Katelyn Rose is from Wapakoneta, OH where she was a vibrant young high school cheerleader, excellent student, and a friend to a lot of her classmates. On January 16, 2020, Katelyn, was involved in a serious accident where her best friend passed away. Miraculously, Katelyn survived, but she sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and needed a trach and feeding tube. She had spinal surgery, pelvic surgery and multiple brain surgeries. It left her immobile from the waist down and her right side incapacitated. Throughout her time in the hospital, she fought to get back to her normal self.

In May, Katelyn returned home where she had to relearn her everyday tasks, including using the bathroom, getting around the house and feeding herself. She returned to school in a wheelchair in August and tried to get back into a somewhat normal routine. She went back to classes and cheering. However, because of the TBI, Katelyn’s skill levels have been significantly affected. At this point, she needs to be on an IEP to get her back on a better learning track and get her through school.

Katelyn is highly motivated to get back to her normal self. She worked hard towards walking at her graduation ceremony. Unfortunately, she was not able to make it all the way up on her own. Katelyn did get to stand to get her diploma but needed help. It was an emotional moment with everyone cheering her on and knowing what she has gone through to get there.

Before high school ended, Katelyn and her mom were introduced to a program called Project SEARCH which provides hands-on work experience in a real-world setting. Katelyn has shown that she is very capable of working and doing a fantastic job. There are still obstacles that get in her way of being a fully employable person.

We are so thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, caregivers and friends that have helped us through such a difficult time. We know that Katelyn has a long, difficult journey ahead of her so we continue to search for every possible treatment option available in order to give her the greatest opportunity for a bright and independent future.

We recently discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and learned that it has been extremely successful in treating people who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). In many cases, HBOT has improved the client’s fine and gross motor skills, speech, thinking (cognition), memory, physical healing, etc. We’ve recently learned that there is a non-profit facility called Sara’s Garden that specializes in working with clients with brain injuries and countless other conditions. Our hope is that Katelyn can receive HBOT treatments at Sara’s Garden and start to see a difference in her basic math skills and sentence structure and gain more movement in her legs and arm.

Unfortunately, in the United States insurance companies do not recognize HBOT as being therapeutic for the treatment of TBI and will therefore not cover the cost of the treatments. That is why we could really use your help. HBOT for TBI is only $100 per treatment at Sara’s Garden. However, since our plan is for Katelyn to receive at least 40 HBOT treatments that cost adds up quickly. Our family is already having financial struggles as Katelyn’s mom, Stacy, has become her full-time caregiver and has been unable to work at all. Our house has had to have a ramp installed and needs to have the bathroom redone to help Katelyn be more independent in her self-care.

If you could assist us with the cost (or even just part of the cost) of a single $100 treatment it would help reduce our overall expenses greatly. 100% of the funds received will go into an account in Katelyn’s name and will be used for her treatments. Any contribution made would be considered a tax-deductible donation as Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)(3) non-profit facility. Checks can be made out to Sara’s Garden with Katelyn’s name on a sheet of paper accompanying the check. Please do not write her name directly on the check. You can also donate online via credit card by clicking on the DONATE NOW button below.

Thank you so much for considering to support Katelyn’s treatments!

Sincerely,

Stacy Music