Please help support Sarah's recovery costs

On Dec 20, 2018, our 24 year old daughter Sarah Campanico sustained a serious injury during a pole fitness training session. As an Athletic Therapist, she had manually treated patients for 6 hours and fatigue had set into her arms, which gave way, and she fell almost 6 ft directly onto her head and neck. She blacked out momentarily to find fellow athletes shocked and tearful. Stunned and embarrassed, she played it off until she palpated her neck and knew something was wrong. At the hospital they were amazed she was walking and talking given the mechanism and location of injury. It was truly a Christmas miracle as it was the type of injury which most often results in paralysis or fatality. However, she did sustain multiple torn ligaments in her upper C spine and twisted vertabrae pressing on her spinal column. Temporarily she lost feeling and use of her left arm which thankfully resolved. For awhile following the accident she had difficulty swallowing and a lot of short term memory issues. The injury has since evolved into post concussion syndrome and vertebral nerve damage affecting balance and vision. 

Initially, she rested over the Christmas break, reassuring friends and family she was fine, though it was too early to tell.  Then she returned to the Ottawa Valley to seek treatment from peers & determine if she could manage a return to work. It became clear that impingement of a cranial nerve was affecting her vision and the worsening concussion symptoms were making her daily routines and ability to treat patients in the clinic or as a field coverage/first responder difficult. Her ability to safely drive has also been limited with depth perception and dizziness related to the vertebral issues.

She pushed herself to return to treating because she cares so much about her patients but it was clear Sarah required recovery and treatment herself for these debilitating symptoms. She has no family doctor in the Ottawa Valley, and no walk in clinic exists, so follow up has meant trips to the Emergency Department at the Pembroke Hospital or trips back and forth to Barrie to see our family doctor and osteopath. Her colleagues have graciously given her some treatment but it's necessary that she receive more specialized care now. This means more frequent trips 5 hours back to Barrie, and specialist appointments over 1 hour away in Ottawa.

We were lucky to get her an appointment at the Acquired Brain Injury Clinic at the Ottawa Hospital to best direct her recovery plan. We'll have a better idea of prognosis and frequency of treatments in Ottawa once they assess her. In the meantime she has a referral to see a neuro-opthamologist to address the vision issues, and requires treatment for the physical injuries here in Barrie. Most of these treatments are not covered by OHIP, specifically the cost of the neuro-opthamologist is very expensive. Furthermore, Sarah turns 25 in a couple of weeks and will age out of the government assisted prescription program. Any medications will be out of pocket.

Sarah was recruited to the Ottawa Valley last September to begin her career as an Athletic Therapist and was thrilled there was a local pole fitness facility, at which she could continue to pursue her passion for aerial and dance. As a newly self employed business owner, Sarah does not have private health insurance to pay for treatments or medications, and her inability to treat her own patients has reduced her income almost completely and affected her ability to cover her regular monthly bills. (Note: EI requires a full year of contributions from small business owners to qualify for special benefits). As her family we covered her expenses and treatments for January and February, as well as multiple trips between Pembroke and Barrie. But we are simply unable to provide financial support for ongoing specialist treatments, gas/mileage to Ottawa and Barrie, in addition to support for March and April as she rehabilitates and works to increase her workload to support herself again. 

Sarah is a very strong, positive person and has had great difficulty  accepting help as she is naturally a caregiver and healer for others. She would much rather give than receive, as many know. She has played down the seriousness of her situation with friends as she doesn't want anyone to feel bad or worry about her. Even in the hospital she was encouraging nurses to not let the injury put them off trying pole fitness! But the reality of the injury and how it's limiting her daily life and independence has set in. Between the physical symptoms and memory issues, it's been emotionally challenging and financially stressful. 

She has amazing friends and colleagues who have been kind and understanding, and she is extremely grateful, but in order to fully recover she requires adequate rest and specialized treatment. Doctors have told her to remain off work for at least another month then be reassessed for longer. They've cautioned that full recovery will be a lengthy process. Despite that she's now attempting to take a patient or two a week to test herself and retain some of her patient load which she worked so hard to build. It's a lot of '1 step forward, 2 steps back' right now as she figures out what she's physically capable of doing.

We are seeking assistance PRIVATELY (without Sarah's knowledge for now). **Please only forward this post through direct message or email.** Asking for financial help would make her feel VERY uncomfortable as she hates to burden others, but if she is to fully recover she needs this help. When we discussed the costs of treatment she said she would rather push herself back to work without treatment versus admit to anyone outside the family she needs help. But the reality is we've exhausted our financial resources to help her further. The thought of her pushing herself and risking any progress with recovery is just out of the question for us and we know anyone who knows Sarah wouldn't allow it either. We want to see her get back to her fun-loving, enthusiastic and generous self again. Not to mention, her full recovery means the world to her patients, her life purpose, and the chance to enjoy dancing and sports again.

We're humbly asking for financial support to cover her costs for treatments, medications and gas, and to supplement her income for March and partially for April so she can focus on recovery and a successful full return to her practice. We are sincerely grateful for the love and encouragement of friends and family for Sarah, and we appreciate any donation big or small to help our girl get back to herself and helping others which means everything to her. It's not easy for us to ask for support but you do what you must for your children.


The financial resources would be used for:

-3 osteopathic treatments and travel to Barrie: $625
-Neuro-ophthamology consult & appointments for 3 mo + gas: $1125
-Ottawa Hospital ABI Program, ongoing parking and mileage: $250
-Supplement March rent and expenses: $1500
-Supplement April rent and expenses: $1000
-medications TBD

$4500  ($2000+ Medical related expenses)

*donations of gas or grocery store cards may be made directly to the family to forward to her.

Thank you,
Sincerely,
Vanessa and Joe Campanico