Support Chris and Keri's Road to Recovery

There was a terrible tragedy in February 2024, and the victims need our help. Chris Newsom was stopped at a red light on his bicycle and was hit from behind and catastrophically injured. He spent months in a coma and miraculously woke up. He spent months more hospitalized before he was stable enough to come home. Chris has had to re-learn everything: walking, talking, self-care, you name it. He has improved so much but has a long way to go. He is unable to work and is unlikely to ever go back to work. Chris's silver lining is his partner, Keri. She is an absolute force of nature. After Chris's crash, she was at his side constantly, coordinating his care, but also just taking care of him. Our neighbors won't forget her looking for donations of books from his favorite authors so she could read to him. During his immediate recovery, they even organized a fundraiser for safe streets initiatives—they were eager to turn this tragedy into a force for good, always with an eye toward serving others.

All the while, Keri managed to work full-time—she is now, after all, her family's only source of income. Keri also hired lawyers. One of them managed to have Keri appointed as an adult guardian to help Chris make health and financial decisions. Another lawyer went after the at-fault driver. Tragically, that driver had minimal insurance, which is a drop in the bucket to meet his financial needs. Keri and Chris have resisted any sort of community help all this time—they had savings to rely on. Unfortunately, Keri has a brain tumor and needs serious amounts of healthcare herself. The costs of durable medical equipment, ride-shares, co-pays, and deductibles have just become too much. They also need modifications to their home so that Keri and Chris can live safely. They are reluctant to let others help them in this—commendable and understandable. But who among us has not needed a helping hand now and then? Please join me in helping them raise the resources they need to move on to brighter days.