NEED TO KNOW
Chris Kamke experienced a severe medical emergency while hiking with her family in Zion National Park
The mother had recently learned her breast cancer was in remission
The sudden turn in Chris’s health left her “paralyzed, in a coma and dependent on a ventilator,” a GoFundMe for her read
A mother and recent breast cancer survivor is now paralyzed and in a coma after she went for a hike with her family in Utah.
Chris Kamke headed to Utah for a hiking trip at Zion National Park with her husband, Kendall, and their son Kyle, shortly after learning that her breast cancer was in remission this summer, WBAY reported.
After their first day, during which the family traversed the Narrows, Chris was feeling good.
On Sept. 20, her family chose the park’s Bryce Canyon as their next destination, but after they finished, Chris began experiencing “severe pain in her legs, thighs, and hips,” read a GoFundMe set up for the family.
Chris Kamke with her husband and son.
Credit: gofundme
Unable to sit or lie down long enough for her family to drive her from the canyon, Chris was ultimately airlifted to a nearby hospital in Panguitch, Utah, per the fundraiser.
“Within hours, Chris developed difficulty breathing, and a CT scan revealed fluid in her lungs. She was then diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia,” the GoFundMe’s description reads. “Her doctors believe that while her body was fighting the infection, her immune system also began attacking her spinal cord, with inflammation spreading to her brainstem.”
Chris was later diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. The condition is a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the nerves in the eye and spinal cord, per Mayo Clinic.
She is now paralyzed and remains in a coma and on a ventilator, the family said in their GoFundMe.
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Chris’s medical emergency has left her thousands of miles away from the family’s home in Wisconsin, and her family is seeking help to have her moved to a hospital there.
The family says that the cost of a hospital transport flight back to Wisconsin could exceed $50,000, and that her insurer won’t cover the costs.
Now, they’re working with a nonprofit called Grace on Wings to arrange a hospital transport flight back to Wisconsin with volunteer medical staff, using money from the GoFundMe to pay for the plane’s fuel.
As of Thursday, Oct. 8, the GoFundMe has raised more than $35,000, and the family hopes to bring Chris back home within the next week, per WBAY.
Read the original article on People