Empower Erin Kyte Huerta with a Stair Crawler

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We really need a Stair Crawler (Climber) for Erin Kyte Huerta, a beautiful soul with a big heart and a big health problem! She’s kind of trapped in her basement apartment right now unable to climb the stairs to get out. The goal is to be able to purchase a stair crawler so that she can go in and out of her basement apartment with her husband’s help, as there is no way she can get in and out currently. So, we’ve got her trapped! She’s staying out of trouble for the moment. Bwahaha!

Erin’s body has been giving her difficulties ever since she was little (including asthma, Pulmonary Hypertension, portal liver disease among other ailments) and the latest development has made life very painful and awkward. She was still working at her job in West Valley City, Utah up until just a couple years ago, as she has worked most all her life in spite of her troubles. The last several years she has had to use oxygen at work as well as at home, due to the PH.

Erin Kyte and her little cousin, my daughter.

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Truly a bright spirit who has so often cheered up other people in this world and made them laugh, Erin is loved by many of you from the White Salmon, WA area where she grew up. You probably remember her and perhaps her older brothers Dave Kyte, Gregg, Kevin, and Dan; her parents, Ken and Nora Kyte.

Nora, David, Erin, Ken, Kevin, and Gregg Kyte at Erin’s graduation at Columbia high school in White Salmon

The Kyte Siblings, Erin on the right.

By the time she was seven, Erin had already made possibly multiple trips to Portland via Life Flight and one memorable trip in the caboose of a train when the gorge was closed and Life flight couldn’t fly. She had her spleen removed, and used as a shunt into her liver that is still there, causing some trouble. At one point, she literally died, flatlined, and her spirit made the choice to return here because she felt her mother needed her. She was tiny at the time!

Fast forward to Current times. After a year or more of misdiagnosis, massive painful growths all over her lower legs were finally given a new diagnosis of lymphedema, which tends to destroy muscle mass over time.

Before Treatment:

After a hospital stay a couple months or so ago, she was shuffled off to a care home for a while for rehab and recovery.

Erin says this was her lymphedema during treatment, she actually had to stop treatment for for a whole month because of insurance! The whole time still losing muscle function.

Some medication helped her lose about 30+ pounds of water weight, and she seemed to be doing better so they sent her home this last week. Things went a bit downhill after that. You can read more below in her words.

In Erin’s own words about first getting home from the Care home:

“I was doing okay upon coming home on Saturday. But, I don't know if it was the way I was positioned in the SUV and for the period of time. I was able to get out of the SUV and into the wheelchair and then pushed up to the stairs. I made it up 3 steps. My feet started to hurt. I told Melecio I can't. I went to turn and my legs buckled underneath me. I grabbed onto the railing and went down gently, although my knee was in a bit of an odd position. So there I was sitting on the ground. I then thought to call the Firefighters. They came and put me back in my wheelchair. I asked them if they could help me get down the stairs and into my room. They were going to. Then one of them thought about it and said let's get the stair climber. And it helped so much. So instead of trying to call the Firefighters all the time. I would like to get one to help me until I can gain my strength from the loss of the [muscles] from my lymphedema.”

Erin adds: “ I have been working on my Lymphedema in my legs, and it has been robbing me of my muscle strength. I have been doing lymphedema exercises , and strengthening my legs. I was doing well enough to be able to go home on Saturday the 14th.”, (but by the time she got there, she was worse again. )

To be honest. I'd rather be sick with Pulmonary Hypertension, My liver disease, and having deep vein thrombosis. Then lymphedema. This is completely frustrating.”

Erin is my niece, And it’s so hard watching her go through all this trouble and not being able to do much to help.

The Stair Chair Erin needs in order to go in and out of her basement apartment.

thank you so very much for your consideration and any help that you may give even if it is simply to share this fundraiser with your friends and others.