Now, her husband is celebrating the small victories in her recovery and offering messages of hope to others about to face the life-changing surgery.
"From her moving a finger, to her waking up and her eyes opening - small things," James Hernandez says.
In 2015, Jessica was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She received a donor heart on Aug. 26 - the day after her 33rd birthday.
As she continues to recover at Keck Hospital of USC, James is grateful for the organ donor who saved her life.
He knows another family is grieving the loss of a loved one. He wants them to know that heart continues to live on.
"Thank you," James says. "Honestly I don't understand the process of how they did it but they did it. Her wait time was only about a month to receive the heart. She got admitted the first of July of this year."
James and Jessica have two sons - 7-year-old James and 4-year-old Alon. Family and neighbors help take care of the boys while James makes the hour-and-a-half drive to Los Angeles to be with Jessica. He says the boys just want to return to a life where the four of them go on fun outings like they used to.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the Hernandez family to with medical and living expenses.
"The message out there for people that are dealing with this is to reach out for help," James says. "It's a lot easier. It's a lot more comforting as well knowing that there's a community out there that not only is willing to support financially but also leave their prayers like this as well."
James says if his wife continues to make progress, the hope is to have her home in time for Christmas.