Help Beth and John Kerr during a medical crisis
Donation protected
On March 2, 2019, Beth (Palan) Kerr (wife of John Kerr and mom to Sean, 12, and Maggie Kerr, 9) went to the Abington Hospital ER after feeling sick for a few weeks with flu-like symptoms. After being admitted, her health declined rapidly and a few days later, she was moved to Abington’s ICU where she was sedated and put on a ventilator to help her breathe. Doctors from all over the hospital worked tirelessly to try to figure out what was making her so sick. She underwent many medical procedures, including dialysis to help her kidneys and blood plasma transfusions to help stabilize her. The medical professionals at Abington were supportive and helpful to Beth and to our family throughout, but eventually decided that she required more serious care than they could give her.
On March 9, she was taken by helicopter to Jefferson Hospital in Center City Philadelphia, where she is today. On March 18, she moved from ICU into a step-down unit. We expect she will remain hospitalized for the foreseeable future.
Doctors are still not 100 percent sure what has made her so sick. They are leaning toward an extremely rare autoimmune disorder. As we await more information, our family has been comforted by the improvements she has made: She is now breathing on her own and talking to us. Her appetite is returning a bit. She is no longer on dialysis and her kidneys are functioning better.
>> CLICK ON UPDATES TO READ THE LATEST INFO ABOUT BETH. (Most recent update: 12/3/2019)
But doctors have warned us that she is not out of the woods yet. She is still not stable enough to withstand some of the surgeries they’d like to do to further investigate and treat her illness.
As word has spread about Beth’s illness, we are grateful to the many people who have asked what they can do to help. Though serious illness is never convenient, this came at a particularly hard time for the Kerr family. As many know, Beth was laid off from her job last year. She was set to begin a new job on March 4 — two days after she first went into the hospital. When the severity of her illness became clear, her husband John took FMLA so that he could spend as much time as possible with Beth.
To be blunt: This means that they currently have no income coming into their household — and they need financial help. We’ve set the goal of this GoFundMe at $75,000, though right now, it’s too soon to even estimate the costs of care and living expenses. We do know that Beth will have some permanent disabilities as a result of this illness and that the financial impact will be immense.
Beth, Sean and Maggie on vacation in Virginia Beach in July 2018.
Our family is still reeling from this news, especially because we have been here before.
About a decade ago, Beth and John’s son Sean was diagnosed with leukemia at age three. Then, we were humbled by and grateful for the support we received. (And we’ve been so happy to celebrate his good health in the years since.) Inspired by the generosity that was shown to our family then, we all — but especially Beth — have tried to pay forward that kindness.
Over the last several years, Beth has hosted many blood donation drives, collecting hundreds of units of blood to help other families dealing with serious illnesses. She’s volunteered with other cancer support organizations, including Kisses for Kyle and Relay for Life. She regularly donates food to Abington’s food pantry, helps out at Sean and Maggie’s schools and volunteers to drive people to the polls on Election Day. She was also active in Momcology, a support group for parents of children with cancer. She’s led sessions for other parents at CHOP and helped with their online forum.
We know that we’ve asked for your support before and we wish we didn’t have to ask for it again. Please know that every donation will go directly to helping the Kerr family weather this storm — and that we will all work hard to pay forward the kindness you’ve shown us.
Beth and John downtown in Philadelphia in December 2018.
On March 9, she was taken by helicopter to Jefferson Hospital in Center City Philadelphia, where she is today. On March 18, she moved from ICU into a step-down unit. We expect she will remain hospitalized for the foreseeable future.
Doctors are still not 100 percent sure what has made her so sick. They are leaning toward an extremely rare autoimmune disorder. As we await more information, our family has been comforted by the improvements she has made: She is now breathing on her own and talking to us. Her appetite is returning a bit. She is no longer on dialysis and her kidneys are functioning better.
>> CLICK ON UPDATES TO READ THE LATEST INFO ABOUT BETH. (Most recent update: 12/3/2019)
But doctors have warned us that she is not out of the woods yet. She is still not stable enough to withstand some of the surgeries they’d like to do to further investigate and treat her illness.
As word has spread about Beth’s illness, we are grateful to the many people who have asked what they can do to help. Though serious illness is never convenient, this came at a particularly hard time for the Kerr family. As many know, Beth was laid off from her job last year. She was set to begin a new job on March 4 — two days after she first went into the hospital. When the severity of her illness became clear, her husband John took FMLA so that he could spend as much time as possible with Beth.
To be blunt: This means that they currently have no income coming into their household — and they need financial help. We’ve set the goal of this GoFundMe at $75,000, though right now, it’s too soon to even estimate the costs of care and living expenses. We do know that Beth will have some permanent disabilities as a result of this illness and that the financial impact will be immense.
Beth, Sean and Maggie on vacation in Virginia Beach in July 2018.Our family is still reeling from this news, especially because we have been here before.
About a decade ago, Beth and John’s son Sean was diagnosed with leukemia at age three. Then, we were humbled by and grateful for the support we received. (And we’ve been so happy to celebrate his good health in the years since.) Inspired by the generosity that was shown to our family then, we all — but especially Beth — have tried to pay forward that kindness.
Over the last several years, Beth has hosted many blood donation drives, collecting hundreds of units of blood to help other families dealing with serious illnesses. She’s volunteered with other cancer support organizations, including Kisses for Kyle and Relay for Life. She regularly donates food to Abington’s food pantry, helps out at Sean and Maggie’s schools and volunteers to drive people to the polls on Election Day. She was also active in Momcology, a support group for parents of children with cancer. She’s led sessions for other parents at CHOP and helped with their online forum.
We know that we’ve asked for your support before and we wish we didn’t have to ask for it again. Please know that every donation will go directly to helping the Kerr family weather this storm — and that we will all work hard to pay forward the kindness you’ve shown us.
Beth and John downtown in Philadelphia in December 2018.Organizer and beneficiary
Erica Palan
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
John Kerr
Beneficiary
