Chicago, Illinois. It was back in her junior year of high school that 20-year-old Corporal Kelsee Lainhart decided that she wanted to be a Marine.
Kelsee wanted to give back in the biggest way, and so just after she graduated from high school, she went straight to boot camp.
Kelsee completed boot camp, and then she was ready to go on her very first overseas deployment.
She was thrilled about this new adventure, even after she learned where she would be going.
“Never did her family expect her to be in Afghanistan, but she had no fear,” Kelsee’s family explained on a GoFundMe page for her.
“She felt like she was helping so many women and children in hopes of them having a better future.”
“A day before the accident, she said she was sad about anyone that might be left behind. She is truly a selfless person, a complete bad***, and a true hero!!
It was August 26th, and Kelsee was at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, helping to evacuate people out of the country when a suicide bomber attacked the airport.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Kelsee in uniform
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The attack tragically resulted in 13 members of our military losing their lives, one of which was Kelsee’s best friend and fellow Marine, Sgt. Nicole Gee.
At least 18 more military members were severely wounded, and Kelsee sadly was one of the Marines that suffered horrific injuries. She was left paralyzed from the waist down after the attack.
Cpl. Wyatt Wilson was another military member who was injured that day, yet he was able to pull Kelsee to safety despite suffering shrapnel injuries and trauma to his face and chest.
Kelsee was airlifted from Kabul to a hospital located in Germany, and from there, she was transported to the Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland.
Kelsee was awarded a Purple Heart while in Maryland for her bravery. Last month, Kelsee moved to a rehabilitation facility in Chicago, where this selfless Marine is facing down an incredibly long road in the process of her recovery.
This past Veteran’s Day, Kelsee’s mom Stacey shared a message on the GoFundMe page created to help Kelsee with her medical expenses.
The reality that Kelsee is facing is that not all of the specialists she’s going to see and not all of her medical expenses will be covered, leaving her to pay out of pocket for things she really needs in order to have the best chance at getting better.
CaringBridge; pictured above Kelsee smiles
“This girl deserves the world for her sacrifice,” Stacey wrote. “In my mind, if a million people donated $1, she’d have a million dollars to be able to look at experimental treatments to help with recovery, pay for non-standard rehab that isn’t paid by the military, help her for future needs, make her life easier in the future.”
Stacey did acknowledge that significant money has been raised so far for Kelsee, but it’s quickly getting depleted.
Kelsee bought herself a new pair of Nike’s before she got injured as a homecoming present to herself, and one of the goals she has set for herself is able to put them on all by herself one day soon.
CaringBridge; pictured above are Kelsee’s Nikes
Recently, Kelsey’s mom shared in a CaringBridge update a few days ago that Kelsee was able to graduate from inpatient to outpatient this Thanksgiving.
“She got to come home for a few days and it was so nice to have her home,” Stacey said. “It was an eye-opener how much harder her life is right now.”
“Our home is not set up for wheelchair access, but we made it work and figured it out. It was a good trial run to know what we will need to modify in our home for when she comes home again.”
Kelsee’s family found her an apartment in Chicago after she got to spend a few days home with them, and her apartment is close to Shirley Ryan.
“It’s not fully accessible for her needs right now, but we’ve made it work,” Stacey continued. “She now has the ability to sleep all night long without being woken up by a nurse, woohoo! Granted, it’s a lot more time planning on her part and ours, but the benefits outweigh the negatives.”
“She goes to her research sessions, occupational therapy, and physical therapy every day as she had in the last, but has the freedom to live at “home”…her new apartment.”
Stacey noted that the rent prices in Chicago are extremely high, so the apartment Kelsee is living in is just temporary until they are able to find an affordable apartment that they can rent for her short term.
“She is enjoying her newfound freedom,” Stacey said about Kelsee living on her own. “She has been able to get out and do some Christmas shopping, lunches, and dinner at restaurants, and even got her toes professionally manicured.”
If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe page to help support Kelsee in her recovery, you can do that here.
You can visit the CaringBridge created for Kelsee here for updates on her road to recovery, and if you would like to send mail to Kelsee here is her address, below: