Jake's Recovery

***UPDATE_18OCT2023***

We wanted to take a moment to thank you all again for the GoFundMe efforts . It is truly humbling to see how generous this community has been. As many of you know, we were very reluctant about setting one up despite all the suggestions from friends and family. However, it has been a godsend, and we are so grateful.

As an update, we wanted to share that we have purchased a shower chair, his custom one-arm drive wheelchair, a basic arm prosthetic for balance and weight transfers, and a standing frame so he can do additional weight bearing therapy at home. As previously mentioned, while we are blessed to have good health insurance, it does not cover things many needed items. In addition, these generous donations have helped to cover his membership to Stretch Lab and the many copays for each doctor's visit and all of his therapies and subsequent hospitalizations. The remainder of these funds will go to pay for his bionic arm and accompanying surgeries, and adaptive sports equipment (to include a custom one-arm wheelchair rugby) which will also not be covered under insurance. So please know our gratitude runs deep.

Love, Elana and Sean

***UPDATE_30JUNE2023***

Sean Kennedy, Beneficiary

Thank you all for your continued generosity. As promised, we wanted to provide an update with how the funds are being spent. As mentioned on Caring Bridge, shower chairs are not covered by insurance... (not sure if they expect us to use a hose!) but thanks to your generosity, we were able to purchase one. We continue to be grateful for this community and will keep you updated.

***UPDATE_26APRIL2023***

From Sean and Elana...

We want to thank you all for your generous contributions to Jake's Go Fund Me. We have been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness. As promised in each of the thank you notes (hopefully, everyone received an individualized e-mailed thank you because we spent hours doing so!), we wanted to provide an update as to how the money will be spent. Jake is not quite ready for a service dog, and most of the companies require a year waiting time from the injury. Therefore, we are holding off on that.

In the meantime, however, we have ordered Jake a one-armed manual wheelchair with a powerassist (called a smartdrive - think of it like an ebike.... still manually powered but has an assist if going uphill). While the chair is covered by insurance, the one arm drive and powerassist functions are not.

On a larger note, we also tentatively decided to return to Vienna next summer (2024) to have the esteemed Dr. Aszmann perform the osseointegration surgery where Jake will (hopefully) be receiving his bionic arm. We had the consult today, and Dr. Aszmann said he would be honored to do it. While Dr. Aszmann is one of the leaders in the world on upper extremity osseointegration, this procedure, and associated travel, are not covered by insurance, as it is not yet FDA approved for upper extremities. Therefore the bulk of the funds will be used for these items.

Thank you again and we could not be more grateful for everyone's love and support and driving towards our goal.

**UPDATE**

Sean and Elana have been overwhelmed by everyone's generous contributions. Due to their reluctance to wanting to even do a GoFundMe account, we started small not having any idea what the expenses would look like. However, after some initial research where a powered custom wheelchair is $30,000, a service dog is $30,000 and a type of prosthetic that would make Jake's life the easiest is close to $80,000, we have increased the goal. Let's help them achieve it!

On December 27th, Jake Kennedy was involved in a terrible accident that left him with severe burns on his arms and legs and simultaneously caused him to sustain a serious fall that injured his spine in several places. Within hours of the accident, his doctors determined that the tissue damage to his right arm was too severe to save the limb and his right arm was amputated on 12/29. Sean, Elana and Alex are working to support Jake hour by hour through what will be a very difficult and complicated recovery.

The Kennedys have been overwhelmed by everyone's support and generosity. We're starting this site at the strong urging of family and friends - and despite the Kennedys' reluctance - as a vehicle to support Jake's journey to recovery. At this time, the Kennedys are unsure exactly how raised funds will be distributed but possibilities include a state-of-the-art prosthetic arm, a wheelchair, and possibly even a service dog. As Jake starts on his road to recovery and his needs become clear, the Kennedys will update the CaringBridge site with how your thoughtful donations have been utilized. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jakesrecoveryjourney