Help Kristy, a Paralyzed Mother, and her Family
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Hello. My name is Johnnathon. My wife, Kristy, and I have been married for 19 years (20 by next March) and we have five amazing children together.
Over this summer, we have experienced an overwhelming challenge. Kristy developed a rare condition called transverse myelitis. Simply put, her spinal cord became horribly swollen and that swelling with the resulting nerve damage caused her to rapidly lose her ability to walk. After thorough examinations in the hospital, Kristy's neurologist proclaimed the damage to be "extensive" and the recovery period has been described in terms of months and years.
For now, Kristy is developing the ability to get around in a wheelchair. We won't know for months whether or not she will ever regain the ability to walk. She has been going through intensive occupational and physical therapy at a wonderful hospital in Anchorage. However, the new normalcy that we are experiencing as a family has left us with various dilemmas.
Though the medical expenses for now are largely being covered by a combination of medical insurance through work and medicaid, other expenses are rapidly becoming apparent:
- Our most immediate need is funding for a ramp that will be used at Kristy's mother's apartment so that Kristy has access to the apartment's entrance. Kristy is going to be staying with her mother after she is released from the hospital until other arrangements can be made. Our apartment together is a second-floor apartment with no elevator, only stairs. So we made the decision to house Kristy with her mother as a temporary measure until we could come up with a better housing solution.
- We are going to need a different vehicle because the one we have will not accommodate five children and my wife in her wheelchair. Cheaper vehicles like this tend to run around $30,000 and seeing prices around $50,000 is not uncommon.
- We are going to need to move (and probably purchase) a home. 4+ bedroom homes that are ranch/rambler style are not very common in Alaska, but that's what we need to find in order to accommodate Kristy as well as our large family.
This has definitely caught our family by surprise. We are so thankful that Kristy is getting the help she needs, but as you can probably guess, the coming needs seem overwhelming.
Any help you would be willing to give would be very much appreciated by all of us. We are very thankful and very grateful for every bit of help that we will receive.
Thank you all for hearing our story,
Johnnathon
UPDATE (1/27/2024)
For everyone who has supported us, wow! Thank you so much for your help and support, both in prayer and in finances. You are very appreciated by my wife, by me, and by our whole family. For a few months now, Kristy has been out of the hospital and living in the Mat-Su Valley. Even though she is much closer than while she was in the hospital, we are still not all living together in the same apartment as it does not accommodate well for wheelchair use. We are still looking for either an apartment or house for our family.
Kristy continues to go regularly to physical therapy and has also been able to get back to church again which has been a blessing for everyone. Even though she is still in a wheelchair, she continues to make small gains with increased movement in her legs and feet.
Thanks again for all your support: financially, emotionally, and spiritually!
Johnnathon
Organizer
Johnnathon Brown
Organizer
Wasilla, AK