Support Joan Ronayne

Two years ago Joan Ronayne (Harvard AB '88 / MBA '93 Section E) fell in her apartment and suffered a severe injury to her spinal cord.

She is now a quadriplegic and has had to give up all aspects of her previous life - including her work as a career consultant and her home in Newton, MA.

She now lives at a nursing facility in Marlborough, MA. All of her disability insurance is taken up by her medical costs, and she has very limited savings. Due to issues with her blood pressure, she is unable to sit upright in a wheelchair and must spend the day in bed with her legs elevated.

Joan can only respond to incoming calls using Siri on her iPhone, and she can only make outbound calls using Siri to dial numbers that have been pre-programmed into her phone. She cannot use a keyboard, and requires a paid assistant to write and send emails, and to access the internet. Her trips outside the nursing facility have so far been primarily to the hospital for medical appointments and require an ambulance.

Joan very much wants to resume contact with friends and colleagues.

We want to raise funds for Joan's out-of-pocket living expenses as she navigates this difficult new terrain. These funds will be used by Joan for her many expenses that are not covered by insurance such as:

We believe that Joan's additional expenses could total approximately $20,000 per year. We have set a goal for this fundraiser to raise 10 years of support for Joan.

Please give as generously as you can to help Joan restore some amount of independence to her daily life.

Thank you!