Help Kori Care for Glen

Hi! We are starting this fundraiser on behalf of our friend Kori VanderKooi. We both work at Byron Center Christian School with Kori. Kori is also a good friend, coach and teacher to our own kids, and running partner to me (Lisa).

Kori’s husband, Glen, survived a massive stroke in 2014 at the age of 44, followed by 5 months in in-patient neuro rehabilitation facilities, and then literally years of therapy. He made a miraculous recovery, and over the years has had the opportunity to volunteer legal work for a couple of different Christian non-profit ministries, as well as to write devotionals for Haven Ministries' Anchor Devotional. Physically, he regained the ability to care for himself, ride a tandem terra trike, and walk with a cane. Last Spring, however, things began to change. He seemed to struggle more and more with mobility and taking care of his daily needs. His short term memory began to fail. He developed significant vision problems. After many months of a wide variety of tests, Glen was diagnosed with vascular dementia. The changes have been rapid and debilitating. The VanderKooi's have had to hire in-home caregivers while Kori works, as Glen now needs 24/7 care. Kori made the difficult decision to leave her teaching job next Fall in order to be home to take care of Glen, but she will still need to pay for caregivers so that she can have some breaks herself. She will also have to purchase health insurance, as she won't receive it through her job anymore. We estimate the cost of care to be about $30,000 for the year. We are hoping to help Kori cover some of these costs. Please continue to pray for Kori and Glen. If you would like more information on their journey, here is the link to Glen's Caring Bridge site.

Thanks so much!

Lizzy Workman and Lisa Kooyer