SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Warren County family is asking for the public's help in getting some much-needed medical care for their daughter who is paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Makayla Conder was injured during a kickoff to summer gathering. She and some friends were hanging out near a tire swing, with some of them on the swing, when a tree branch broke and fell on Conder.
That moment changed everything not just for her, but for her family.
“It’s the call you never want to get as a parent," said Teranne Conder, Makayla's mom.
She wasn't at the gathering with her daughter when the accident happened so multiple people called to tell her Makayla was hurt.
Teranne Conder and her husband drove there immediately and ended up at the hospital with Makayla, where she stayed for several months, getting treatment and learning about her new reality.
“I’m not at school anymore. I can’t really see my friends in person because of all of the health issues. I can’t do much for myself. I need help with everything I do, with getting ready to feeding myself to even getting hair off my face," Makayla Conder said.
Now, she's starting to regain some motion in one wrist and in her shoulders.
“We were just never willing to be satisfied with OK, this is our daughter, we’re taking her home as she is. It’s what’s the next step? What are we going to do? How do we help her? How do we make her progress?” Teranne Conder said.
She found a spinal implant procedure that would help Makayla to regain functionality further in her arms and legs.
The surgery isn't offered in the U.S., though — Makayla Conder and her family will have to go to Thailand. Teranne Conder said because it's outside of the country and is experimental, their insurance won't cover any of the cost.
“The only thing we’re missing is the money to get there," Teranne Conder said.
That's why they're fundraising the $250,000 needed to travel to Thailand and get the procedure, so that next month, Makayla can get this life-changing procedure.
All in the hopes that it'll change Makayla Conder's life again, but this time for the better.
“If she had more capacity over her lung, she could get her trach out," Teranne Conder said. "She could return to her friends. She could be part of life again."
You can donate to their online fundraiser by clicking here.
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