Support Anna's Accessible Home Addition

ANNA’S ARMY

Anna’s needs for accessibility, function & safety

Imagine yourself at the age of 30 and you just lost both of your arms and legs due to a serious infection. Think about how you would perform day-to-day activities such as using the bathroom, taking a shower, or brushing your teeth. It is just impossible to do without help.

Now, imagine watching your friends living their lives. Some have started new jobs and moved into an apartment, others are getting married, having children or relocating to a new town. The heartbreak and depression are just insurmountable but somehow you find your inner strength to embrace the long journey toward recovery.

The journey toward recovery not only impacts you, but your entire family as they each take shifts to help you with your daily needs and ensure your safety. You ask yourself, “how will I function the rest of my life as I get older, and my family is no longer around to help me?” Your home environment has become a challenging space full of obstacles and safety hazards.

Anna’s Story:

I would like you to meet our daughter Anna Norquist. The situation I described is imaginary for you, but it is reality for our daughter Anna.

Anna fell ill in December 2018 and was rushed to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where physicians told us she was in septic shock, but they were unable to determine the cause of the infection. We were told she had a 2-3% chance of survival.

To save Anna’s life, she was given large doses of vasopressors which are a vital treatment for critically ill patients. They work by narrowing the blood vessels, which increases blood pressure to ensure vital organs get oxygen and nutrients. Miraculously, Anna survived, and her physicians said, “she’s a medical miracle” but her battle was not over.

As with any medication, there are side effects. The large doses of vasopressors led to limb ischemia resulting in the loss of all four limbs: both legs below the knees, her right arm mid-humerus, and her left arm mid-ulna. She is without one elbow and a wrist.

As a quadruple amputee she needed specialized prosthetic limbs tailored to her individual needs which she received in January 2021. Since that time, she has been undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation and learning to use her prosthetic limbs.

It is not so simple as slipping on prosthetic limbs and going about your normal day.

It is about independence and purpose.

As a quadruple amputee, Anna’s living environment is full of challenges and potential safety hazards requiring home modifications for accessibility, function, and safety.

Increasing her independence means making her home environment handicapped-accessible so she has personal mobility with a purpose in a motorized wheelchair. It also means using adaptive equipment to aid her in performing day-to-day activities such as a voice-activated shower.

We need your help.

As Anna’s parents (Peggy & Gordy Norquist), we started this page to raise $167,700 in donations to fund handicapped accessible alterations and adaptive equipment needed for Anna’s mobility and safety.

We hope you will consider donating. No amount is too small.

Peggy & Gordy Norquist