On March 27, my daughter Rae collapsed while getting ready for work. Dedicated person that she is, she tried to get up and push through her workday anyway, but ended up being rushed to the hospital by a coworker. She spent several days there undergoing diagnostic procedures before finally being diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the spinal cord. In her case, this ultimately led to several lesions that caused her tremendous pain and left her with the prospect of potentially never walking again, despite a rigorous course of IV infusions and other treatments.

Since then, she has been transitioned to Marianjoy, a residential physical rehabilitation facility where she has been working her tail off to regain her independence, strengthen her arms after nerve damage left them severely weakened, and come to terms with her new normal. While she can move her left leg a little bit again, her right leg is still completely paralyzed. She hasn’t been home in 32 days.

Meanwhile, her husband Jesse has been balancing taking working extra shifts to make ends meet and coordinate with friends and family to completely overhaul their home so that it can welcome her when she finally rolls back in the door. All while spending every moment he can with her, having spent all but three of the nights she’s been hospitalized sleeping in a chair next to her.

They’re struggling very badly financially because of the medical bills, Rae missing over a month of work, and all of the new disability accommodations they are working to obtain, much of which is not covered by insurance. Rae is also not allowed to return to work until the end of June, which on top of additional financial stress is tough for her because she thrives so much at her job and misses it dearly. She will also be doing day-program outpatient physical and occupational therapy during that time. My baby girl is so strong, so brave, and so beautiful, and she and her husband deserve to be able to focus more on making their home and life accommodating of her new needs, and less time focusing on how to afford all of it. If you have anything to donate, you’d be helping an incredibly deserving young woman to build a life that welcomes her.