Fundraising for Joy: Help bring hope despite paralysis

Meet Joy Maki: Mom of 3 amazing kids (21, 18 and 13), newly minted mother-in-law, sister, daughter, avid reader, arts and crafts enthusiast, internet radio DJ, lifelong music lover, active community and church volunteer, generous friend. And, of course, her favorite title: Grandma to her sweet baby grandson, Warren.

Joy with Grandson, Warren

Joy with her children: Phoenix, Gavin, Evelyn

I met Joy in kindergarten Sunday school. We spent our whole childhood and teenage years laughing and sharing experiences. I felt like I won the lottery when she married my oldest brother, and became my family forever. Joy introduced me to all my favorite bands, talked me through breakups and life-crisis. I am now partially blind, and Joy has continually been there for me through my own medical challenges as an adult. She has shown up every single time I needed her, always driving the long distance between us, always bringing a small gift, always with a mix tape (then later a mix CD, then later an iTunes or Spotify playlist).

Left: Truckerfest, a concert put on by

Happy Productions Co. where Joy DJs

Right: Joy's artistry at church

Joy always shows up for those around her. She shows up with a laugh and a warm hug, always bringing… joy. Her name is so appropriate, because Joy is joy.

In mid- August, Joy and I went to a local music festival at Como Park to hear a musician she loved, and she mentioned that she was experiencing some numbness in her foot. Her doctor thought it was maybe her new diabetes medication. We were having trouble navigating together (“We’re the lame leading the blind!” she joked, and we laughed really hard at our aging selves and then enjoyed some amazing music in the sunshine together).

Top: Joy's Karaoke B-day Party

Bottom: Joy's amazing friends

Unfortunately, a few days later, on Aug 19, the numbness and weakness had gotten worse. Joy went to the E.R., where an MRI revealed a bulging disc between her T7 and T8 vertebrae, which was severely compressing her spine. She was immediately transported to North Memorial Hospital and put on bedrest until she could undergo emergency spine surgery.

On Aug 22, an orthopedic surgeon removed a part of her rib and fused the T6 to T10 vertebrae, but unfortunately upon waking, she had an atypical response to the surgery and she now had no feeling in her legs. After another MRI, they brought her back in for a second surgery on Aug 24, this time with both a neurosurgeon and her orthopedic surgeon consulting together. Upon awaking from this surgery, the numbness had expanded up to her sternum. She now has no feeling in her lower body, nor ability to move.

Joy was devastated. She had become paralyzed from the sternum down, with no guarantee of recovery or any sense of specific timing for regaining any feeling, movement or her independence.

Joy has now been transferred to a rehabilitation floor, and she works to exhaustion every day with her OT and PT therapists to gain the strength and learn the skills to help her regain her independence. Without any feeling in her lower body, she has to rely on the medical staff for nearly all her daily needs. While she is holding onto hope that she will heal, she is brave enough to face the fact that modifications will need to be made in her life if she is going to become independent. She will likely be in rehab for several months.

Despite the devastation and uncertainty, Joy has kept her focus on the positive. She has been enormously grateful to be surrounded by supportive family and friends who visit, call to chat, and are rallying around her through this overwhelming medical journey. She is befriending all the medical staff who are daily making her life bearable. Even through incredible loss, Joy continues to bring joy to those around her.

Joy gets a "hospital haircut"...kind of like a home haircut,

but at the hospital

Our goal is to raise $50,000 for Joy. We are fundraising to meet very specific financial needs, which we hope will ease stress and allow Joy to focus on rehab and healing:

• $12,000 to pay off Joy’s high deductible and out of pocket maximum for the expected 60-150 day stay in the hospital, rehab and surgeries.

• $30,000 to pay for home modifications that will be needed to allow Joy to return home after rehab and empower her to live her life as independently as possible. This includes: building ramp/stair modifications, expanding doorways, installing an accessible shower etc.

• $8000 to cover rent and other living expenses while Joy is out of work. Her short term disability only covers about half of her wages for 6 months.

Any donation, big or small, will go a long way to give her peace of mind financially while Joy works hard in physical therapy to regain her independence. If you are not able to give financially, as a person of faith, Joy is extremely grateful for your prayers and positive thoughts, which we believe are extremely powerful and can impact her healing.

Other ways to give:

• Gas station gift cards to help her family visit her in the hospital over the coming months of rehab

• Doordash or UberEats gift cards: hospital food is notoriously… bad. Having a little variety in her meals would be wonderful.

• Walmart, Amazon or Target gift cards: to help with purchasing new accessible, easy to dress clothing for Joy.

• These can be mailed to: Joy’s Hope Fund, c/o Elasah Dewey, 9449 Creek Knoll Road, Eden Prairie MN 55347