Kelly Poitras Stroke Recovery Fund

Less than 24 hours ago, I never thought I would be able to brush my little sisters hair again!

We want to share her story not only to spread awareness, but to also give Glory to God..Please feel free to share as she has given permission!

First and foremost, we want to thank the community of: friends, family, nurses, doctors, co workers, and even strangers who all came together and prayed for our beloved Kelly..You will never know how much we needed your prayers, but God did…We are so thankful for each and every one of you that bent Gods ear on her behalf..Here is her story:

My sister went to a chiropractor yesterday ( We cannot release the name of the chiropractor, but we can say that they are not in Cass County). During the chiropractic appointment, the chiropractor performed a spinal and neck manipulation. When my sisters neck was manipulated, she immediately blacked out, and could not hear for approximately 15 minutes. She stated “It felt like I got whiplash”. Upon arriving at home, she was not feeling well, and decided to lay down. Her and my brothers roommate knew something was wrong, as she was exhibiting, as what we know now was classic signs of a stroke..My sister’s roommate called 911.

My sister was rushed to the emergency department at Cox south hospital in Springfield Missouri. My family wants to give a huge shout out to Cox South and their amazing and quick response in caring for my sister. If it was not for them, and the surgeons, she undoubtedly would not be here today. We also want to give a huge thank you to her roommate who was so responsive to her needs at the time and called 911..The doctors made it very clear that if much more time (minutes) would’ve passed, she would not have survived.

Upon admission to the hospital, a stroke protocol was initiated, and my sister underwent several test. She had a bilateral vertebral artery dissection, which caused a basilar artery thrombosis (blood clot). The thrombosis occluded her artery, which is the artery that delivers oxygen rich blood to the brain..As a result of this injury, my sister had a stroke. She was placed on life support as she was unable to support her own airway. She is 37 years old with no prior history of medical problems! 

When my family arrived at the hospital, she had already underwent emergency surgery, to remove the thrombus(blood clot) from her artery. At this time, the physician. ( who literally cried and held hands with my family and prayed with us), informed the family that she had an 80% mortality(death) chance. The studies that we have researched have shown that the mortality rate from her injuries are actually 85%. BUT GOD!

The physician made it clear, and so do the medical records support, that her injuries were a direct result of the neck manipulation that she received from the chiropractor a few hours previous. He was also very clear that he was not expecting her to survive at that time. We were completely devastated and heartbroken. Like, how does this truly happen? We felt doomed..How can me and my siblings bury my 37 year old little sister? How will my brother survive losing his wife? How will my niece survive losing her mother? How are my parents going to survive burying a child? There are just no words to explain those feelings! BUT GOD!

We had THOUSANDS of people praying for her, and I’m a firm believer that is why we got good news upon waking this morning after the very small amount of sleep that we all got..My sister WOKE UP and was able to be extubated this morning…PRAISE GOD!

Our family and the medical staff at Cox south hospital literally saw a miracle happened before our eyes in the last 24 hours. On behalf of Kelly and her family, we want to glorify God in the healing that could only be explained as a miracle by all involved.

We have reviewed her medical records, and she beat the odds, having been spoken very clear by all of her records. She really was not expected to survive! BUT GOD!

In the last couple of hours, she has gotten to eat, able to talk to us, and even smiled for a selfie with her sister! ❤️

As I mentioned before, we wanted to give the glory to God, and felt like as a family, we needed people to understand the extent of her injuries. Also, as said before, she had a 15% chance of survival. In less than 24 hours, she was extubated, able to talk, hugging us, eating, and even smiling. 

Secondly, as a family, we wanted to spread awareness. We are not personally attacking, chiropractic care. We have many chiropractor, friends, and in fact, many of who have stepped up for us during the last 24 hours. I do not want this post to be taken as attacking the chiropractic community.

But what we do want, is awareness to be spread that this could indeed happen. If you are ever left to feel unwell after a chiropractic appointment, you need to seek immediate medical care. We, as a family, did not realize that something like this even truly existed, until we started doing some deeper research on this. People need to know the risk of spinal and neck manipulation. Again, not to degrade chiropractic care, but to possibly save a life in the future. If my sisters roommate would not have been home, my sister would not be with us today and that just sends chills down our spines!

 I also wanted to make people aware, that I am going to create a go fund me page for my sister. She was unfortunately told by the physician that she will not be able to return back to work. She has a long road ahead of her, and her bills do not stop. My brother works full-time, but their bills require both of their incomes. We are not expecting anyone to contribute, but if it is placed upon your heart to do so, I will be sharing the go fund me account as soon as I get that set up..More than anything, we are thankful for her spared life, and everyone’s prayers!

If you will continue to pray for her healing and that her cognitive function and effects from the stroke be fully restored, that would be great.

She is definitely not out of the woods completely and has complications from the oxygen being depleted from her brain, causing the stroke. She has a long road ahead of her: Emotionally, physically, and financially. She also still remains in the ICU!

This will forever change our life and we will forever give the glory to God that I was able to brush my sister’s hair again ❤️ That we were all able to hug and kiss her again and that we all got to hear her voice again! ❤️‍

NEVER take your loved ones for granted. Tell them how much you love them. Life is short and you never know when your “last time” with a loved one could be!

We love you all and we are thankful for each and every person that has prayed and reached out..THANK YOU SO MUCH!