Friends Of Plainview Family Rally Around Paralyzed 21-Year-Old

PLAINVIEW, NY — Scott and Audrey Aleck Koltun of Plainview received devastating news two weeks ago: their 21-year-old daughter Rebecca was injured in a ski accident, resulting in a spinal cord injury and quadriplegia. Friends and neighbors of the family have joined forces to raise money for what will be exorbitant medical care costs through a HelpHopeLive donation page.

"In the first year alone, the cost of Rebecca’s care will likely exceed $1 million in out-of-pocket expenses, and there will be additional costs for modifying their home and purchasing the equipment necessary to address her needs, such as a customized van, specialized exercise equipment for strengthening and preventing atrophy of her muscles and a wheelchair, as well as a home care provider to help with her daily tasks and exercise," family friend Wendy Mensch wrote on the donation page.

Robin Bernstein is another friend of the Koltuns who shared the family's ordeal on social media, hoping help from the community might alleviate at least some of the financial challenges to come.

"I know Rebecca is a fighter. That she even survived this accident is nothing short of a miracle," Bernstein wrote.

Koltun was a college senior about to graduate college when she had the life-threatening ski accident. 20 EMTs and medical professionals were able to save her life, but now Koltun is paralyzed from the neck down.

"She can see, hear and understand, but is unable to move her arms or legs, and she can’t breathe on her own: She will be dependent on a ventilator for the foreseeable future. The injury to her spinal cord—C1-C2, incomplete—is similar to that suffered years ago by actor Christopher Reeve."

She will need months of rehabilitation, almost constant medical care, and intensive therapy to see if she can regain any function in the critical first year after her injury.

Help Hope Live is lesser known than GoFundMe, Mensch explained, but it's an organization that has been around for 40 years.

"We have chosen to fundraise for the Koltuns through Help Hope Live because the organization assures fiscal accountability for funds raised. You can be sure your donation will be used to pay or reimburse medical and care-related expenses."

The organization estimates the lifetime cost of a spinal cord injury ranges from $1.5 to $4.7 million dollars for a person injured at a young age.

"We all know and love Rebecca as a strong, smart, ambitious, funny and determined young woman. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that she was planning to attend medical school after graduating from Binghamton University this May. And we have no doubt Rebecca will approach the challenges she now faces with the same passion and fortitude. She already is," Mensch wrote.