THE ROCK & THE ROLLER NEED A LIFT.

Hi – I am Allaina Humphreys, a quadriplegic graphic artist blessed with an incredible husband and three extremely talented and loving daughters.

A MOST AWFUL COINCIDENCE: On Tuesday, May 2nd of this year, Rich woke up with severe pain in his back, arms and chest. The ER doctors told us he had spinal stenosis, severe disc degeneration in his neck, and a disc putting pressure on his spinal cord. When we got there, he had complete impairment of his hands, triceps, and weakness in his legs. Really, what are the odds of 2 spinal cord injuries in one family?!

Turns out that 17 years of doing everything for our family (without any complaining) – the daily lifting me in and out of my wheelchair, being a nurse, a cook and cleaner, sole driver as well as our primary bread winner, runner, obstacle course racer, everything – had taken a toll on his body.

The amazing Dr. Kim Williams, Jr. performed a spinal decompression and fusion a mere 33 hours after the onset. We were so fortunate that our doctors’ fast response likely prevented permanent long-term damage to Rich’s spine!! Now, Rich and I have matching spinal fusions. Gee, to think some married people just have matching sweaters. Yawn.

(For more details and updates, visit our CaringBridge site.) 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Now, Rich is walking on his own and his long-term prognosis seems positive. However, Rich has very limited upper body strength and hand/finger mobility. Now our ”Rock” cannot fully dress himself, drive a car or even type on the computer. Resuming everything that he did prior to his injury is temporarily impossible. My mom Samme (72), along with family and friends have been pitching in to help when they can but it is taking ALL of them to do just what Rich handled for our family every day!
 
As of May 19, my hero is home from the hospital and he’ll begin 3-4 months of physical and occupational therapy. Rich is unable to continue working as a web design instructor. Since he is an independent contractor, he has no company disability, sick-leave or benefits plan. We’ve come to realize that, during these next several months, we will need about $15,000 to help cover our living expenses and hire a part-time transportation service. I have no idea yet what the medical bills will total.

WE ARE SO GRATEFUL

Last June, I started a Gofundme campaign to raise funds for specialized shock-absorbing wheels for my manual wheelchair in an effort to improve my chronic back pain, productivity and quality of life. The response was overwhelming!!

I got my new wheels with the help of a lot of wonderful people who donated and shared my campaign, a LIGHTNING quick response from SoftWheel’s CEO and hard work and dedication from NuMotion . With them and the help of my husband, Rich (a.k.a “The Rock”), I was able to resume my daily routine, go on vacation and enjoy outdoor activities pain-free! In fact, we received so much generous support from that campaign that I was able to donate enough to an organization to purchase a second set of new Softwheels and donate them to another person in need! I was also able to share my story in this video they made, which helps others and beautifully showcases my family. Once again, HUGE THANKS to our friends, family and everyone who supported this effort. We are more grateful than we can adequately express!! Asking for help again is difficult, but we never anticipated a need this great.

Rich and I live a modest life in Bolingbrook, IL and pride ourselves on being self-reliant, independent “doers”. We raise our girls to thrive on helping others. We know there are so many deserving individuals with urgent needs, so asking for monetary assistance is EXTREMELY difficult for us - especially after such support last year! We vow that whenever we are able to support others with their difficult “ask” – we will joyfully give back!

We cannot say Thank You enough for considering a donation. And, if you can only afford to give your support of well wishes and prayers, we THANK YOU SO MUCH for that!

Wishing You Much Love and Happiness!

Allaina and Rich Humphreys

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