Jude was born in Indiana and graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She and her husband, Bill, have 3 children Derek, Kelsey and Kammie. Kammie had a prenatal diagnosis of Trisomy 18. This was pre-internet so the only information available was in medical books. The family chose comfort care for Kammie and she came home from the hospital at 3 days old on comfort care and hospice. The first 3 years held lots of medical challenges such as RSV, a GI bleed and many cases of pneumonia.
The family moved to Colorado in 2001 and Kammie started public school. She always loved to ride the school bus and tries to be active socially with her peers and in the community. Kam graduated from high school in 2015 and just turned 28 years old! Kam does Hippotherapy (PT on horseback) and acupuncture and loves to attend concerts and music festivals. She spends much of her summers traveling and likes to attend the Chromosome 18 Registry conference and the SOFT (Support for Families with Trisomy 18, 13 and Related Disorders) conference in the different locations each year.
Jude has been active mentoring Trisomy 18 families as they get a prenatal diagnosis, tube feeding and nutrition, osteoporosis and scoliosis, alternate therapies, IEPs and now about navigating the transition to adult services. She enjoys photography and often provides photos for non-profit organizations.
