We've Got Kelly's Back

Join Kelly McDonald’s friends and family for a special benefit concert March 18 at 7pm at the OK Theatre in Enterprise. All proceeds go towards Kelly’s medical and rehabilitation expenses.
 
Friday's concert will feature a variety of music by local musicians including Bart Budwig, Janis Carper, Brian Oliver, Heidi Muller & Bob Webb and a special guest appearance by James Dean Kindle from Pendleton.
 
In addition to being a talented trumpet player, Wallowa County Search and Rescue volunteer, and mother to 18-year old Alex, Kelly owns a painting business in Lostine. On September 8, 2015 Kelly was working on a client's house when she fell from a 10-foot ladder, broke her back, and suffered an injury to her spinal cord. Immediately after her fall, Kelly had no movement or sensation below her waist. She was put on life-flight to Emanuel Hospital in Portland where she had spinal fusion surgery to repair her damaged vertebrae.
 
A few days after her surgery, Kelly was transferred to the Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon (RIO) to begin the first steps in her recovery process. Not one to waste time feeling sorry for herself, she treated her therapy like a full-time job, asking questions, taking on every challenge presented, and working to get stronger. She was soon known around the floor as a “rock star,” and much to the amazement of her medical team, was soon headed back to Wallowa County. She spent the next four months living with her parents, Glenn and Judy McDonald, regaining strength, teaching her body to stand, crawl, and eventually beginning to walk with a walker. Twice-weekly trips to La Grande for physical therapy, and weekly trips to the pool became part of her regular routine, none of which would have been possible without the help and support of her family.
 
Since January, Kelly has been concentrating on rebuilding muscle strength, and on walking as much as she can. “I am spending a lot more time with the walker at home and I am venturing outside since the snow and ice is disappearing.” She has begun working with a cane in physical therapy, saying “it is exciting and terrifying at the same time.” The result? In February, she moved back home to Lostine. Her son is a huge part of her recovery. Kelly says “My son Alex has been an amazing help. I couldn't do it without him.”