- D
- M
- A
Hello! My name is Larken Bunce and I’m helping my dear friend, Laura Litchfield, to raise money for her daughter, Kira. Funds will support them in travelling to Los Angeles in February for Kira to take part in a 10-day neurological rehab intensive, BrainCAMP!, to help heal her traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome, following a sports injury 19 months ago.
Read on for Kira’s story and consider helping us get this bright, beautiful young woman back on track as an active 15 year old with so much life ahead of her.
Here’s her story:
On June 10, 2018, Kira had a concussion while playing soccer at the end of 8th grade. As someone totally dedicated to the sport, Kira worked hard and played hard, participating in regional camps and Olympic development teams. Injuries were common, but she always bounced back, ready to get back on the field again. She also loved and excelled at school, especially science and math, and was excited to start high school just a few months later.
Unfortunately, Kira didn’t bounce back from this one. The concussion left her with constant pain--zero days (out of 570!) without a severe headache since June 2018 (can you imagine this?). It caused misalignment of her skull and spine, resulting in consistent neck swelling and pain. It’s meant changes to her vision that make it difficult-to-impossible to read or concentrate, or even to be out in the world. It’s meant nausea, dizziness, light sensitivity and intense fatigue. It’s meant bouts of anxiety and depression as a result of the pain, but also as a result of going from a physically active, socially and academically engaged teenager to a kid in constant pain, staying home through 9th grade (and much of 10th, so far) without much social support--basically, teenage purgatory.
Kira was eventually diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome (PCS), a poorly understood, chronic condition. PCS is a fancy way to say that most doctors struggle to understand why some concussions don’t heal and to acknowledge that there are long term, unpredictable, and sometimes progressive neurological consequences from these injuries.
Meanwhile, her family has done everything possible to help her heal. She’s seen neurologists, neuropsychologists, functional neurologists, her pediatrician, PT, OT, chiropractors, craniosacral therapists, an acupuncturist, and a naturopath and has been under the constant care of a specialized cervical spine chiropractor, resulting in 2-3 appointments for Kira each and every week. She’s changed her diet, tried various specialized treatments, participated in group and individual therapies, and done weekly hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Many of these have offered some benefit, but only temporarily and symptoms persist.
As soon as she started to feel a bit like a regular kid again this fall--spending some time with friends, going to school a few days a week for a few hours--her condition worsened severely and we were all heartbroken. By Winter break, most of the slow progress that she’s fought for over the past year has slipped away and she’s struggling, unable to go to school again with any regularity. When she does, it takes days to recover. Her doctors are stymied. They don’t have a clear explanation for why no treatments have offered resolution so far.
Very recently, however, hope appeared when Laura learned of functional neurologist Dr. Chiu and his intensive neuro rehab BrainCAMP! in California. Dr. Chiu has designed an integrative treatment program that’s specially geared toward long-term PCS patients, folks just like Kira, and has seen great results. It is a wonderful combination of cutting edge neurology and a holistic, whole-person perspective, and they believe Kira is a good candidate for the program. The good news is that the next intensive is February 17-28 and they opened up the last spot for Kira! The bad news is that the next intensive is February 17-28 and that’s very little time to get the money together to pay for the program out of pocket since health insurance won't cover it. Laura has paid the deposit, but she needs support to cover the rest.
The intensive itself costs $10,000--$1,000/day for “wrap-around” diagnostics, treatment and monitoring. Laura will need an additional $5000 to cover airfare to LA, along with rental car, food and housing for two for the duration of their 3 week stay. At this time, we’re setting $15,000 as the minimum needed.
If we exceed that goal, additional funds raised will go to paying off the medical debt that the family has accrued over the past 19 months, as the co-pays and expenses not covered by insurance have been extensive ($30,000+ at last count). Additional funds can also go towards continued support for Kira in the future, as this program will hopefully get Kira on the right track, but will not be the final treatment she needs. No matter what, there is still a long road ahead for this family and financial support will be incredibly helpful in easing the bills that will continue to add up.
If you aren’t able to contribute financially, sharing this campaign with a personal message is incredibly helpful, too! And, we appreciate positive healing thoughts sent Kira’s way, always!
Thanks for taking the time to read Kira’s story and consider supporting this family in turning the corner in a truly challenging time. Any amount makes a difference! You can donate any time, but contributions made by February 10th will allow Laura and Kira to go on this trip without going further into debt and without financial worry. We want them to be able to focus on Kira’s healing. I know we can all come through for them and make this happen!
Read on for Kira’s story and consider helping us get this bright, beautiful young woman back on track as an active 15 year old with so much life ahead of her.
Here’s her story:
On June 10, 2018, Kira had a concussion while playing soccer at the end of 8th grade. As someone totally dedicated to the sport, Kira worked hard and played hard, participating in regional camps and Olympic development teams. Injuries were common, but she always bounced back, ready to get back on the field again. She also loved and excelled at school, especially science and math, and was excited to start high school just a few months later.
Unfortunately, Kira didn’t bounce back from this one. The concussion left her with constant pain--zero days (out of 570!) without a severe headache since June 2018 (can you imagine this?). It caused misalignment of her skull and spine, resulting in consistent neck swelling and pain. It’s meant changes to her vision that make it difficult-to-impossible to read or concentrate, or even to be out in the world. It’s meant nausea, dizziness, light sensitivity and intense fatigue. It’s meant bouts of anxiety and depression as a result of the pain, but also as a result of going from a physically active, socially and academically engaged teenager to a kid in constant pain, staying home through 9th grade (and much of 10th, so far) without much social support--basically, teenage purgatory.
Kira was eventually diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome (PCS), a poorly understood, chronic condition. PCS is a fancy way to say that most doctors struggle to understand why some concussions don’t heal and to acknowledge that there are long term, unpredictable, and sometimes progressive neurological consequences from these injuries.
Meanwhile, her family has done everything possible to help her heal. She’s seen neurologists, neuropsychologists, functional neurologists, her pediatrician, PT, OT, chiropractors, craniosacral therapists, an acupuncturist, and a naturopath and has been under the constant care of a specialized cervical spine chiropractor, resulting in 2-3 appointments for Kira each and every week. She’s changed her diet, tried various specialized treatments, participated in group and individual therapies, and done weekly hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Many of these have offered some benefit, but only temporarily and symptoms persist.
As soon as she started to feel a bit like a regular kid again this fall--spending some time with friends, going to school a few days a week for a few hours--her condition worsened severely and we were all heartbroken. By Winter break, most of the slow progress that she’s fought for over the past year has slipped away and she’s struggling, unable to go to school again with any regularity. When she does, it takes days to recover. Her doctors are stymied. They don’t have a clear explanation for why no treatments have offered resolution so far.
Very recently, however, hope appeared when Laura learned of functional neurologist Dr. Chiu and his intensive neuro rehab BrainCAMP! in California. Dr. Chiu has designed an integrative treatment program that’s specially geared toward long-term PCS patients, folks just like Kira, and has seen great results. It is a wonderful combination of cutting edge neurology and a holistic, whole-person perspective, and they believe Kira is a good candidate for the program. The good news is that the next intensive is February 17-28 and they opened up the last spot for Kira! The bad news is that the next intensive is February 17-28 and that’s very little time to get the money together to pay for the program out of pocket since health insurance won't cover it. Laura has paid the deposit, but she needs support to cover the rest.
The intensive itself costs $10,000--$1,000/day for “wrap-around” diagnostics, treatment and monitoring. Laura will need an additional $5000 to cover airfare to LA, along with rental car, food and housing for two for the duration of their 3 week stay. At this time, we’re setting $15,000 as the minimum needed.
If we exceed that goal, additional funds raised will go to paying off the medical debt that the family has accrued over the past 19 months, as the co-pays and expenses not covered by insurance have been extensive ($30,000+ at last count). Additional funds can also go towards continued support for Kira in the future, as this program will hopefully get Kira on the right track, but will not be the final treatment she needs. No matter what, there is still a long road ahead for this family and financial support will be incredibly helpful in easing the bills that will continue to add up.
If you aren’t able to contribute financially, sharing this campaign with a personal message is incredibly helpful, too! And, we appreciate positive healing thoughts sent Kira’s way, always!
Thanks for taking the time to read Kira’s story and consider supporting this family in turning the corner in a truly challenging time. Any amount makes a difference! You can donate any time, but contributions made by February 10th will allow Laura and Kira to go on this trip without going further into debt and without financial worry. We want them to be able to focus on Kira’s healing. I know we can all come through for them and make this happen!
Organizer and beneficiary
Laura Caputo Litchfield
Beneficiary