Kiley and family

Hello everyone I am Rebecca, I’ve started this GoFund me for one of my dearest friends Kiley Kunis. On May 27th, 2023 Kiley was in Matewan, WV riding ATVs with her fiancé when they got into a horrific accident. The ATV flipped off a hill throwing Bryant(fiancé) and Kiley out into a creek, the ATV landed on Kiley and bounced off. Kileys spine was snapped and her aorta tore. She had to be life-flighted to the nearest hospital which was 2 hours away. They were able to put a stint in to fix her aorta but they are doing MRI on her spine today, May 28th, but they are looking to possibly do surgery Tuesday, May 30th. Kiley has a long road to recovery ahead of her but all of her family and friends believe in her. She is determined and strong willed to get better for her son Braxlee who is turning one this coming up week on June 4th. I am asking anyone who can help donate even just a few dollars or even just share this to get the word out, please help this beautiful family in their time of need. On top of hospital bills they are going to need help with monthly utilities, food, diapers and other things for their baby. With Braxlees first birthday also being right around the corner I know they would have loved to have gotten him some gifts but now are unable to. Again whatever anyone can do we are all grateful and appreciative. Most importantly please keep this wonderful woman and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I will keep everyone updated as the information rolls in, have a blessed day.

update as of May 29,2033: Kiley had her spinal surgery and they placed rods in there to help, the doctors were scared that her spine was severed and that there was a possibility of her never walking again but, Kiley surprised them all when they tested her today. They came in and asked her to look away and close her eyes and began touching her legs asking her what they were doing. The surgeons jaw dropped when she was able to tell them exactly what they were doing! Kiley is putting up an awesome fight and everyone is so proud of her. They are talking about another week at the hospital possibly and then moving her to a rehab facility closer to home where she will begin physical therapy.

Kiley’s story:

#KILEYMARIESTRONG

My name is Kiley Marie Kunis. I live in Mount Sterling, Ohio. I am 22 years old & my life changed in a matter of seconds on May 27th, 2023. I’m a mother of one, he was born June 4th, 2022. That was one of the best days of my life and forever will be. I have an amazing fiancé , his name is Bryant Neel & we got together May 14th, 2021. So fast forwarding to a few days before my life tragically changed. Me and my fiancé came to Matewan, West Virginia on a Memorial Day trip to ride the hatfield McCoy trails with my fiancés family and friends. I dropped my son off with my family May 26th, 2023 & we headed out at 3:30pm. We got to the house we were staying in and rested for the night for our big day riding our sidexsides on the trails ! Now to the day that turned into a nightmare. May 27th, 2023 we got up at 7am and went to go eat breakfast which was so so good ! We went into a couple stores , just laughed hanging out. We made our way to the start of the trails around 10am and everything was going so good. Every spot we stopped and got a break, I messaged to check on my son because there’s no service on the trails. At 12:10pm , our drive shaft broke so that was the end of us riding the trails. We started getting everything ready to start getting pulled by a family member with their sidexside. We were very far into the trails so as we’re heading through the trails at a very low speed by the sidexside that was pulling us , everything was good. 1:12pm, I screenshotted rentals from a local place around there because we’d be there all weekend. 3 short minutes later , my life was in God's hands. Our brakes went completely out , my fiancé pushed on the break and it went all the way to the floor as we’re going down hill and he screamed “STOP STOP MY BREAKS.” At that moment we smacked the back of the other sidexside, the tires bounced off each other & it slung the sidexside up a hill to the left. My fiancé got thrown out and landed down a ravine possibly hitting a tree with his legs on the way falling due to his injury. I had my harness on but it was 4 point , not 5 point. I seriously somehow came out of it with my right arm being tangled in the harness when Bryant , my fiancé, saw me. It happened so fast , I remember flipping and my phone flying. I didn’t know what was about to happen. When my fiancé saw me and got to me , he untangled my arm and I hit the ground on my butt & I screamed. I couldn’t feel my legs , I knew something bad just happened to me. The pressure of hitting the ground only from a few inches off the sidexside was the most horrific feeling I ever felt my entire life. Bryant pulled me slowly to him trying to hold me up , screaming and crying saying, “please don’t die on me.” I was very calm , holding myself up with my arms the rest of the time keeping pressure off my butt and back. My back had the bulge of a basketball & the second Bryant felt it , he just looked at me while screaming to call 911. He was trying his best to keep me stable but he stood up and just fell backwards , out cold passed out. He woke up maybe a minute later , crying. A couple minutes after we wrecked , people came trailing down the trail on their atvs. They were just riding and from North Carolina. An angel popped up and ran to me, a nurse named Becky Marshall Lang , who knew exactly what to do and stabilized my neck for 45 minutes. She was bent down in the same spot and never once moved. She was asking me questions , keeping me awake, keeping my neck straight. This amazing woman definitely saved my life at that moment & I thank god for her everyday. 911 had already been called and they were on route every time we called and checked. We were about 4.5miles into this trail so this 45 minutes of waiting felt like hours. At one point I felt my body fading , everything looked blurry and black. Everyone’s voice was turning into an echo and my eyes started to fall. I screamed “God please. God please , I have a son and a family. Please save me, God please.” The sun came out , my vision came back , my hearing was normal. I was calmed down by an angel , God , loved one , something out there. The whole time I was very calm , I didn’t want anybody to freak out anymore , I told everybody “I’m okay,” I was trying to smile while I felt like I was breathing out of a clogged straw. My chest was heavy , very heavy. My breaths I was taking in and out felt like 1/4 breaths , not even half breaths. I still managed to tell everybody I was okay when I knew I wasn’t. EMS finally showed up & got me a neck brace, stretcher , everything. I was terrified to lay down on my back, absolutely terrified of the feeling, everything. They then laid me down on the stretcher & there wasn’t as much pain as I assumed. They tightened me down to the stretcher , picked me up and carried me to the 6 seater emergency atv. I begged for the oxygen because I knew something was wrong. We finally made it to the ambulance & rode to the helicopter to be life flighted out. This flight took 30-40 minutes & even with oxygen, going up into the sky put so much more weight on my chest but I did it. We finally landed at Cabell Huntington hospital in West Virginia. They came out and got me & went straight to scans. I was there after scans for maybe an hour I believe , getting IVs put in , & my central line put in through my neck. They came back with results that shocked everybody. I had a tear in my aorta, which explained my breathing. I had broken my spine , all 3 layers that fell in a staggered pattern which kept all my spinal fluid in. My spinal cord is crushed, my spinal membrane got crushed, a couple vertebras were snapped. Meanwhile I still couldn’t feel my waist down. They told me they were transferring me to their sister hospital which was, St.Mary’s Medical Center right across town. I went straight in & immediate surgery. My family & fiancé were waiting so long to hear my surgery went very well. The next day May 28th, 2023 they talked to me about my surgery. I had a stent put into my aorta , they cut in my groin area instead of my chest to insert the stent. The most shocking thing is , I survived 6 hours having a torn aorta. 6 freaking hours. Nobody knows how , the doctors are shocked , surgeons are shocked , nurses & family were & still are shocked. Later that day I had a scan done on my spine , which took quite some time. They were planning to do surgery on Tuesday before the scans but after the scan was done , we rolled out and turned the corner. The second we turned the corner , the doctor said “prep her.” I wasn’t stable enough to last until Tuesday so the only option was to do it now. My surgery lasted for a good 6 hours, I think maybe more than that. I was in ICU for a week 5/27-5/2 , & those nurses were some of the most amazing people to ever be around. I got moved to the neuro floor & was treated great. Once I’m able to leave the hospital , I will be having to live in a rehab for a couple months. On my son's 1st birthday June 4th, 2023 , I got bathed , hair washed like a salon , hair blow dried , makeup on. When they moved me from the bed to a chair, I had my arms wrapped around the nurses neck. She went to lift me and I was close to passing out but I used my legs for support even though I couldn’t feel them! I used some pressure and they were so surprised. These amazing people allowed me and my family to throw a small birthday party in a big waiting room for my son, Braxlee William Neel. He had the most amazing day and was extremely happy with all of it. I got tired near the end. I lasted as long as possible for bub but once I got tired I lost all energy but he was getting tired too. Being wheeled out of that room , I lost it. That was one of the first times I completely lost it. I had that day planned for months but things changed and I had to accept that. I’ve always been strong , for myself , my family , my fiancé , my son, everybody. I broke down & that’s okay, I bawled & that’s okay. I will always remain strong but some days it’s okay to not be okay. You can’t remain strong for everybody everyday. I need to focus on myself , I need to let my emotions go free , I need to show the world I’m strong but not everyday. I’m blessed to be alive and now I gotta work my butt off to walk again. I WILL walk again. It may take time and a lot of determination but I have that in me. If anything , I gotta do it for Braxlee. I got this , I’ll walk again. Again, my name's Kiley Marie Kunis & this is my story. I thank God for blessing me with breathing everyday & waking up every morning. He’s healing me. Slowly but surely. Thank you everyone , I love every single one of you. #kileymariestrong