On an otherwise normal Thursday, Kim Oelfke was going about her morning routine working from home. Little did she know that morning her life would change forever. She had been dealing with some back pain for a few days, but nothing that seemed emergent. While walking from the office to the kitchen she began feeling the worst Charlie horse feeling she has ever felt and decided it was time to go to the Doctor as something did not seem right. She called her son Matt to come help her and shortly after her right leg became so weak, she sat down on the floor in fear that she would otherwise fall. By the time I arrived she had no control of her right leg at all. Matt and I were able to assist her into the vehicle and get her to the ER in Glencoe. During her stay there they did multiple tests and consulted with neurology. The initial MRI was negative. As the day progressed, she lost control of the left leg along with bowel and bladder control. They knew this was something serious, but the diagnosis was still unknown. She was transferred to Abbott later that night where they continued working to find an answer. On Friday it was determined that she had a stroke in her spinal cord at the T7-9 level. This is a very rare type of stroke. She spent 5 days in the ICU with a lumbar drain in place to help relieve some of the pressure on her spinal cord. This spinal cord injury has left Kim paralyzed in the legs with no guarantee that she will ever get this back. She is only 60 years old. Kim has so much life left to live and so many dreams to fulfill. We are incredibly hopeful the intense therapy she is now receiving at Courage Kenny will help her regain her ability to walk. She is going through hours of therapy each day including programs to retrain her bowel and bladder. She will be in some form of rehabilitation facility for likely the next 4-5 months to continue vigorous daily therapies. The best chance she has at regaining her movement is NOW! This will leave her out of work for that time at minimum. We would love to lessen the burden of her normal bills, medical bills, and home adjustments with the likelihood of her needing walker and wheelchair accessibility.