Team Kelli

My name is Kelli, and I’ve spent much of my life getting stronger by overcoming obstacles. I overcame growing up in a drug ring—even watching my cocaine-kingpin father go to to prison; I’ve had more than 20 surgeries, including a bilateral mastectomy; I have ADHD, recently diagnosed and medicated, that may or may not have been impacted by all of these challenges. However, I have always looked at these obstacles as events that made me stronger.

But in the past decade, my strength has been challenged as my life has changed dramatically. My husband of 30 years and I separated and then divorced 2 years later. I moved to Alabama from Las Vegas 8 yrs ago to try to save my marriage, without success. A year later, we signed divorce papers, walked out of the office, hugged, and said goodbye. It was amicable, but still one of the worst experiences of my life.

After teaching HS math in AK & NV for almost 20 yrs, I worked as a part-time tutor without benefits while I worked towards an AL teaching certificate. But 6 years ago, all of that came to a halt when I had a near fatal car accident.

Fortunately, miracles intervened. I was taken to UAB hospital by Life Flight where exceptional doctors repaired my broken neck and my almost completely severed left arm. I also had a broken wrist, back, clavicle, scapula, ribs, face, and a brain bleed. There were several injuries that should’ve killed me.

My 73-year-old mom stayed by my side during the weeks in the hospital, after which she took me home where she fed me and bathed me. After 10 months of PT & more surgery, I could finally drive again. I’m extremely grateful to be able to walk and breathe on my own, as my neck was broken in the same place as Christopher Reeves’ (occipital condyle). I also have the use of my left hand as a helper hand. Prayers brought about miracles! Everyone said that I was saved for a reason, and I hope to accomplish it.

But work has never been same.

Prior to the accident, I had done all of the requirements for an AL teaching certificate and was scheduled to take the PRAXIS. The accident prevented me from taking the test to get my AL license, and my NV license expired. At any rate, I was not in any condition to return to the classroom at that time.

I returned to tutoring and got by financially. Very slowly, I was able to finally pay off my hospital, medivac, and physical therapy bills.

Then things came crashing down again.

Last fall, I tested positive for Covid. I quarantined for the allotted time, but, as the deadline for quarantine approached, I started having trouble breathing. That led to my passing out, so I had to crawl from the bed to the bathroom. I had water next to my bed, and I had zero appetite. I lost a pound per day for 2 weeks. I wouldn’t go to the hospital because I was uninsured. After a week of this, I got excruciating pain in my gut and chest and finally got dressed and drove myself to the ER. (I was afraid to have anyone drive me because I didn’t know if I was contagious since I still had symptoms.)

At the ER, I tested negative for Covid, but I had covid pneumonia and Covid-provoked blood-clots in my leg and lungs. I was taken by ambulance to a hospital about 45 minutes away, where I was admitted to ICU to have a procedure to rid my lungs of blood clots. When the doctors learned of my previous brain bleed, they determined that the surgery was life-threatening. They put me on blood thinners and oxygen, sent me home, and I had frequent check-in‘s with the pulmonologist.

After returning home from my hospital stay, I was determined to have a full recovery. I walked every day and eventually ran again. I even ran a half marathon in December that I had been training for prior to my Covid. I was determined to be healthy and not let Covid beat me.

However, I was having anxiety that grew worse each passing day and eventually became debilitating. Running was the only thing that made sense, but in February, my anxiety got so bad that I couldn’t outrun it anymore. Every time I ran, I felt like I was having a heart attack or I would start to throw up. My son and his wife saw that I was in pretty bad shape, so they flew me to CO. I wound up staying there for 5 weeks and made some breakthroughs that began my journey to heal from this extreme anxiety. It’s been a long process that is taking time.

All of these events have impacted my earning capacity. This school year, I have earned about half of what I had earned prior to Covid. My church has helped me meet my living expenses. In addition to the living expenses, I have had to pay hundreds of dollars for doctor visits, oxygen tanks, and travel to the city where I was hospitalized. Since I was uninsured, my doctor/hospital bills accumulated to almost $50,000. I applied for financial aid and was able to get them reduced to less than $10,000. However, my reduced income doesn’t allow me to make even minimum payments. I’m still facing that huge stack of hospital bills.

I look at these calamities as blessings in my life. People have shown me love and care like I’ve never seen before. These past 9 months are an experience that I’ve had to help me grow and eventually overcome some of the emotional challenges that I have faced. With my church’s help, I am renewing my NV teaching license, and they will help me find employment. They are also helping me with EMDR therapy. I am tackling these challenges in spite of the anxiety.

But I still have to face this financial challenge for now.

And so, it is with deep humility that I am reaching out to you—my tribe of loved ones. Friends, I need help. This is a burden I cannot carry alone.

If you are able to help with a small monetary gift—no matter how small—thank you. I cannot thank you enough for caring about me and donating here what you could have spent somewhere else.

If you are not able to assist with a monetary gift, your prayer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your faith and the light you share with me.

Love y’all