Help Katie Kriete and her Family on her Road to Recovery

At the end of May, after a few days of experiencing numbness in her hands and feet, our friend Katie Kiser Kriete was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves) and admitted to the neurological ICU where she has been receiving care for the last month. The onset of her symptoms was sudden and severe as she experienced full paralysis. Her treatment has required ventilator support, a feeding tube, and several rounds of blood plasma exchange.

Thankfully, Katie recently became stable enough to move out of the ICU this week and her prognosis is positive, but the road to recovery will be long and the Kriete family could use our support!

Anyone who knows Katie knows that she is the first to lend a hand when others are in need. Whether it’s through her work with the Ashland PTO, coordinating food drives for Cub Scouts, joining the Board of the Ashland Education Foundation, running Ashland’s Buy Nothing Facebook group, volunteering at one of the kids’ schools, or simply helping out one of her many friends in the Metrowest area, she always shows up for her community. Now it’s our turn to show up for her.

Katie proved her resilience when she underwent brain surgery for an unrelated issue in 2021. It's unfathomable that she is facing another major health challenge just a few years later, but we know that as the mother of a young family (three boys ages 6-9), she will fight to regain all of her strength and return home as soon as possible!

Any support you provide will go directly to Katie and her husband, Ben, to help defray medical, childcare and other expenses. Once released from the hospital, Katie will need months of in-patient rehab followed by at-home care and ongoing physical therapy. The family is preparing for significant medical bills, renovation costs to make their house more accessible when she is able to return home, and unexpected childcare expenses since as a stay-at-home mom, Katie is the primary childcare provider for the three kids during the week.

Your support is deeply appreciated! Whether or not you are able to help financially, we would be grateful if you would consider sharing this post with others.

Thank you!