment makes for some really long weeks. Because of Angel Flight West, I didn’t have to worry about traveling to care on top of that. It was a huge relief.”
Jen now has a new medical team in Oregon to guide her through her next scheduled surgery and follow-up lab work. We’re honored to have helped Jen with medical transportation when her far-off care was states away. Do you know someone that needs help traveling to care? Click here to learn more.
