Wallingford Woman, 20, Partially Paralyzed While On Mission

WALLINGFORD, CT — The community is rallying around a Wallingford woman who was paralyzed from the waist down after an accident while on a mission in Turkey last month. Mikaela (Kayla) Carbaugh, 20, was on a mission in Turkey after graduating from Lancaster Bible College, according to the Meriden Record-Journal. She fell after slipping on some rocks and broke her back, the Record-Journal reports.

“After major surgery in Turkey, she returned stateside, and is now focusing on healing and rehabilitation,” according to a GoFundMe campaign that has been launched to assist the family with medical expenses. “Currently, huge efforts are being made to allow her to return home and to hopefully regain some feeling and movement in her lower body, which she currently does not have.”

In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, Chick-fil-A in North Haven is hosting a fundraising event on Monday, July 1 in support of the family. Chick-fil-A, located at 560 Universal Dr. N in North Haven, is hosting a “Pack the House” event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 1 in which 50 percent of the proceeds will go directly to the Carbaugh family.

Chick-fil-A in North Haven has strong ties to the Carbaugh family. Kayla Carbaugh worked at Chick-fil-A during summer breaks and her sister, Megan, was a Chick-fil-A scholarship winner and one of the team leaders, according to the GoFundMe page. Kayla’s father and brother are both pastors at Pond Hill Baptist Church in North Haven and have spearheaded many of the restaurant’s monthly “Family Nights” and the annual “Daddy-Daughter Date Nights,” according to the post.

More than $4,300 has been raised through the GoFundMe campaign as of Friday afternoon. For more information, or to make a donation, visit the GoFundMe page here.

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