Support Kristie Hutchins' Road to Recovery

Hello Friends and Family of Kristie and Layne!

My name is Amy Brandt. I am Layne and Kristie Hutchins’ niece.

As you may know, almost 8 weeks ago Kristie lost the use of her legs and went to the ER with what doctors thought was an MS flare. After several weeks of treatments for MS and worsening symptoms, it was determined that her body was also fighting viral meningitis. This infection has been attacking her body, especially her eyes, where the virus has eaten away at her retinas. A few weeks ago, it was determined that Kristie was in need of more specialized care and she was moved to Harborview Medical Center, where she is now in the ICU. She has since undergone eye surgery to attempt to save some vision in her right eye (her left eye is also in a tenuous state).

As things stand now, we are thankful that the infection has been receding, but Kristie has lost much of her feeling and muscle control from the chest down and is still fighting the effects of the infection, which includes the permanent loss of some of her vision. This has already been an incredibly hard and long process for the Hutchins family and will continue to be.

The effect and burden of all of this on Layne and the kids has been extensive, and they are weary in body and spirit. Many of you have asked how you can help and what they need, and they are so thankful for all of your prayers, support, and for checking in on them. Unfortunately, we cannot all visit or fit into Kristie’s hospital room. But we, their community, can help in practical, prayerful, and financial ways. I would like to ask you to consider lessening some of the financial burdens that they will face in the coming months and year.

As we are all aware, hospital stays are not cheap, even with insurance to help. Currently, Layne’s daily

cost for gas, meals, and parking, just to be with Kristie, is around $150 a day. We do not know at this

time how long Kristie will remain at Harborview, but we do know that Kristie’s recovery once she is out of the hospital is going to be grueling. Due to the vision loss and her still being unable to move her legs, she will not be returning to work this fall or to life as normal for quite some time. While we don’t know exactly what coming home will look like, we know it will involve intense OT, PT, vision appointments and aids, possible changes in their home to help Kristie navigate, a possible wheelchair, potential in-home care, and much more.

We are hoping to use this GoFundMe to ease the stress on the Hutchins family. Every little bit matters and is helpful, so if you are feeling led to give or are looking for a way to help the family practically, I ask that you would consider giving financially as a way to show your love and support! Also please share this GoFundMe with people who know the Hutchins and with loving people that don’t. The more it is shared, the more burden we can ease.

If you have any questions, please let me know, and if you’d like a more in-depth description of what is going on with Kristie we have also started a Caring Bridge Page Here: https://www.caringbridge.org/site/d69ac9ee-513e-11ef-8352-d7eeb71b88fb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web&utm_content=copylink_leftmenu_php

We will try to keep this updated with Kristie’s current medical condition and ways to pray and support the family.

If you are local to Lynden or Bellingham there is also a meal train here: https://mealtrain.com/vgoz86

We will continue to add dates to the meal train as needed.