Lifeway Mobility Joins Harmar and Others to Support Quadruple Amputee and Mom of Three in Kansas City
Posted on by Ben McCoy
At 27 weeks pregnant, Kansas City area nurse Brie B. visited a local outpatient urgent care clinic complaining of stiffness and flu-like symptoms. Within just a few hours, she was fighting for her life and the life of her unborn son.
A Strep A infection had attacked her body triggering a life-threatening case of sepsis, which sent her into toxic shock. To save her baby, an emergency C-section was performed successfully; and although premature, her son Beau was able to be stabilized and was otherwise healthy at a mere 2.6 lbs.
However, Brie’s ordeal was just beginning. Before the operation, she lost consciousness. Due to the infection and subsequent toxic shock, her extremities had all turned necrotic due to lack of blood flow, despite the doctors’ best efforts. When Brie awoke from her coma 10 days later, she would discover that all four of her limbs had been amputated to save her life. She would spend the next four months in the hospital and undergo 30 surgeries for her body to adjust to her situation.
Finally, it was time to go home.
Learning Life All Over Again
For Brie, the hardest part of being a quadruple amputee was not being able to hold her newborn and be a mom to her two other boys.
With intense physical therapy and the assistance of prosthetic devices, she has learned how to perform those functions in a new way, which means more to her than anything else.
Another one of her many new challenges was navigating their multi-story home. Before, climbing the stairs with a basket of laundry in her hand or a toddler in her arms was just a routine part of daily life. Now, climbing the stairs was literally impossible for her. That’s when Lifeway Mobility and the community stepped in.
Brie’s New Stair Lifts from Lifeway Mobility
For Brie to get up the stairs to her second floor, a stair lift was identified as a potential solution. Once Lifeway Mobility’s local team in Kansas City heard about this situation, they wanted to do something to help. We connected with Harmar, a manufacturer of stair lifts and other mobility products, who agreed to donate a new SL300 straight rail stair lift, along with a folding rail for Brie.
Lifeway Mobility Kansas City Team members, Mike, Alyssa, and Armando, did the evaluation and measurements of the staircase, and Armando and Paul completed the stair lift installation and demonstration.
For Brie to access her basement stairs, she needed a second stair lift. Brook Winfrey, a local woman in Brie’s community, kindly donated a lightly used Bruno stair lift that had belonged to her grandmother, who had only had it for a short time before she unfortunately passed away. Again, the Lifeway Mobility KC Team stepped in and conducted the necessary evaluation and installation of the second stair lift.
Other community organizations provided support for Brie as well. Leawood City Lifestyle Magazine organized a fundraiser at a local restaurant and published a story documenting Brie’s life-altering journey in their magazine. Kathi Spray of Senior Helpers helped to organize efforts and informed the local Lifeway Mobility team of Brie’s need for the stair lifts.
For the Lifeway Mobility KC team, helping Brie to be independent again so she can be able to be a mom to her kids is its own reward, and reminds us that we’re helping families improve their quality of life at home and accomplish the things that are most important to them.
About Lifeway Mobility
If you or a loved one needs a stair lift or other home mobility solution, call (888) 714-1930 or contact us, local experts, today. Lifeway Mobility proudly maintains a 4.8/5 customer satisfaction rating with over 10,000 reviews and is recognized as the “Best Stair Lift Company” by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and a “Most Trusted Brand” by USA Today.
