On November 11th, 2015, 26-year-old Lawrence, Kansas native Johanna Mehl suffered a very serious rock climbing accident in Jeju, South Korea. Her injuries include a compound fracture of her right elbow, a severe fracture of the left hip joint, multiple fractures of the pelvis, five fractures of the T-spine, a ruptured spleen and liver damage. She has already undergone major surgeries, including an emergency one for elbow joint reconstruction using external hardware and a hip ball joint replacement with a titanium ball.

Johanna is an exceptionally talented artist, dancer, and explorer who made it her mission to see the world after graduation. After travelling to Japan, India, Peru, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines, she found work taking care of the students at an international boarding school in Jeju.


This was all after Johanna grew up attending Hillcrest grade school, West Junior High and Lawrence Free State High School with two brothers Zach and Lucas following behind, eventually graduating from KU with a BFA emphasizing textiles. Johanna was a dancer at the Lawrence Art Center for 15 years and worked at the Community Mercantile during High School.


Her parents, Kathy and Joe Mehl, have been dedicated members to the Lawrence Community for decades. Joe served in the Lawrence Fire Department for over 22 years before retiring in 2011. Kathy worked in Lawrence Public Schools for over 30 years, mostly in special education.


Johanna has not been dismissed from the hospital yet, and her bills are already totaling over $100,000. That’s not including the airfare and lodging expenses that her parents will incur while traveling to take care of her in South Korea. Our goal of $60,000 is daunting, but if 3,000 people give $20 each we will reach it, and 3,000 people is just a fraction of the Lawrence community that the Mehl family has had such an active presence in over the years. With a little word of mouth they could gratefully receive some of the financial help they need after this horrible accident!