Kory's Medical Miracle to walk
You never know what the future brings, but nothing can prepare you or your family for the life altering events many of us face. It is devastating when tragedy strikes and you are faced with picking up the pieces and adjusting to your “new normal”.
Our lives were forever changed when my son Kory Nunnally suffered an embolism in his lung while scuba diving on July 30, 2006. The ruptured clot in his lung burst and traveled to his brain causing global stroke-like affects and an anoxic traumatic brain injury. He was nineteen at the time of the accident and spent his 20th birthday in a medically induced coma. He was not expected to make it through the first night and spent the next few weeks on life support. The doctors said he would remain in a vegetative state and he would not be able to speak or be aware of his surroundings. They said we should put him in a nursing home to live the rest of his days comfortably. I was approached daily by the medical staff to pull the plug. After weeks passed, we made the heart-wrenching decision to take him off the breathing machine with a 50/50 chance that he would survive. He proved that he is a fighter and he continued to breathe on his own. I found out years later, after finally being able to read his medical records that an organ donor bank called every day wanting to know if the family had released his organs. That is a horrific feeling! After 6 weeks, Kory slowly began to emerge from the coma. He looked like a skeleton; he dropped from 175 lbs. to 130 lbs. As he began to regain his strength, he was able to surpass the doctors initial prognosis by regaining his speech. Today, almost eight years later, he does not have any cognitive or mental challenges as predicted. His only deficiencies are his fine and gross motor skills. He is not paralyzed but has severe muscle tone and spasticity which confines him to a wheelchair. He also suffered optic nerve damage which affects his vision and causes balance and coordination issues. Kory has been through numerous therapies, but because he was a part-time student and was without insurance at the time of the accident, he fell into the “government system”. He only receives a maximum of 3-6 weeks of physical therapy visits per calendar year based on his progression. Unfortunately, the therapies are geared more to helping the person adapt to living in a wheelchair and that is unacceptable! It has been a long rough road to get Kory where he is today and we have not given up on our miracle! He will walk again and we are determined to find the “out of the box” treatment to make it happen. Of course, these new and exciting innovations are costly and not covered by Medicare or any other insurance. He deserves a chance to have a fulfilling and independent life. He is the strongest person I know, and I’m not being partial because he is my son. Kory is a patient and kind hearted person and has handled this life shattering experience with grace and dignity. Not once has he become angry or bitter with his situation. He survived this terrible accident for a reason and God does have a plan for him and his future. Now he needs our help to start WALKING again and the Carrick Brain Center will be the Miracle we have been waiting for.
The Carrick Brain Center in Atlanta, GA is a Multidisciplinary brain rehabilitation center! They have helped many people to start walking again and we believe with God's Help Kory will also walk again. Please take a step of Faith with our family and friends as we help Kory learn to WALK again!
The money will be used to pay all medical bills and treatment cost for this new therapy. www.carrickbraincenter.com is where he will be getting his therapy!
Our lives were forever changed when my son Kory Nunnally suffered an embolism in his lung while scuba diving on July 30, 2006. The ruptured clot in his lung burst and traveled to his brain causing global stroke-like affects and an anoxic traumatic brain injury. He was nineteen at the time of the accident and spent his 20th birthday in a medically induced coma. He was not expected to make it through the first night and spent the next few weeks on life support. The doctors said he would remain in a vegetative state and he would not be able to speak or be aware of his surroundings. They said we should put him in a nursing home to live the rest of his days comfortably. I was approached daily by the medical staff to pull the plug. After weeks passed, we made the heart-wrenching decision to take him off the breathing machine with a 50/50 chance that he would survive. He proved that he is a fighter and he continued to breathe on his own. I found out years later, after finally being able to read his medical records that an organ donor bank called every day wanting to know if the family had released his organs. That is a horrific feeling! After 6 weeks, Kory slowly began to emerge from the coma. He looked like a skeleton; he dropped from 175 lbs. to 130 lbs. As he began to regain his strength, he was able to surpass the doctors initial prognosis by regaining his speech. Today, almost eight years later, he does not have any cognitive or mental challenges as predicted. His only deficiencies are his fine and gross motor skills. He is not paralyzed but has severe muscle tone and spasticity which confines him to a wheelchair. He also suffered optic nerve damage which affects his vision and causes balance and coordination issues. Kory has been through numerous therapies, but because he was a part-time student and was without insurance at the time of the accident, he fell into the “government system”. He only receives a maximum of 3-6 weeks of physical therapy visits per calendar year based on his progression. Unfortunately, the therapies are geared more to helping the person adapt to living in a wheelchair and that is unacceptable! It has been a long rough road to get Kory where he is today and we have not given up on our miracle! He will walk again and we are determined to find the “out of the box” treatment to make it happen. Of course, these new and exciting innovations are costly and not covered by Medicare or any other insurance. He deserves a chance to have a fulfilling and independent life. He is the strongest person I know, and I’m not being partial because he is my son. Kory is a patient and kind hearted person and has handled this life shattering experience with grace and dignity. Not once has he become angry or bitter with his situation. He survived this terrible accident for a reason and God does have a plan for him and his future. Now he needs our help to start WALKING again and the Carrick Brain Center will be the Miracle we have been waiting for.
The Carrick Brain Center in Atlanta, GA is a Multidisciplinary brain rehabilitation center! They have helped many people to start walking again and we believe with God's Help Kory will also walk again. Please take a step of Faith with our family and friends as we help Kory learn to WALK again! The money will be used to pay all medical bills and treatment cost for this new therapy. www.carrickbraincenter.com is where he will be getting his therapy!
Organizer
Ronda Hayes
Organizer
Destin, FL