From CTV Ottawa:
We all know life can change in the blink of an eye. Troy Kraus is living that reality. The 46-year-old Ottawa resident was the healthiest and strongest he had ever been until a simple fall on the ice. Troy Kraus made a huge change in his life a couple of years ago; he lost more than 200 pounds and got into better shape than he had been in his life. Then, sadly, life changed for him. That fall broke his neck, paralyzed him, but he’s determined to move forward.
There are a lot of things Troy Kraus lost that day he slipped on some ice. One of the biggest was his independence. But he refuses, despite all, to lose his optimism.
“I’m a happy guy,” he says, as he sits in a room at the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, “working towards a very strong goal and I’m going to get there.”
The 46-year-old network engineer already conquered one goal: he recently lost more than 200 pounds and was in the best shape ever until January 11.
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Here’s a link to Kraus’ gofundme page. His friends and family are hoping to raise $175,000 towards his care. Kraus lives in Kanata and has family in Stittsville.
“Albeit the Canadian medical and provincial systems provide care, there are a lot of things that are not covered. Post medical rehabilitation, personal care assistance, home modifications, a specialized electric wheelchair, multiple lifts, medical supplies, a hospital bed, and the list goes on.
In the first year some typical costs are: electric wheelchair: $30,000; patient lifts; $10-20,000; commode – $5,000, modified living space – $30-40,000 and the list goes on for daily living, etc. Costs associated with paralysis that are not covered by any medical system or insurance are estimated over a lifetime to exceed well beyond $3 million. With this, we have started this campaign.”