Donation protected
Summary:
My name is Danielle, part of “Team Heather!” I am Heather’s sister, and together with our parents and Heather’s friends, we’ve started this campaign on her behalf. During a benefits probation period for her new job, Heather was stricken with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a disease that can paralyze the body. She not only faces a long road to recovery, but also overwhelming medical debt from lack of health insurance. Heather needs your help!
What Happened:
Heather is a vibrant and motivated young woman. She’s a loving daughter and sister, a loyal friend, a proud Dog Momma, and a blessing to every life she’s touched. Heather was starting a new chapter in her life with an exciting job that begun in mid-June. At the end of August, Heather caught a respiratory virus that was going around the office. She felt a little under the weather, but nothing that a day of rest wouldn’t fix.
After her respiratory infection had passed, Heather started to have some tingling in her toes and fingers. Over the next few weeks, the tingling turned into numbness that spread up into her hands and thighs. Her muscles began to feel weak, and she stumbled and fell sometimes. Then on the night of September 15th, she collapsed in our parents’ front yard. She was unable to get herself back up, let alone walk—her legs had lost all their strength, feeling, and reflexes.
Our parents took Heather to the ER where she was admitted to the cardiac ICU for fear that her heart would stop. Heather underwent a battery of tests to determine what was going on, and after 4 days she was diagnosed with GBS.
GBS is a disease caused by one’s own immune system. The immune system, while trying to fight off an infection like a respiratory virus, gets confused and accidentally attacks and damages its own nervous system and continues to do so long after the infection has passed. There are few treatments available for GBS, but all involve removing or neutralizing the parts of the immune system that are damaging the nerves, in order to stop any further damage and to allow the nerves to heal on their own.
Long Road to Recovery:
Once Heather was stabilized, she was moved to the inpatient hospital wing for another week while she received 5 different courses of treatment. With this, Heather began to regain feeling in her hands and legs, but she was still very weak and her coordination and balance were very poor. So on September 29th, Heather was transferred to an inpatient Rehabilitation hospital, where she worked with Physical and Occupational therapists to regain her strength and coordination, and to learn how to modify tasks so she could carry out regular daily activities with her disability. She’s made tremendous progress and can now walk short distances with the aid of a walker. The hospital released Heather into our parents’ care on October 9th even though she is still experiencing a great deal of pain in her feet and muscle weakness in her legs.
The doctors are hopeful that Heather will be able to walk again, and eventually return to work. It is possible that within 1 or 2 years, she will be completely healed. However, this will require months of additional physical therapy, doctor appointments, and possibly further treatments.
Your Help is Needed:
Heather has a very challenging road ahead of her. Nonetheless she is determined and strong-willed, and has her family and friends to rally around her. But Heather needs your help to get to the end of her journey. Because she started a new job, she was still within her benefits probation period and has no health insurance coverage. Heather is facing well-over $100,000 in medical debt—not only for the 3-½ weeks of inpatient hospital care, but also for the ongoing outpatient care she will need for the next several months. Until the doctors have cleared her, Heather will be unable to work, so she has no income to pay for even regular expenses.
We are asking for your help to cover the costs of her hospital stay, ongoing treatments, and daily and monthly expenses, so that Heather can focus on healing. Any donation is deeply appreciated. Sharing Heather’s story to get the word out is welcomed. Please join “Team Heather!” and help Heather on her journey to regain her ability to walk, drive, and go back to work. Your help in any form means the world to us.
For more information on Guillain-Barre Syndrome, please visit GBS|CIDP Foundation International’s website at www.gbs-cidp.org.
My name is Danielle, part of “Team Heather!” I am Heather’s sister, and together with our parents and Heather’s friends, we’ve started this campaign on her behalf. During a benefits probation period for her new job, Heather was stricken with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a disease that can paralyze the body. She not only faces a long road to recovery, but also overwhelming medical debt from lack of health insurance. Heather needs your help!
What Happened:Heather is a vibrant and motivated young woman. She’s a loving daughter and sister, a loyal friend, a proud Dog Momma, and a blessing to every life she’s touched. Heather was starting a new chapter in her life with an exciting job that begun in mid-June. At the end of August, Heather caught a respiratory virus that was going around the office. She felt a little under the weather, but nothing that a day of rest wouldn’t fix.
After her respiratory infection had passed, Heather started to have some tingling in her toes and fingers. Over the next few weeks, the tingling turned into numbness that spread up into her hands and thighs. Her muscles began to feel weak, and she stumbled and fell sometimes. Then on the night of September 15th, she collapsed in our parents’ front yard. She was unable to get herself back up, let alone walk—her legs had lost all their strength, feeling, and reflexes.
Our parents took Heather to the ER where she was admitted to the cardiac ICU for fear that her heart would stop. Heather underwent a battery of tests to determine what was going on, and after 4 days she was diagnosed with GBS.
GBS is a disease caused by one’s own immune system. The immune system, while trying to fight off an infection like a respiratory virus, gets confused and accidentally attacks and damages its own nervous system and continues to do so long after the infection has passed. There are few treatments available for GBS, but all involve removing or neutralizing the parts of the immune system that are damaging the nerves, in order to stop any further damage and to allow the nerves to heal on their own.
Long Road to Recovery:
Once Heather was stabilized, she was moved to the inpatient hospital wing for another week while she received 5 different courses of treatment. With this, Heather began to regain feeling in her hands and legs, but she was still very weak and her coordination and balance were very poor. So on September 29th, Heather was transferred to an inpatient Rehabilitation hospital, where she worked with Physical and Occupational therapists to regain her strength and coordination, and to learn how to modify tasks so she could carry out regular daily activities with her disability. She’s made tremendous progress and can now walk short distances with the aid of a walker. The hospital released Heather into our parents’ care on October 9th even though she is still experiencing a great deal of pain in her feet and muscle weakness in her legs.
The doctors are hopeful that Heather will be able to walk again, and eventually return to work. It is possible that within 1 or 2 years, she will be completely healed. However, this will require months of additional physical therapy, doctor appointments, and possibly further treatments.
Your Help is Needed:Heather has a very challenging road ahead of her. Nonetheless she is determined and strong-willed, and has her family and friends to rally around her. But Heather needs your help to get to the end of her journey. Because she started a new job, she was still within her benefits probation period and has no health insurance coverage. Heather is facing well-over $100,000 in medical debt—not only for the 3-½ weeks of inpatient hospital care, but also for the ongoing outpatient care she will need for the next several months. Until the doctors have cleared her, Heather will be unable to work, so she has no income to pay for even regular expenses.
We are asking for your help to cover the costs of her hospital stay, ongoing treatments, and daily and monthly expenses, so that Heather can focus on healing. Any donation is deeply appreciated. Sharing Heather’s story to get the word out is welcomed. Please join “Team Heather!” and help Heather on her journey to regain her ability to walk, drive, and go back to work. Your help in any form means the world to us.
For more information on Guillain-Barre Syndrome, please visit GBS|CIDP Foundation International’s website at www.gbs-cidp.org.
Co-organizers (2)
Danielle Kalkofen
Organizer
Ballwin, MO
Heather Kalkofen
Beneficiary
Linda Kalkofen
Co-organizer