A Red Cross volunteer who survived both World Trade Center terror attacks is pleading for help after her body began turning on itself from an autoimmune condition.
Jenn Ashcraft was at the World Trade Center in New York City on the afternoon of February 26, 1993, when a truck exploded beneath the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.
The now 60-year-old was also at the buildings on September 11, 2001, when two planes crashed into the skyscrapers, ultimately bringing them down, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Ashcraft survived the attacks and moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she began volunteering for the American Red Cross.
'It was a way for me to heal and to honor all of those firefighters that lost their lives,' Ashcraft told 12 News.
She added that she has been battling health issues for decades, but her condition has recently gotten drastically worse.
Ashcraft described the pain she feels as her body burning itself from the inside out.
'My cuticles started bleeding. My skin developed some type of an attack, which now basically means my antibodies are attacking my body,' said Ashcraft from a hospital bed.
Decades ago, Jenn Ashcraft, 60, survived the attacks on the World Trade Center, but has now battling a serious autoimmune condition
Ashcraft, a lifelong volunteer, asked for help after several medical conditions leave her bedridden at the hospital
Doctors diagnosed her with a serious autoimmune disease, leaving her with several severe symptoms.
She suffers from abnormal and speckled red blood cells, bleeding nail cuticles, bleeding hair follicles on her head, painful skin wounds that appear overnight, and severe inflammation throughout her body and skull, according to a fundraiser.
Ashcraft also endures constant and sometimes unbearable physical pain, post-traumatic stress injury, and suffers from damage to her retina and vision.
However, a GoFundMe set up in an effort to support Ashcraft throughout her journey to recovery, noted that she has been dealing with medical issues since the first terror attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.
She suffered a ruptured middle ear and a dislocated left jaw, which was later corrected through surgery.
Ashcraft also experienced severe electrical shock sensations traveling through her skull, arms, hands, and legs.
Metal shrapnel was found lodged in her legs and feet, with some pieces later surgically removed.
She has had chronic ringing in her ears that has never stopped, blood cell abnormalities discovered in testing after the attack, and lasting emotional and psychological trauma.
World Trade Center Bomb 1993: Police and office workers flee after the blast. An underground explosion rocked the twin towers causing the ceiling of a train station to collapse and setting off fires below the landmark building
Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03am on September 11, 2001 in New York City
Unfortunately, her list of conditions would grow even further following the 9/11 attack, leaving her to be diagnosed with conversion syndrome, which caused disruptions in her brain signals, according to the GoFundMe.
The campaign added that Ashcraft also suddenly lost the use of her left leg and right arm and experienced blackouts, leading to hospitalization and weeks of recovery.
In 2014, due to overwhelming medical conditions and mounting medical bills, she lost her home.
According to the fundraiser, the Mayo Clinic declared her disabled, but she was denied Social Security benefits.
The World Trade Center Health Program, which provides healthcare for survivors and first responders with health issues connected to the attack on September 11, does not recognize autoimmune diseases, as reported by 12 News.
Ashcraft added that she hopes her story will spotlight the challenges that so many survivors continue to face as a result of the tragedies decades ago.
According to the outlet, petitions have recently been set up to add autoimmune disorders to the World Trade Center Health Program's list of covered conditions.