Chris Kamke, 65, of Wisconsin, was supposed to be on a family adventure in Utah. She had just beaten breast cancer earlier in the summer, and by all accounts she was the picture of an active retiree: walking, kayaking, biking, golfing. The day after the family hiked the Narrows at Zion National Park, she developed severe pain in her hips and legs. What followed was a hospital in Panguitch, an airlift to a larger Utah facility after doctors found bacterial pneumonia, and then a diagnosis almost no one expects to hear: neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, a rare autoimmune disease that affects roughly one in 250,000 people.
Since Sept. 25, Kamke has been comatose and on a ventilator. Her husband Kendall, son Kyle, and sister Tammy have been holding vigil far from home, and now they face a problem that has nothing to do with medicine. A medical transport back to Wisconsin costs $50,000, and insurance will not cover it. The family connected with Grace on Wings, a nonprofit that provides medical air transport, which can bring her home for an estimated $27,000 to $28,000. A GoFundMe has already raised more than $25,000, and the family hopes to have her back in Wisconsin within a week.
For those of us on the Suncoast, where so many neighbors are active retirees and snowbirds who hike, kayak, and golf into their seventies and beyond, this story is a reminder of how quickly a normal life can change, and how the logistics of getting home can become the hardest part of a medical crisis. The family’s goal is within reach. If you would like to help, the GoFundMe is linked through the original report at mysuncoast.com.
Have you ever faced a medical emergency away from home? How did you get back? Share your story in the comments.
