Support for Kyle Zimmer's Medical & Rehab Bills

Hi everyone,

We are reaching out to you today to ask for love and support for our dear friend, Kyle Zimmer, whose life has been unexpectedly upended as a result of a recent diagnosis of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. GBS is a very rare and serious neurological disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.

On March 1st, Kyle woke up with tingling in his hands and feet, low body temperature, and poor motor functions. As a result, he was taken into the emergency room for various tests including a spinal tap, CT scan, and IV treatments. Over the next few days, Kyle's condition had only gotten worse. On March 4th, he began experiencing near-total body paralysis and was admitted into the ICU, where he was intubated and put on a ventilator to assist with breathing.

After nearly seven days of intubation, the medical professionals decided to perform a surgical procedure known as a tracheostomy to help oxygen reach Kyle's lungs by creating an opening through the neck and into the trachea. Around this same time, they also inserted a port into his stomach for feeding. Over the past few weeks, Kyle has been heavily sedated as continues his fight to get off of the ventilator.

On March 24th, Kyle's progress began to trend in a positive direction. He was able to get up into a special wheelchair and cut down on the ventilation support. He was later transferred to the OSF Medical Center in Peoria, IL, where they plan to slowly start the rehabilitation process and get him off of the ventilator and tracheostomy tube. Once he gains enough strength, the medical professionals may also explore transferring him to the Chicago area for additional rehabilitation.

This has been such a devastating development for not only Kyle, but also for his family. The road to recovery from GBS is a very long and tedious process as the body begins to repair damage to the nerves and surrounding areas.

The support for Kyle and his family will be needed for several months to come even after he regains enough strength to leave the hospital. He will be faced with the physical journey of re-learning the basic daily movements that we all take for granted, in addition to the mental journey that comes with such a debilitating disease.

Kyle is a strong, resilient, and determined person, who never really asks for much - however, he could certainly use our help here. We anticipate that his family will be faced with extremely hefty medical bills, even with their current coverage, so we have initially set the target goal to be $10,000 (and will adjust as necessary as time progresses).

Please consider showing some love and support to Kyle and his family as they navigate through this difficult time. Any donation would be greatly appreciated! All funds will go directly to Kyle's medical, travel, and loss of work expenses.

Please also continue sharing your encouraging words, thoughts, and prayers!

Thank you for your blessings :)