Help Kelly's Fight

Around 5:30 am on Tuesday, May 21st  we would receive the first of two calls that would change our families' lives forever. The first was to inform us that our daughter Kelly had been taken to hospital and was in a coma due to a massive stroke. The second was to have us authorize a high-risk procedure to remove the clot in her artery that was her best chance to regain any mobility as she was paralyzed from the neck down with a respirator to help her breathe. Elena (Kelly's Mum) Kristal (Sister) and Todd (Stepdad) have been in Vancouver since then at her bedside. 
Four days later we found out that Kelly's ambulance was involved in a high impact car accident en route to the hospital which doctors were unaware of. 

She is currently in hospital in Vancouver receiving treatment. Currently, she is unable to breathe on her own and is without movement below her neck.  The journey of grief and healing for her family will be long and arduous.  The doctors are unsure of her prognosis for a full recovery.  In the meantime, her family has traveled to Vancouver from the East Coast and  Chile and will have to make many return trips back and forth during her rehabilitation.

Kelly has spent a week in intensive care at a hospital in Vancouver and will soon be moved to the spinal ward. She is not doing well.  She is unable to breathe on her own and is without feeling or movement below her neck. Kelly has had surgery to insert a feeding tube in her stomach and a tracheotomy which makes it easier for her to communicate.



She will remain in ICU at Vancouver General until a bed is available in the spinal cord unit and afterward she will be moved to the  G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre. The doctors are unsure of what the road ahead is for Kelly, but what we know is that it is going to be a long one with extensive rehabilitation including learning to use mobility devices and other adaptive technology.


Why do we need your help?
Kelly’s family live in Nova Scotia, but Kelly is in hospital in Vancouver. Funds are needed to ensure at least one of her family members can be with her at all times for up to 12 months.  Most immediately the family is in need of funds to support travel to and from Nova Scotia, for accommodation and all the other additional costs needed so they can be with Kelly for the coming months to a year.

In the long term, our understanding is that funds will also be needed to support Kelly’s rehabilitation costs, mobility devices, and other equipment, as well as support workers. But this all remains very unclear as Kelly will continue to undergo tests, monitoring, and rehab and we will continue to learn more as time goes on.
 
Who is Kelly?

Kelly is a fierce and passionate individual. She is a remarkable young artist and musician, and up until last week she was the drummer with the band the “Sex Walkers”.

From a young age, Kelly had a passion for makeup and style along with her sister Kristal. She is a trained visual effects makeup artist, Kelly is a graduate of the Vancouver film school. She graduated high school in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia then moved to Montreal to train as a professional makeup artist after which she moved on to Vancouver.

She is dearly loved by her extended family in Nova Scotia, Ontario, BC and Australia.

With the assistance of family, we have established a Go Fund Me page for Kelly to assist in supporting her recovery.   We wish to thank our family and friends for their love and support at this most difficult time. 

We need your help to raise the funds to take the burden off Kelly's family who are front and centre in her care.

On behalf of Kelly and all her family, we thank you for your generosity.