Two-Time World Trade Center Attack Survivor Says Her Body Is ‘Burning From the Inside Out’

Jenn Ashcraft survived not one but two terror attacks at New York City’s World Trade Center. Now, more than two decades after escaping the devastation of 9/11, she revealed she’s fighting a different kind of nightmare – an autoimmune disease that makes her feel like her body is burning from the inside out.

While Ashcraft, 60, has been dealing with health issues over the past 30 years, her condition has worsened recently.

“My cuticles started bleeding. My skin developed some type of attack,” she said during an interview with NBC 12 News on Monday, May 18. “Basically, my antibodies are attacking my body.”

Ashcraft told the outlet that her body was “burning itself from the inside out.”

“My chest, my back, my face, my arms, my legs – it’s very painful,” she continued.

While she’s currently receiving treatment at the Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides coverage for survivors and first responders with health issues connected to 9/11, doesn’t recognize autoimmune diseases.

This led Ashcraft’s friend to start a GoFundMe for her to help with her mounting medical bills.

The fundraiser lists some of the current symptoms Ashcraft is experiencing, which includes abnormal and speckled red blood cells, painful skin wounds that appear overnight, severe inflammation throughout her body and skull and more.

It also noted that doctors recently discovered tumors in her lungs and the proceeds from the GoFundMe would also aid in paying for testing to determine if the tumors are cancerous and the next treatment steps needed.

Ashcraft hopes her speaking out about her medical struggles makes others feel more comfortable to talk about their own health issues.

“We shouldn’t be going through this alone.”