Some of the details of the tragic event cannot be posted due to the ongoing investigation by the Topeka, Kansas police department.

 

20 Dec 2017: We were notified that our 18-year-old daughter Ellie had been found strangled and lifeless in her apartment and had been taken to KU Medical Center via life flight.  That night we drove down from Alexandria, Minnesota where we were visiting for Christmas before coming down to Kansas City on Christmas day to visit Ellie and other friends & family.

 

20 Dec  2017- 5 Jan 2018: Ellie was in critical care in the Kansas City University ICU and completely dependent on machines for everything while in her coma – but still fighting

 

29 Dec 2017: John (Dad) had to drive back to Hill AFB Utah to report back to active duty and took his other two daughters (Makayla & Daniela) so they could go back to school the following week.

 

5 – 12 Jan 2018: Ellie was still in a coma but was making enough progress to be moved out of the ICU and to make room for the flu patients.  This also protected her a bit more not to expose her to the bad flu season.

 

8 Jan 2018: Health Insurance approved a medical facility for her anoxic Brain injury closer to our home in Utah but denied the medical transport from Kansas to Utah.  We found out that the cost to get her a medical transport was going to cost about $12,000 (their contractor cost).

 

9 Jan 2018: The staff was aware we had an approved hospital in Utah and that the insurance denied the transport and basically gave us a till Friday 12 Jan to come up with the money to transport her or they would move her to a local facility because they were under pressure to make room for the influx of flu cases.

 

9 Jan 2018: Jennifer (Mom) Called an Angel Med Flight and was quoted $18,000(even more out of our reach) Later that day she found a medical ground transport for about $8,000.  Knowing that there was going to be no way to come up with the funding in a few days. We reached out with a go-fund-me drive with the military network and John’s AMMO co-workers were able to help raise just over $2,000 in a few days.

 

10 Jan 2018: John called Angel Med Flight and explained our situation and they agreed to not only match the ground transport cost but also get Ellie flown out of Kansas by 12 Jan 2018.

 

11 Jan 2018: Jennifer’s Family loaned us the money to book the flight.

 

12 Jan 2018: Ellie was flown that night from Kansas City International Airport to Salt Lake City International Airport and tucked into bed at Promise Hospital.

 

10 Feb 2018: The staff at Promise Hospital confirmed she was now out of a coma but is still in a vegetative state but can breathe without the aid of the machine.

 

15 Feb 2018: Health insurance authorized her to move to a new facility the could help her rehabilitate faster, unfortunately, this facility was another 30 minutes away but after reviewing about a dozen possibilities it was the best in the area. We would rather have better care for Ellie than the convenience of being close to our home.

 

16 Feb 2018: Ellie was moved to the new facility in Riverton, Utah about 70 miles from our home. This facility team specializes on caring for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI,) spinal chord injury, neuro-motor disorders, ventilator dependency, complex wound care, stroke, intensive SNF services, and people who are recovering from orthopedic surgeries. This facility also allows Jennifer to stay most of the week to help take care of Ellie so the transportation cost was less for our family.

 

31 Mar 2018: This was a big day, after training Jennifer how to take care of Ellie and load her into a car, the Doctor approved her to spend time with the family for some Easter actives.  Jennifer still had to take her back that night but was again allowed to take her to church and the house on Easter Sunday.

 

11 April 2018: Today we got permission to take Ellie out of the facility to see her sister final Cheer competition on Saturday 13 Apr. Since Ellie was an awesome cheerleader in high school this should be a great experience to see her little sister (Makayla) compete.

 

11 May 2018: Ellie was release from the Long-term Care facility and allowed to come home for care.

 

Please, check out her FaceBook link for the most current updates or email and we will do our best to update you if you do not use Facebook.