Help The Kellner Family Recover
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August 23rd at 9am Shawn Kellner, my husband, an Operation Iraqi Freedom Vet was rushed to a level 1 Trauma center bearing clinging to life...
He had been seeing a psychiatrist for over two years to help manage his anxiety and PTSD from serving in the Army. The psychiatrist, after about a year and a half got in trouble for mis-prescribing medications and lost his license to write prescriptions. At the time he had put Shawn on the maximum dose of 6 different medications, and would not be able to continue refilling them.
Shawn and I went to 4 other doctors to get refills so he could continue taking his medication, only to be told that the other doctors felt the combo was dangerous and were not willing to help with refills.
You’re never supposed to just stop taking psychiatric medications, or it can cause serious suicidal ideations among other detrimental issues, so we pleaded for just enough to wean off, and were still told no. After even attempting to go to the Emergency Room and VA we called and made the soonest psychiatrist appointment I could find, for mid-September, at the time it was nearing the end of July...
With no other options, Shawn finished the rest of his remaining pills, and we decided to do as much as we could together to watch for any side effects or symptoms of stopping abruptly since we had no choice…
In the days that followed, Shawn seemed sad, but managed to hold it together until Friday, August 23rd around 8:30 am, when he tried to take his own life...
He came down the stairs covered in blood and collapsed at my feet after having a change of heart, and decided he wanted to live after all and just said "Jen medic."
He was rushed by ambulance to a level 1 Trauma center for emergency surgery in critical condition and I had only seconds to give him a quick kiss and tell him I loved him - I didn't know if I would ever see him again.
Once he was out of surgery, he was put on a respirator in a medical coma for 2 days to allow his wounds to heal. As soon as he woke up, he started complaining that he couldn’t feel or use the entire right side of his body.
Because of the suicide attempt, his Trauma team didn’t believe his statements and for almost two full weeks and instead made him try to do physical therapy which ultimately caused further harm to an already injured spinal cord... damages that may be irreparable.
They told me to my face that Shawn was “just crazy” and nothing was wrong, at which point I tried to reason with him and then asked him if he liked his job. He agreed to at least send in a neurologist to see Shawn to appease me, and less than 12 hours later the neurologist not only came and ordered an MRI but had Shawn under the knife undergoing his second major surgery in two weeks. Turns out after he collapsed from the initial injuries to his chest and wrists he got a central spinal cord injury in addition to everything else.
Due to his injuries and the negligence of the trauma doctors at the hospital Shawn may never regain full function of the right side of his body. So far he needs a wheelchair to go anywhere, cannot eat by himself, play music, or even hold our son.
At this point, Shawn has been in the hospital for nearly two months straight and will be until at least the end of October. Currently, we are at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago IL, and he is working as hard as he can every day to beat the odds and make a full recovery.
The doctors tell us it will be at least another year before he regains much functionality, despite his hard work, and advise us that we need to plan accordingly…
When he is finally able to come home, we need to find a place to live that is a wheelchair accessible, or a one-floor first-floor living environment at the very least...our medical bills are piling up, and the insurance company is fighting us at every turn….30 days of his care was spent in the ICU and the bills are astronomical...
This is why we need your help.
We are so overwhelmed, we have no idea how we can afford our everyday living expenses, let alone all these new additional medical expenses… He is considered an incomplete paraplegic now and is in a power wheelchair full time.
So far we need some kind of van or vehicle that can accommodate the chair in order for Shawn to do anything besides go to doctor's appointments, along with other assistive technology to help with day to day functioning.
I have been trying to figure out how I can work through all of this, but as the sole caretaker for our family and Shawn's advocate, I have not been able to work at all in order to properly care for Shawn (since he cannot do much on his own, and has clearly needed an advocate with him every step of the way) and our two year old son - who doesn’t understand why daddy disappeared, or why he can’t hug him and play with him when they are together... It’s truly heartbreaking.
Before everything, Shawn and I were working diligently on starting a nonprofit organization to help veterans heal from the adverse effects of wartime service, while also building a music project called Fireworks For Buddha, which spreads a message of hope and positivity. (www.fireworksforbuddha.com)
Shawn is a good man, a loving husband, and father, an amazing musician, and someone who would give the shirt off his back to a stranger. To see him in such a condition where he's not able to help himself let alone others is awful. He is the founder of Chicago Music Magazine and a well-known member of the music scene for over 15 years.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Grant me the patience with the changes that take time,
appreciation for all that I have,
tolerance of those with different struggles,
and the strength to get up and try again!
He had been seeing a psychiatrist for over two years to help manage his anxiety and PTSD from serving in the Army. The psychiatrist, after about a year and a half got in trouble for mis-prescribing medications and lost his license to write prescriptions. At the time he had put Shawn on the maximum dose of 6 different medications, and would not be able to continue refilling them.
Shawn and I went to 4 other doctors to get refills so he could continue taking his medication, only to be told that the other doctors felt the combo was dangerous and were not willing to help with refills.
You’re never supposed to just stop taking psychiatric medications, or it can cause serious suicidal ideations among other detrimental issues, so we pleaded for just enough to wean off, and were still told no. After even attempting to go to the Emergency Room and VA we called and made the soonest psychiatrist appointment I could find, for mid-September, at the time it was nearing the end of July...
With no other options, Shawn finished the rest of his remaining pills, and we decided to do as much as we could together to watch for any side effects or symptoms of stopping abruptly since we had no choice…
In the days that followed, Shawn seemed sad, but managed to hold it together until Friday, August 23rd around 8:30 am, when he tried to take his own life...
He came down the stairs covered in blood and collapsed at my feet after having a change of heart, and decided he wanted to live after all and just said "Jen medic."
He was rushed by ambulance to a level 1 Trauma center for emergency surgery in critical condition and I had only seconds to give him a quick kiss and tell him I loved him - I didn't know if I would ever see him again.
Once he was out of surgery, he was put on a respirator in a medical coma for 2 days to allow his wounds to heal. As soon as he woke up, he started complaining that he couldn’t feel or use the entire right side of his body.
Because of the suicide attempt, his Trauma team didn’t believe his statements and for almost two full weeks and instead made him try to do physical therapy which ultimately caused further harm to an already injured spinal cord... damages that may be irreparable.
They told me to my face that Shawn was “just crazy” and nothing was wrong, at which point I tried to reason with him and then asked him if he liked his job. He agreed to at least send in a neurologist to see Shawn to appease me, and less than 12 hours later the neurologist not only came and ordered an MRI but had Shawn under the knife undergoing his second major surgery in two weeks. Turns out after he collapsed from the initial injuries to his chest and wrists he got a central spinal cord injury in addition to everything else.
Due to his injuries and the negligence of the trauma doctors at the hospital Shawn may never regain full function of the right side of his body. So far he needs a wheelchair to go anywhere, cannot eat by himself, play music, or even hold our son.
At this point, Shawn has been in the hospital for nearly two months straight and will be until at least the end of October. Currently, we are at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in Chicago IL, and he is working as hard as he can every day to beat the odds and make a full recovery.
The doctors tell us it will be at least another year before he regains much functionality, despite his hard work, and advise us that we need to plan accordingly…
When he is finally able to come home, we need to find a place to live that is a wheelchair accessible, or a one-floor first-floor living environment at the very least...our medical bills are piling up, and the insurance company is fighting us at every turn….30 days of his care was spent in the ICU and the bills are astronomical...
This is why we need your help.
We are so overwhelmed, we have no idea how we can afford our everyday living expenses, let alone all these new additional medical expenses… He is considered an incomplete paraplegic now and is in a power wheelchair full time.
So far we need some kind of van or vehicle that can accommodate the chair in order for Shawn to do anything besides go to doctor's appointments, along with other assistive technology to help with day to day functioning.
I have been trying to figure out how I can work through all of this, but as the sole caretaker for our family and Shawn's advocate, I have not been able to work at all in order to properly care for Shawn (since he cannot do much on his own, and has clearly needed an advocate with him every step of the way) and our two year old son - who doesn’t understand why daddy disappeared, or why he can’t hug him and play with him when they are together... It’s truly heartbreaking.
Before everything, Shawn and I were working diligently on starting a nonprofit organization to help veterans heal from the adverse effects of wartime service, while also building a music project called Fireworks For Buddha, which spreads a message of hope and positivity. (www.fireworksforbuddha.com)
Shawn is a good man, a loving husband, and father, an amazing musician, and someone who would give the shirt off his back to a stranger. To see him in such a condition where he's not able to help himself let alone others is awful. He is the founder of Chicago Music Magazine and a well-known member of the music scene for over 15 years.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Grant me the patience with the changes that take time,
appreciation for all that I have,
tolerance of those with different struggles,
and the strength to get up and try again!
Fundraising team: Fundraiser Team (4)
Jen Kellner
Organizer
Willowbrook, IL
Meghan Crisp
Team member
Shawn Kellner
Team member
Daniel Catullo
Team member