A GoFundMe has been set up to support a Melfort family whose daughter has been diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis.
Jayda Nagy, 14, was recently diagnosed with the disease after months of sickness but not knowing the cause. It took a 12-day stay at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital to really find out what was wrong.
Autoimmune Hepatitis is a disease where the immune system in someone’s body attacks the liver cells. As a result, Jayda will need a liver transplant, and need one soon.
Jayda’s father, Kevin Nagy is a member of the Melfort Fire Department and has been by Jayda’s side through all of it. The organizer of the GoFundMe, Randy Martin, is also a member of the Melfort Fire Department and said he needed to help someone who is not just a fellow firefighter, but a dear friend as well.
“It’s going to be a lot of lost wages for him, and a lot of lost time from work,” Martin told northeastNOW. “And a lot of expense for him, with travelling, and hotels, and meals, and that kind of stuff, living away from home. So, it’s going to be hard on his family.”
Martin said members of the fire department become like family with each other, but also their families become intertwined as well.
“You have to count on him and he has to count on you, and you got to have his back and he’s got to have your back,” he said. “You just get closer to people than I feel in a normal organization.”
So far, over $11,000 dollars has been raised on the GoFundMe, and Martin said it’s overwhelming to see the support the community and surrounding area is giving to the Nagy family. The goal for fundraising is set at $20,000 dollars and Martin said that number was discussed with the Nagy’s, but there is a still a lot that isn’t determined yet as Jayda will be going for an assessment in early July.
“We know that the assessment is going to be seven to 10 days in Edmonton,” Martin said. “And then we know for sure that the transplant is going to be six weeks minimum in Edmonton. So, there are just a lot of unknowns yet, so we thought we’d start there and see where it takes us.”
You can find the GoFundMe here.
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mat.barrett@pattisonmedia.com
On Twitter: @matbarrett6
