Katelins Journey
Donation protected
Katelin
A story of Resilience & Courage
Katelin Gunn was a happy, healthy, active 15-year-old enjoying her life, school , family and friends when life took a dramatic and shattering turn on 16 December 2018.
Katelin had just returned home from boarding school for the summer holidays when she was involved in an horrific motor vehicle accident on the family property on the Far West Coast of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
Katelin was alive, unconscious and badly injured, shewas rushed to the closest hospital, then flown to Adelaide by the RFD service, some 8 hours away from her home and family.
Whilst Katelin endured her first surgery, a long 6-hour procedure, her parents flew to be by her side in Adelaide. During the surgery she had two metal rods placed in her spine, two pins inserted into her spine to hold her vertebrae in place, a brain monitor put in and was then placed in an induced coma for four days.
Thankfully Katelin woke up, but Katelin woke up a paraplegic from the waist down.
She has required numerous other surgeries, skin grafts, emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her brain and has spent the past 11 months working hard at her rehabilitation and she has managed to do it with the most amazing attitude and a smile on her face.
The past 11 months have obviously also taken a large toll on her parents Julie and Stuart. They have had to live apart from one another with Stuart needing to stay on the farm and Julie being a full-time carer for Katelin based in Adelaide.
Katelin has returned to full time school and still does rehab after school daily. Katelin has also got her L’s now and is learning to drive with hand controls. Not one to stay still for long, Katelin is looking at getting back into some of her favourite sports. She hoping to return to rowing as well as wanting to coach football and play wheelchair basketball.
Katelin’s family, friends and school have been helping where they can in her recovery, but it isKatelin’s positivity, determination and strong will that has helped her achieve what she has so far.
There is still a long road to recovery and no one knows what that will be yet.
Things are obviously very tough emotionally but alsofinancially and the family needs to be able to accommodate Katelin and her needs and have only recently been able to get funds approved to buy an appropriate home to live in Adelaide, very close to school. To date she has been living in a serviced apartment with her family on the other side of town, making life just that more difficult.
“There but for the Grace of God go I”.
I think we can all try to imagine the difficult timesthe Gunn family have faced and will continue to for some time. We can all help in a very small way but make a huge difference to this family. Times have been particularly tough on the land the last few years making it difficult to find the extra money to furnish this house. A “house” is one thing but for the Gunnsto have, but we can help them create a “home” and sanctuary which will mean so much more
Please consider making a donation of any size to this extremely worthy cause and amazing, kind and strong family who need our help right now.
Please help if you can, our aim is $30,000 which would fully furnish their home in Adelaide.
Alicia Mcritchie
The Gunn Family are our friends please help me to help them!
A story of Resilience & Courage
Katelin Gunn was a happy, healthy, active 15-year-old enjoying her life, school , family and friends when life took a dramatic and shattering turn on 16 December 2018.
Katelin had just returned home from boarding school for the summer holidays when she was involved in an horrific motor vehicle accident on the family property on the Far West Coast of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
Katelin was alive, unconscious and badly injured, shewas rushed to the closest hospital, then flown to Adelaide by the RFD service, some 8 hours away from her home and family.
Whilst Katelin endured her first surgery, a long 6-hour procedure, her parents flew to be by her side in Adelaide. During the surgery she had two metal rods placed in her spine, two pins inserted into her spine to hold her vertebrae in place, a brain monitor put in and was then placed in an induced coma for four days.
Thankfully Katelin woke up, but Katelin woke up a paraplegic from the waist down.
She has required numerous other surgeries, skin grafts, emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her brain and has spent the past 11 months working hard at her rehabilitation and she has managed to do it with the most amazing attitude and a smile on her face.
The past 11 months have obviously also taken a large toll on her parents Julie and Stuart. They have had to live apart from one another with Stuart needing to stay on the farm and Julie being a full-time carer for Katelin based in Adelaide.
Katelin has returned to full time school and still does rehab after school daily. Katelin has also got her L’s now and is learning to drive with hand controls. Not one to stay still for long, Katelin is looking at getting back into some of her favourite sports. She hoping to return to rowing as well as wanting to coach football and play wheelchair basketball.
Katelin’s family, friends and school have been helping where they can in her recovery, but it isKatelin’s positivity, determination and strong will that has helped her achieve what she has so far.
There is still a long road to recovery and no one knows what that will be yet.
Things are obviously very tough emotionally but alsofinancially and the family needs to be able to accommodate Katelin and her needs and have only recently been able to get funds approved to buy an appropriate home to live in Adelaide, very close to school. To date she has been living in a serviced apartment with her family on the other side of town, making life just that more difficult.
“There but for the Grace of God go I”.
I think we can all try to imagine the difficult timesthe Gunn family have faced and will continue to for some time. We can all help in a very small way but make a huge difference to this family. Times have been particularly tough on the land the last few years making it difficult to find the extra money to furnish this house. A “house” is one thing but for the Gunnsto have, but we can help them create a “home” and sanctuary which will mean so much more
Please consider making a donation of any size to this extremely worthy cause and amazing, kind and strong family who need our help right now.
Please help if you can, our aim is $30,000 which would fully furnish their home in Adelaide.
Alicia Mcritchie
The Gunn Family are our friends please help me to help them!
Organizer and beneficiary
Alicia McRitchie
Organizer
Aldgate SA
Julie Gunn
Beneficiary
