Imagine being told one day, that you are going to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair.
Kelly Anne Denton was a teacher at Hillcrest School in Moncton for the past 16 years. She began experiencing symptoms after she gave birth to her daughter nine years ago, noticing stiffness and she began falling a lot for no real reason.
In October, she was forced to leave work, and was hospitalized. The doctors have not given her a definitive diagnosis, but they do know she is suffering from a neurological disorder, and she is now dealing with a tough reality, “I’m never going to walk again. There is a whole list of things that I have to say good-bye to. I can’t go to my friends, because none of their homes are wheelchair accessible. There are a lot things I am never going to do, because I can’t get out of my chair.”
On top of that, Kelly Anne can’t leave the hospital until renovations are completed on their home to enable her to get around in her wheelchair. Her family has set up a Go Fund Me page, with the hope of raising around $50, 000 to complete the work, including a wheelchair lift, roll-in shower, and having the doorways widened.
Her husband Christian says the past eight months have been very difficult, because they’ve been unable to deal with the emotional part of the illness, “The tough thing is, we have to spend so much time on all of the financial worries , that we don’t have a lot of time to think about what the new normal is going to be. Being able to make dinner for your family , or go to the bathroom and have a shower, those sorts of things.”
Kelly Anne says her family is coping. Her 17 year old son is doing pretty well, but she says that’s because he is older and he can understand that making her better, does not necessarily mean making her walk. But she says her daughter, isn’t doing as well, “Our nine year old daughter is having a rough time with it. In her eyes I went to the hospital to get better, and I’m not better, and she doesn’t understand why Mommy isn’t going to walk out the door and come home.”
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help with necessary renovations to the home. For details on how you can donate visit HERE.
