Support Lauren's Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery

On September 7, 2024, my mom, Lauren Minkler, had a terrible accident in New Hampshire. While at a dinner party at a friend’s house, she opened the door to what she thought was the bathroom. However, the door wasn’t to the bathroom, but to the basement. She fell down a flight of stairs and hit her head, suffering a traumatic brain injury. Our family learned then that one moment can drastically change the rest of your life.

After 4 weeks in the hospital, a medevac flight to her home state of Florida, and nearly 6 months of intensive neuro rehab, she is finally home, but her recovery journey is far from over.

My mom’s brain injury caused acute paralysis on her left side, which prevents her from independently standing, getting in and out of/maneuvering her wheelchair, and dressing and bathing herself. Insurance is currently covering 4 hours of outpatient physical, speech, and occupational therapy per week, but based on my family’s extensive research, medical advice and experience, we know that much more therapy is needed to provide the best possible physical and cognitive outcomes for my mom.

As such, we’ve enlisted in-home providers to give my mom 4 additional physical therapy and 2 additional speech therapy sessions per week. My dad is my mom’s primary caregiver and tends to her needs 24/7, which led us to also seek out some wonderful caregivers for a few hours of help each day. As you can imagine, these unexpected necessities come at a steep cost, totalling over $5,000 per month, none of which is covered by insurance. We are seeking support to help cover a few months of my mom’s care in hopes that one day, she will have the privilege of independently performing basic activities like standing, walking with a walker, and getting dressed.

Before her accident, my mom was an incredibly active and vibrant person. She loved going on walks, swimming, hiking, sailing, traveling, and spending time with loved ones. She loved hosting dinner parties, dancing, attending concerts, and cooking. It would mean the world to us to see her able to do these things again in any capacity.

This has dramatically changed all of our lives. We love my mom dearly and want the best for her. We hope that you will support us if you are able.