Maddy Keaton & Keaton Family Fund
Hey everyone, thank you so much for taking the time to visit this GoFundMe page for Madelyn Keaton (Maddy) and the Keaton family.
On Friday, February 9th, 2018, 19-year-old Maddy was in a horrific car accident. She lost control while driving around a sharp curve, smashed into a utility pole, and suffered a tramautic blow to the head on collision, rendering her unresponsive. A nearby ice fisherman witnessed the accident and came to her aid. Maddy was airlifted to the St. Cloud hospital where she is currently in a coma. They had her heavily sedated and on breathing support. She was still unconscious but able to move her arms and legs on her own, and the CAT scans revealed no damage to internal organs, which were both good signs. However, she has swelling on her brain and is having fits of pain while in her coma. She was able to breathe on her own for about half a day, but they had to put the breathing tube back in after she started to struggle again. She has not been able to wake up even after being taken off sedation. The neurologist said today (Feb 11th) that it looks like a primary brain injury is causing the coma and possibly causing the breathing problems as well, but they can't fully assess the damage until they do an MRI. They have plans to try to wean her off the brain catheter over the next couple of days if the pressure in her brain is stable so that they can perform the MRI. They said it's still possible for her young brain to completely heal, but she could also never be the same again and they have no idea when she will wake up.
As you can imagine, this has been an incredibly traumatic, tragic, and terrifying experience for Maddy's family. Her condition and future are still very uncertain as the long-term effects and extent of her brain injuries are unknown. But one thing is certain: they are all in God's hands! Maddy, her parents, and her siblings have personal relationships with Jesus Christ and have trusted Him as their Savior. They are in His all-knowing and loving care, and they have eternal hope in Him no matter what, so we praise the Lord for that.
First and foremost, Maddy needs your prayers for miraculous physical healing and a full recovery, and her family needs your prayers for strength and peace through this scary time of waiting. Your fervent, loving prayers mean more than anything and that is all the Keaton family has asked for.
Additionally, there are multiple financial burdens brought on by this emergency. Maddy did not have health insurance at the time of her accident, so her medical expenses are a huge stress on her family as it is unknown what kind of assistance they can get for the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Maddy's extensive and life-saving medical care, with no indication whatsoever of if and when there will be an end to the need for her medical care. This fund is designed to be a start on helping the Keaton family cover some of the upcoming expenses, plus to help with their family's living expenses so that her dad can take time away from work. Whatever funds we can raise will help relieve this huge burden on Maddy's family, allowing them to fully focus on being with their daughter and their other children with less financial worries. The donations will also help make it possible for Maddy's sister to fly home to be with her sister and family as she is currently on a long-term mission trip overseas. Any financial gift you feel led and able to give, however large or small, is incredibly helpful and deeply appreciated, and it comes as a totally unexpected blessing for the Keaton family. Please pray for God's abundant provision for them. He knows all their needs and is able to provide for them from His plentiful resources.
Thank you in advance for your prayers for Maddy and the Keaton family, as well as for any financial support you can offer. Please share this GoFundMe page with your friends and family. I'm best friends with Maddy's sister, Olivia, and am receiving updates from her multiple times a day, so I will share the updates with you all as I hear from Olivia.
Disclaimer: Rather than charging users money to create a GoFundMe page, GoFundMe has an automatic setting that asks you to give them a tip in addition to your donation. I can't turn this automatic setting off so please disregard and change the tip amount to zero if you don't want to tip GoFundMe. GoFundMe still takes a small percentage of each donation. They will email you a receipt for your charitable donations.
Pictured below is Maddy (second from the right) with her seven siblings. 
