Help Kora Build a Future: Home, Care, and Recovery

Hello, I'm Rachelle, and I'm raising money for my twenty-year-old daughter, Kora, who was critically injured in a devastating car accident on March 25th, 2023.

After a nearly year-long stay in hospital, Kora is getting ready to be discharged. She's making remarkable strides toward recovery, and we're reaching out for your support to ensure her continued progress.

Kora in the ICU at KGH following the accident.

Kora sustained a severe traumatic brain injury in the accident, as well as a badly broken arm and a fractured ankle. She was in a coma for approximately two months and came awake very slowly.

Kora's Injuries and Hospital Stay

Kora in the ICU at KGH

It's been a tough year for Kora since the accident. Along with her brain injury and subsequent coma, she's endured:

Kora took a long time to wake up from her coma.

Her eyes were open, but she was not aware of her surroundings for several months.

These were dark days as Kora was restless and in constant pain, but she couldn't speak to tell us where it hurt or how to help her.

But the good news is that Kora is being discharged on March 4th, 2024! This was rather sudden as we thought she'd stay in the hospital until she had her left side moving again, as she's making progress with this every day.

However, it turns out it's a government mandate that once the 6-8 weeks of intensive rehab is over, you're discharged. This gave me only a few weeks to find an accessible apartment for the two of us, which was stressful as I'd heard of families taking up to 9 months to find an appropriate place.

For a long time, Kora was unable to move her neck, which was very painful—her head had to be propped up with pillows and towels.

Then, last summer, Kora started to suffer from terrible headaches, and her cognition seemed to backslide. It turned out her bone flap was severely infected, and she underwent a second emergency craniotomy at the end of July.

Kora, after her second craniotomy.

While she still has a long way to go in her recovery, Kora is almost done with her intensive rehab program, and she's making great gains both physically and mentally every day. This is promising, as her recovery has been nothing short of miraculous so far.

Once she's home, she'll have a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech-language pathologist continue to work with her, although we're uncertain as to the schedule at this point.

Kora at KGH August 2023—after an apparent reaction to her antibiotics, Kora became neutropenic. She was also being monitored for seizures.

Kora waking up from her second bone flap replacement in December 2023. Even after all she's been through, she just has so much spirit.

Why We're Raising Funds

Kora's accident happened when she and her boyfriend Dillon were on their way from her dad's house in Perth to our house in Peterborough—the weather was clear when they left. A storm blew in very quickly, and the road became covered in thick slush. Kora hydroplaned and lost control of the car.

As a result, insurance will cover anything health-related, but that's it. In light of this, we face a significant shortfall in two areas:

Basic Living Expenses: Insurance does not cover any of Kora's living expenses, and she gets a disability income of around $1200 per month (which I believe is clawed back if she's ever able to work again and make money).

This is not enough for anyone to live on, and while Kora will be living with me, I'll need in-home support for her in order to be able to work.

PSW Care: Insurance will cover the cost of having a PSW come into our home, but I'm told the amount we're approved for will only cover 2-5 hours a day, which means it will be very difficult for me to work full-time (I currently have a part-time income) as Kora requires 24/7 care.

At this point, working outside the home is definitely not an option for me. I am in a position to take on contracts and work from home, but only while we have care.

I'm hoping to raise some funds to extend the amount of PSW care we can get so that I can work as well as look after Kora.

Kora after her second bone flap replacement (prosthetic).

Kora having a visit with Uhtred (our cat) at PCH.



Kora is coming along very well—the left side of her body is slowly gaining some movement, and her memory and cognition are getting better every day.

I'm hoping for adequate funds to get us through our first year, which I see as being crucial to Kora's recovery. Our goals for this year are to:

Kora in the Intensive Rehab Program at PCH

Focus hard on the nutritional component of Kora's recovery: There are many studies that point to nutrition being essential to healing the brain after TBI, and proper nutrition isn't always the focus in a hospital setting, which tends to be medically oriented, understandably.

We've been doing lots of research, and our goal is to use nutrition to complement Kora's medical interventions and help her heal.

Work with Kora's team on her continued recovery: Kora's recovery so far has been helped by the fact that she's so active, both physically and mentally (and the fact that she's had outstanding care at both KGH and Providence Care Hospitals).

Our goal this year is to get Kora outside often for walks (Kora is now able to propel her own wheelchair) and to work with her to continue with her favourite activities like word searches, colouring and just plain old chatting with family and friends.

Keeping her active and mentally stimulated has contributed so much to her recovery so far, and it's important that we're able to continue with this.

How the money will be spent:

I'd like to hire an additional PSW (to add to the 2-5 hours per day) at a cost of around $5000 - $6000 per month at a total cost of $60,000.00 - $72,000.00.

The rest of the money will be used to supplement Kora's $1200 a month basic income if needed and to buy anything we need to support our goals that insurance doesn't cover.

Kora at PCH

We've learned a lot during Kora's ordeal, and given the lack of information out there for families dealing with severe TBI, we've decided to start a blog to talk about the accident and document Kora's recovery.

Kora is getting better every day.

As we embark on this journey, your support is a beacon of hope for Kora's future. Whether through a donation, sharing our campaign, or following Kora's recovery on our blog 'Life After Brain Injury,' which will launch on March 4th (her discharge date), every action makes a difference. Together, we can help Kora build a brighter tomorrow. Thank you for being a part of her transformative journey.