Last week Katie was moved from her hometown of Columbia to a long-term acute care facility (LTACH) in Charleston (about 2 hours away) as she recovers from neuro-invasive West Nile virus that has left her paralyzed.

For Katie's mental and physical wellbeing, it is crucial that she is able to have a support person present with her daily, both for companionship and to advocate for her needs. Katie's mom, Ginger, has been able to take an extended leave of absence from her work and her life in Wisconsin to be with Katie.

Many people have asked how they can support Katie and her family during this time. The day-to-day living costs of an open-ended stay in Charleston on top of keeping up with regular bills (while not working) are a significant financial burden. If you are looking for a tangible way to help, contributing to Ginger's living costs so that she can continue to be present with Katie would be an enormous blessing.

We are so thankful for all of your prayers and support.

If you are new to Katie's story:

Katie was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in April of this year. After aggressive chemotherapy treatment, she was able to achieve remission and was continuing to receive maintenance chemo while waiting for a stem cell transplant which is necessary to cure her AML. She was on track to receive this life-saving transplant in September.

In early August, Katie contracted neuro-invasive West Nile Virus from a mosquito bite which left her completely paralyzed and in a coma. This reaction was likely so intense because of being immunocompromised from the leukemia and chemo treatments. She has since woken from her coma, but remains mostly paralyzed with minimal ability to move her eyes, eyebrows, tongue, and thumb. She has a tracheostomy for breathing support and a feeding tube.

The recovery from severe neuro-invasive West Nile is notoriously slow, and with Katie's other underlying health issues, time is of the essence. She and her family (husband and 3 school-aged children) would appreciate your prayers.