Support Sheryl Ann Morris's Road to Recovery

On the morning of April 1st, 2025, Sheryl Ann Morris was in a horrific car accident on her way home from working the night shift at Northern Regional Hospital in Surry County, NC. Sheryl was entrapped in her vehicle and flown to Baptist Hospital once freed. After emergency treatment and tests, her family (and later Sheryl) learned the devastating news that she is paralyzed from the chest down with a 5% chance of regaining any function.

Her injuries consist of a 3-column fracture to T4-T5, spinal epidural hematoma, cord signal abnormality, avulsion fracture to the right tib/fib, right foot fracture, rib fractures 2-7 on the right and 6-7 on the left, right-side hemo/pneumothorax, liver laceration, and sternal fracture.

Sheryl is a nurse who goes above and beyond for her patients, friends, and family. To know her is to love her! She gives out of the goodness of her heart, expecting nothing in return. She is also a devoted wife to her husband, Chrystian, and a loving mother to her 17-year-old son, Kaleb.

She is now the one in need of help, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving. She remains positive despite all she has been through, but, as you can imagine, she is going to have a very long road of recovery. On top of medical bills, she faces rehab, home care, and future needs we aren’t even sure of at this point.

I am asking anyone who sees this campaign to please find it in their hearts to help this woman in her time of need. Consider donating to this wonderful lady, sharing this page, and praying for her on her road to recovery.

UPDATE: 4-16-2025

Thank you to everyone who has donated to this campaign so far! Sheryl is so appreciative of all the love and support she’s been given. It’s been just over two weeks. Sheryl has come a long way in that time. She had surgery to repair the complete spinal injury to T4-5 where they fused T2-7 and placed a lot of hardware. She had surgery to her right ankle. She spent her first week in the trauma ICU and has since been on a Stepdown unit. Her chest tube was removed several days ago. She has had involuntary reflexes in her legs, which is normal, but we pray that these could also mean something more.  

The next step will be a rehab facility. She has been accepted at Encompass in Winston Salem and is awaiting insurance approval. She will be transferred soon, possibly today or tomorrow. We are hopeful this facility will help her develop more independence so she can go home. While Sheryl has remained strong through everything she has endured, there are many emotions and fears that are beginning to set in. This is not an easy fix or a quick road to recovery. She has been through so much, but she has so much more to overcome. She is in need of our prayers and support more than ever! Please continue to share her journey. 

There is no donation too big or small. Her medical bills alone will be significant. But she will also need her home modified, a wheelchair, bed, special vehicle, and so much more to meet her basic daily needs.  

Your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement are being felt. Keep them coming!

Update! 5-14-25

Sheryl has been at Encompass in Winston since 4/17. She has had a wonderful group of therapists working with her and finally got out of bed and into a motorized wheelchair! It has been so wonderful to see her out of that hospital bed. Her days are full and she is giving it her all!  

Everything seemed to be going pretty good, but she has met a few set backs. She spent 4 nights back in the hospital due to elevated liver enzymes from 4/26-4/30. They’re not completely certain as to why, but believe she must have passed a gallstone. 

 When orthopedics saw her for her ankle they decided to place a hard case on her right ankle to keep it in the correct position. Not a big deal for most, but for Sheryl there is worry of skin breakdown since she has no feeling. At her 2 week check-up they removed the cast and her skin looked good. They will remove it again in two weeks and check her skin integrity, then place a new cast for 2 more weeks for a total of six weeks in the cast.  

She is also battling several areas of skin breakdown and a large pressure ulcer. Wound care is seeing her daily. This is something that is very hard to manage and heal for someone in her condition. She has been having episodes of autonomic dysreflexia (please look this up as I’m sure we will refer to it again in the future!) and running fevers. Sometimes the symptoms go away when her position is changed, catheter is un-kinked, restrictive clothing is removed, etc. But, there was also worry her symptoms are caused by an infection from her wound. They started antibiotics, but to be cautious her Dr checked her for DVTs (blood clots) and sure enough she has one in her femoral vein! So, she will continue antibiotics for a week and will also get injections for the blood clot. 

 This woman keeps us on our toes! With everything she’s faced and is facing, she remains positive and strong. We try to update this page to keep her followers in the loop. But honestly, it’s really difficult to describe all she has overcome in the past 1.5 months. She’s eager to work with physical and occupational therapy, and pushes herself to work hard each day. 

 She has been back at Encompass since her brief hospital stay to finish up her therapy. She will soon transition home where they have built a ramp and widened her front door way. Unfortunately, at this time she will only have access to her living room in her home. She has been fitted for a wheelchair and is already looking for a vehicle and other items to make her life at home as normal as possible. But, none of this equipment comes cheap. Insurance will cover some of the costs, but there is so much they will not. 

 On this journey so far, Sheryl has met several people with spinal cord injuries. This has been uplifting to her to be able to connect with others who truly understand what she is going through and what she faces. She has a long road ahead of her, and your continued support and prayers mean so much. 

 If you are new to Sheryl’s journey, welcome! Please consider sharing her story, donating to help her get to a place of independence, and pray for her and all those affected by spinal cord injuries. 

#SherylsSCIJourney