Local family starts fund for education, research of adrenal disease that killed daughter

Описание: MONTGOMERY, Ohio (WKRC) - A family in Montgomery who recently lost their daughter to a problem that can be prevented is now reaching out to help others, launching a new education fund to try and save lives.

Fourteen months ago, Julie Jones lost her life due to an adrenal crisis. Her family now has already raised thousands for research and education so others can learn the early warning signs of it.

Growing up, Julie was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 14. She survived that, her parents said, only to die at age 34 of a different kind of crisis -- an adrenal crisis.

"Now that we look back and kind of examine it closely, she ended up having all of the six or seven primary symptoms of adrenal insufficiency, but because each one of them can be so easily explained away by other, more common situations and conditions, none of us, including her physicians, had really any idea," said Julie's mother, Carol Jones.

Those symptoms, according to University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Dr. Shailesh Patel, can range from fatigue to blood pressure problems. In Julie's case, they were caused by a lack of a balance in a hormone regulated by the adrenal glands.

"Adrenal glands are glands that all human beings have. They have two components. One component makes steroid hormones, and every human being needs the right amount of steroid hormone. It is a tightly regulated process that involves the brain, the base of the brain called the pituitary gland and then the adrenal glands," said Dr. Patel.

The Julie Theresa Jones Fund for Faculty and Resident Academic and Research Support in Adrenal Crisis has now been launched at UC's College of Medicine.

"This is a compassionate family that wants to make something good," said Jeff Taylor, the senior director of development at the College of Medicine and UC Health.

"Education is the key. It starts with our medical students. They're all taught adrenal insufficiency and how to recognize it," Dr. Patel said.

Already Julie's family has raised more than $60,000 toward a $100,000 goal. Her parents say it's a tribute to Julie's life and how she lived it to help others.

"There obviously isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about her and just miss her voice and her touch and her carefree attitude and just the light that she shone. She made all of us giggle all the time. She was just a really fun person and a very loving daughter," said Carol.

If you'd like to learn more about the fund, you can call 513-556-6781.