Life: Making what you’re given a thing of beauty

Jessica “Jessy” Kotter, a member of Jackson Care Connect, believes in taking what you are given and making something of it.

She loves to take a lump of molten glass and turn it into a treasure.

“Glass blowing allows me to be creative,” she says. “It’s also great stress relief. It takes total concentration, so it takes your mind off everything else in the world. The best part is taking whatever I've made out of the kiln the next morning. Seeing my work get better and better every time is a great feeling.”

She carries that creative instinct into life as well.

Born with a leg and hip condition that has meant a lifetime of surgeries, Jessy plans to complete college, and channel her experience into making things better for others as an occupational therapist.

With the help of her health care team, including providers from La Clinica, CareSupport staff at CareOregon, and specialists as distant as Florida, she may have an opportunity to achieve that goal, and to do it without pain.

Jessy’s disorder is so rare that most orthopedic specialists were unfamiliar with it, and none would accept her as a patient. After many months of searching, CareSupport nurse Susan Fortunato found Dror Paley, MD, in Florida, an expert on Jessy’s condition, who was willing to accept her as a patient.

“I'm excited and nervous,” Jessy says. “I've never flown or been that far away from home in my life. Dr. Paley is supposed to be the best in the world, so I am really thankful that it's finally coming together.”

And she’ll be happy to get back to her life in Southern Oregon with her organic garden, boyfriend Zane, three dogs, a hamster, a fish, 10 chickens and, of course, the glass-blowing studio.