Hill Country News
When Kellie Mandley, a beautiful 24-year-old woman with plans to go to nursing school became paralyzed after a rollover car accident left her with two broken legs, a fractured ankle and a fractured spine, she could have easily given up hope. Instead, her strength, hope and optimism have become her best medicine. But she and fiancee Luke Hsiao said if there is any chance of her being able to walk again she must receive intensive physical therapy and rehabilitation during the first year following the April accident. The problem is Kellie does not have health insurance and while the couple’s friends and supporters at Seton Medical Center Williamson were able to offer eight free one-to-two hour physical therapy sessions, it’s still not enough to meet Kellie’s need, which is typically four to six months of intensive physical therapy and rehabilitation for several hours each day.
“I really need rehab. I don’t have a complete rip or tear of the spinal cord,” explained Mandley. “I’ve worked out at the physical therapy gym at Seton twice and it’s amazing — it’s where science meets medicine.”
In the meantime, Kellie and Luke have applied for Medicaid and disability benefits, but the process can take months — and time is critical during the first year, stressed Mandley. In addition, she said the Medicaid application process can be “very confusing.”
Kellie has vigorously researched information about the treatment she needs and said the estimated cost is $1.43 million. While knowing they can’t afford the treatment Kellie needs can be discouraging, the couple has kept busy doing follow-ups with her doctors and working out on their home carpet. But it’s not the same, Kellie shared, they simply don’t have the equipment or expertise at home The day after doctors said Kellie was going to be a quadriplegic, she was already using her arms, Luke said. So the potential for her to get better is there, he explained.
There is nothing Kellie would like more than to work with Dr. Charlotte Smith in Austin who has had a “lot of success” in spinal cord injury medicine and rehabilitation.
“To know that you could’ve gotten better … I just need someone to give me a chance. It is my goal to do cartwheels again. That my arms will be strong enough. That I can get out of this chair and do what I do,” she said.
Amid their misfortune, Kellie and Luke feel blessed by all of the people who have reached out to help — some have been complete strangers from across the world. Kellie said her hospital room was “literally” covered in gifts and cards from ceiling to floor. When Kellie was released from the hospital, a parade of teary-eyed doctors and nurses wished her well and said they would miss her. A paramedic told her he’d never seen a patient have such a profound affect at the hospital.
Her friends and supporters started Team Kellie to raise support and awareness for her condition and hosted a Casino Night fundraiser at El Patron Restaurant in Cedar Park on Wednesday to raise funds for Kellie (see related story for more information). She is touched when she sees or hears of a complete stranger sporting a Team Kellie T-shirt. Running Brushy Middle School theater teacher, Alisa Mirabella, held a coin drive for Team Kellie at the school, bringing a big smile to Kellie’s face. Then there is Janet, her best friend Christine’s mother, who opened up her home at Block House Creek in Cedar Park to Kellie after learning the young woman would need more spacious living conditions. The newly-formed Good Neighbor Committee with the Block House Creek Owners Association has provided massive quantities of household products such as toilet paper and laundry detergent, medical supplies such as catheters and homecooked meals to Kellie. OA members recently constructed a wheel chair ramp at Janet’s house which means Kellie is no longer housebound and can be more easily transported for medical care and other outings.
As a testament of God’s will, Luke said they have also been blessed with a wheelchair-accessible van, a temporary hospital bed and a manual wheel chair —all through good samaritans who they had never met prior to Kellie’s accident. It just comes down to raising funds so that Kellie can get the treatment she needs. And her drive, willingness and tenacity to work hard to get the help she needs to reteach her body how to work increases her chances for recovery, he said.
“We’re definitely so grateful, we’re just not going to give up trying for more. I just want to get better. I owe it to [everyone who has helped],” shared Kellie.
Janet said supporters don’t expect anything less.
“They all have that hope and expectation that she’s going to better,” Janet elaborated.
Luke who is Kellie’s primary caregiver is currently looking for a local job as he and Kellie lived in Dallas prior to the accident. Kellie’s best friend, Christine, and her family all live in the Block House Creek neighborhood, and are available to help when Luke is away for work in Dallas in the meantime. Christine recently married and while it was her best friend’s day, it was the first time Kellie went out in public since her accident which made it an extra special day for Kellie as well. Her sister and friends helped curl her hair, do her makeup and put a yellow (orange) bridesmaid dress on her, and Kellie felt beautiful and energized, neck cast, wheelchair and all.
Luke is excited about seeing his future bride dressed in white. He said he knew it was time to ask Kellie to marry her after seven years of courtship. He would leave for work in Dallas after the accident and Kellie would ask him to please not leave. He knew she didn’t mean work, she meant ‘don’t give up on us.’ To show Kellie he is in it for the long haul, in sickness and in health, he proposed to her. After all that’s what love is about he explained -- “it’s about how you come together as a couple when the going gets tough.”
“I do foresee me walking but I have to be patient,” said Kellie. “I do have my bad days where I think, ‘why did this happen to me,’ but then I snap out of it. I’m a fighter.” If Kellie gets the treatment she needs, she may walk down the aisle on her own wedding day in the near future.
To help Kellie, visit teamkellie.weebly.com, caringbridge.org/visit/kelliemandley and Team Kellie on Facebook.