Love for Lindsay

On June 30, 2017; the unthinkable happened. You never think it will happen to you or someone you love, someone SO MANY people love and who loves SO MANY people. Lindsay Pinkelman sat down on a swinging chair with her two oldest boys and the log that it was attached to was unknowingly not secure; rolled off its post and landed on her, thankfully not injuring the boys. It did however, break her C5 and C6 vertebrae, rendering her paralyzed from the neck down. She was eventually airlifted to Providence in Anchorage, AK and underwent a two-part surgery cleaning up bone fragments and stabilizing the injury. The broken bones severely bruised and damaged her spinal cord and there is no way to estimate how much function she will regain. She has slowly been gaining some feeling and minimal use of her arms but as you can imagine, the progress is achingly slow. She will be at Providence for the next 4-6 days and then will have to enter into a rehab facility. This means that her and her family are looking to unexpectedly move to another state in order for her to get the best care possible during this time. The manner in which she flies to the rehab is also up in the air as it is unclear if insurance will pay for a medical flight or if she has to undergo intensive rehab in AK to prepare her for sitting upright in a commercial flight.

First and foremost; Lindsay is a mother to three energetic, imaginative and wild boys (and one Great Dane) who love their mother dearly. But she holds so many other roles in life as well. She is a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a cyclist, a triathlete, a lover of the outdoors, the best DIY-er I know and a helper. She has focused so much of her life on helping others as a volunteer, a sports coach and a school counselor. Lindsay spoke of these activities with so much passion and uncompromising commitment that it made you want to commit to them as well. She founded a 100-mile bike ride called Tour to Tok (T2T) in 2011 that started with 4 members and in 2017 rode with 25 members! She is one of the most driven women you can find whose positive energy has had the nurses and doctors laughing and smiling. A statement from Wes, “when you walk into the room you don’t even feel like anything’s wrong with her, she is just so positive and friendly, it’s like same old Lindsay”.

There has been an inspiring amount of prayers and support from her local community of Delta Junction, AK as well as all across the world. Lindsay and Wes both feel this support has strongly aided her in recovery and will continue to do so. However, the financial obstacles they will face in the future are unpredictable and they recognize they may need support in this as well. Lindsay is always more concerned about others than herself and is having difficulty with the idea of a fund in her name but it has been overwhelming how many people want to give and this is one way for them to do it.
 
Wes and Lindsay want to express their deepest and eternal gratitude for any help (whether financial, emotional or spiritual) given. The healing power of God; with the moving support from friends and family all over and Lindsay’s innate tendency to overcome, there is nothing this girl can’t do! Thank you for your support!