Kerri requires a wheelchair & nurse
Donation protected
My name is Erin. My big sister, Kerri, is now a paraplegic. Before you ask:
- No, she did not have a car accident.
- No, she did not have a horrible fall.
- No, she did not get sick.
How the heck did my active sister become a paraplegic then? Why is she currently in G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Hospital learning what her new “normal” is? How can my sister, a wife and daughter, cousin and friend to many, no longer walk?
It all started March 31st when Kerri was in agony over pain on her side under the band of her bra. She couldn’t get the pain under control, so she went to the hospital and was admitted for monitoring and pain management. The doctors thought it was kidney stones. An x-ray and ultrasound showed nothing, and the pain was settling down, so they sent Kerri home to rest.
Then things got worse
On April 4, everything changed and things got REALLY scary! She felt numbness in her feet and legs, like pins and needles from when you sit funny, but worse.
Her husband, Aaron, took her to Richmond General Hospital again. After far too long of a wait, hours upon hours, the hospital finally did an MRI. A sac was found on her spine, and it was pressing on her spinal cord. She was rushed to the Vancouver General Hospital Spinal Unit for emergency surgery on Friday night, April 5th, to have the sac removed and relieve the pressure on her spinal cord that it had been causing. Thankfully, the surgery was a success.
The sac was filled with a clear liquid, which confused the surgeon. Infections are messy, and this did not look like what the doctors had expected. We now know the sac was there when the pain started the first time she went to Richmond General, but no one knows how long it had been in her body.
What has happened to Kerri now
Kerri is now a paraplegic. She started a new rehabilitation program on April 23, 2019 to start figuring out what her new life and normalcy will be.
We do not know if this will be permanent, or if improvements will happen, which means she might one day walk again. Doctors are doubtful, but we are hopeful that those damaged nerves are going to heal and start communicating properly with the right parts of her brain and body. For now, she is in a wheelchair with no control of her lower body, and no real idea why. (New Update posted)
People have been incredible so far, with visits and messages of support. Those close to us have been sending love, support, prayers, and hope via all sorts of mediums – posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as calls, texts, visits, and through messages to her from us family members when we see her.
What must be done to help Kerri?
Many people are asking myself, Kerri’s husband Aaron, and my parents how else they can help, what they can do, and what needs to be done. Here are the most important things:
- Kerri is going to need a wheelchair as the one she has is only a “loaner” from G.F. Strong.
- She will likely need a nurse to help her with things once she gets home.
- Kerri and Aaron are also going to have to move from their current home as she will not be able to move properly where they live now.
We are asking for your help with these sudden, unexpected, and unbudgeted large expenses. They’ll cost more than you think:
- Wheelchairs are expensive as they are customized to each person to ensure it is the right fit.
- Whether she gets a full-time or part-time nurse doesn’t matter as both are costly.
- Moving from her current home, where she was happy and comfortable, to a new home that will fit her new needs will not be easy. The Vancouver rental market is a nightmare of rising costs and competition, but now she has to add her mobility needs into the mix.
Kerri is not able to work while she is getting through her rehabilitation, but we are hopeful that will change in the future. Her mind is stronger than mine most days, and that is absolutely incredible to see. She will not sit idle once she learns how to get around and do things, but right now she is re-learning a lot of things that we all take for granted.
How you can help
If you can spare a dollar or a pound to help right now through GoFundMe, Kerri and Aaron would be so grateful. Neither of them is good at asking for help, so I, the little sister, am asking for them. All proceeds will go directly to their bank account when Kerri finally leaves G.F. Strong, and will go directly towards the expenses listed above.
If you cannot spare a dollar or pound, please reach out to Kerri and Aaron, even if it’s just to say hello and ask how they are doing. Visitors are welcome at G.F. Strong, 4255 Laurel St, Vancouver BC, after 5pm every work day and all day on weekends. She is listed under Kerri Stutt. (Many do know her a Kerri Grant)
The 1% chance of this happening
The infection that Kerri had in this sac was a Staphylococcus (Staph) infection. Staph infections are in the blood 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time, they are from:
- A traumatic accident
- A car crash
- Falling a great height
- IV drug use
Kerri has had NONE of these happen to her! That’s why we’re all so baffled and hurt by what has happened to cause her to now be a paraplegic. Here’s what the doctors are working on:
- The Centre for Infectious Disease is still investigating and trying to figure it all out.
- Things like how old the infection is, how it got into her body, why is it not in her bloodstream, and where it might have come from.
- They have checked other areas of her body as this kind of staph infection likes to hide in sneaky places, like the valves of your heart or other little areas of the body where it can hide.
She is currently on a strong course of antibiotics, and is under constant care at G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver.
This is huge change for everyone, and one which we are all trying to get used to. We are trying to wrap our heads around this life changing event, which will be made all the easier with whatever help you have to offer.
Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts,
Erin Stutt – Kerri’s little sister
The Stutt family
- No, she did not have a car accident.
- No, she did not have a horrible fall.
- No, she did not get sick.
How the heck did my active sister become a paraplegic then? Why is she currently in G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Hospital learning what her new “normal” is? How can my sister, a wife and daughter, cousin and friend to many, no longer walk?
It all started March 31st when Kerri was in agony over pain on her side under the band of her bra. She couldn’t get the pain under control, so she went to the hospital and was admitted for monitoring and pain management. The doctors thought it was kidney stones. An x-ray and ultrasound showed nothing, and the pain was settling down, so they sent Kerri home to rest.
Then things got worse
On April 4, everything changed and things got REALLY scary! She felt numbness in her feet and legs, like pins and needles from when you sit funny, but worse.
Her husband, Aaron, took her to Richmond General Hospital again. After far too long of a wait, hours upon hours, the hospital finally did an MRI. A sac was found on her spine, and it was pressing on her spinal cord. She was rushed to the Vancouver General Hospital Spinal Unit for emergency surgery on Friday night, April 5th, to have the sac removed and relieve the pressure on her spinal cord that it had been causing. Thankfully, the surgery was a success.
The sac was filled with a clear liquid, which confused the surgeon. Infections are messy, and this did not look like what the doctors had expected. We now know the sac was there when the pain started the first time she went to Richmond General, but no one knows how long it had been in her body.
What has happened to Kerri now
Kerri is now a paraplegic. She started a new rehabilitation program on April 23, 2019 to start figuring out what her new life and normalcy will be.
We do not know if this will be permanent, or if improvements will happen, which means she might one day walk again. Doctors are doubtful, but we are hopeful that those damaged nerves are going to heal and start communicating properly with the right parts of her brain and body. For now, she is in a wheelchair with no control of her lower body, and no real idea why. (New Update posted)
People have been incredible so far, with visits and messages of support. Those close to us have been sending love, support, prayers, and hope via all sorts of mediums – posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as calls, texts, visits, and through messages to her from us family members when we see her.
What must be done to help Kerri?
Many people are asking myself, Kerri’s husband Aaron, and my parents how else they can help, what they can do, and what needs to be done. Here are the most important things:
- Kerri is going to need a wheelchair as the one she has is only a “loaner” from G.F. Strong.
- She will likely need a nurse to help her with things once she gets home.
- Kerri and Aaron are also going to have to move from their current home as she will not be able to move properly where they live now.
We are asking for your help with these sudden, unexpected, and unbudgeted large expenses. They’ll cost more than you think:
- Wheelchairs are expensive as they are customized to each person to ensure it is the right fit.
- Whether she gets a full-time or part-time nurse doesn’t matter as both are costly.
- Moving from her current home, where she was happy and comfortable, to a new home that will fit her new needs will not be easy. The Vancouver rental market is a nightmare of rising costs and competition, but now she has to add her mobility needs into the mix.
Kerri is not able to work while she is getting through her rehabilitation, but we are hopeful that will change in the future. Her mind is stronger than mine most days, and that is absolutely incredible to see. She will not sit idle once she learns how to get around and do things, but right now she is re-learning a lot of things that we all take for granted.
How you can help
If you can spare a dollar or a pound to help right now through GoFundMe, Kerri and Aaron would be so grateful. Neither of them is good at asking for help, so I, the little sister, am asking for them. All proceeds will go directly to their bank account when Kerri finally leaves G.F. Strong, and will go directly towards the expenses listed above.
If you cannot spare a dollar or pound, please reach out to Kerri and Aaron, even if it’s just to say hello and ask how they are doing. Visitors are welcome at G.F. Strong, 4255 Laurel St, Vancouver BC, after 5pm every work day and all day on weekends. She is listed under Kerri Stutt. (Many do know her a Kerri Grant)
The 1% chance of this happening
The infection that Kerri had in this sac was a Staphylococcus (Staph) infection. Staph infections are in the blood 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time, they are from:
- A traumatic accident
- A car crash
- Falling a great height
- IV drug use
Kerri has had NONE of these happen to her! That’s why we’re all so baffled and hurt by what has happened to cause her to now be a paraplegic. Here’s what the doctors are working on:
- The Centre for Infectious Disease is still investigating and trying to figure it all out.
- Things like how old the infection is, how it got into her body, why is it not in her bloodstream, and where it might have come from.
- They have checked other areas of her body as this kind of staph infection likes to hide in sneaky places, like the valves of your heart or other little areas of the body where it can hide.
She is currently on a strong course of antibiotics, and is under constant care at G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver.
This is huge change for everyone, and one which we are all trying to get used to. We are trying to wrap our heads around this life changing event, which will be made all the easier with whatever help you have to offer.
Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts,
Erin Stutt – Kerri’s little sister
The Stutt family
Fundraising team: For Kerri (3)
Erin Stutt
Organizer
Richmond, BC
Aaron Grant
Team member
Kerri Grant
Team member