Gracie's Spinal Surgery Fund
Donation protected
My name is Jennifer Kennedy and my daughter Grace Kennedy has recently been diagnosed with a severe curvature of the spine known as Scoliosis. She needs to have an extensive and complicated surgery in Ottawa plus we will have to make some pre and post-op visits prior to and after surgery.
We have a large family seven people in all my spouse David Barnes, my son Nathan, my other daughters Madison, Kiersten, and Jordan. We are all trying to be as strong as we can for my little girl who is 13 and will turn 14 in Sept.
We are currently waiting for an appointment in Ottawa with the surgeon. We are unsure of exactly how many pre and post-op trips we will need but this surgery is scary for us all. The grants that we can get only cover a small portion of what we truly need. My spouse needs to be with us before and after surgery so he will need to take time off work for a total of two weeks. This will be a huge loss to our family in lost earnings. We need to pull together as a family for her and she needs all the support we can give.
Grace and I will need funds for at least 4 round trips to Ottawa and back before and after the surgery. There may be more if complications arise and they discover something that wasn't noticed on any other tests to date.
We will also require funds for Dave's flight for the surgery round trip, food costs, as well as transportation costs to and from the airport, plus hotel costs.
Gracie needs to have this surgery to avoid further complication as she grows. The curve will continue to get worse and would impact her lungs and heart leading to further terrible health issues. Also the risks associated with this surgery increase as she ages so it is imperative that we have the surgery sooner then later.
This very important surgery will take about 8 hours with a large team of many doctors and nurses at a children's hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Gracie will have a long incision made along the length of her spine. They will then rearrange (break) her spine and then realign it and use pins and rods to keep it in place so it's straight and won't curve again. It's a very long surgery with incredible pain as she heals and learns how to use her newly repaired spine.
She will need a lot of aftercare treatment as surgery requires a long recovery period. She will undergo extensive physiotherapy which will be extremely painful, she will be in need of a wheelchair, we may have to live somewhere else during her recovery because the place we currently live is not wheelchair friendly and there are many stairs. She may need to wear a backbrace before and after the surgery which is expensive and not covered.
Thank you for taking the time to read Gracie's story.
Please consider donating and sharing this around social media.
Every little bit will help our little girl and our family through this very tough time and it is so very appreciated.
Thank You in Advance,
With all our love,
Gracie, Jennifer, Dave, Madison, Kiersten, Jordan and Nathan. Xoxo
We have a large family seven people in all my spouse David Barnes, my son Nathan, my other daughters Madison, Kiersten, and Jordan. We are all trying to be as strong as we can for my little girl who is 13 and will turn 14 in Sept.
We are currently waiting for an appointment in Ottawa with the surgeon. We are unsure of exactly how many pre and post-op trips we will need but this surgery is scary for us all. The grants that we can get only cover a small portion of what we truly need. My spouse needs to be with us before and after surgery so he will need to take time off work for a total of two weeks. This will be a huge loss to our family in lost earnings. We need to pull together as a family for her and she needs all the support we can give.
Grace and I will need funds for at least 4 round trips to Ottawa and back before and after the surgery. There may be more if complications arise and they discover something that wasn't noticed on any other tests to date.
We will also require funds for Dave's flight for the surgery round trip, food costs, as well as transportation costs to and from the airport, plus hotel costs.
Gracie needs to have this surgery to avoid further complication as she grows. The curve will continue to get worse and would impact her lungs and heart leading to further terrible health issues. Also the risks associated with this surgery increase as she ages so it is imperative that we have the surgery sooner then later.
This very important surgery will take about 8 hours with a large team of many doctors and nurses at a children's hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Gracie will have a long incision made along the length of her spine. They will then rearrange (break) her spine and then realign it and use pins and rods to keep it in place so it's straight and won't curve again. It's a very long surgery with incredible pain as she heals and learns how to use her newly repaired spine.
She will need a lot of aftercare treatment as surgery requires a long recovery period. She will undergo extensive physiotherapy which will be extremely painful, she will be in need of a wheelchair, we may have to live somewhere else during her recovery because the place we currently live is not wheelchair friendly and there are many stairs. She may need to wear a backbrace before and after the surgery which is expensive and not covered.
Thank you for taking the time to read Gracie's story.
Please consider donating and sharing this around social media.
Every little bit will help our little girl and our family through this very tough time and it is so very appreciated.
Thank You in Advance,
With all our love,
Gracie, Jennifer, Dave, Madison, Kiersten, Jordan and Nathan. Xoxo
Organizer
Jenny Jen Jennifer
Organizer
