This month’s Infinite cause is Help Hope Live, a nonprofit that raises funds to help offset the staggering medical and living expenses due to organ transplants, catastrophic injuries, and illness. Funds will be raised in honor of Rebecca Aleck Koltun, a 22-year-old Plainview, NY resident, who at 21 was left paralyzed from the neck down after a tragic life-threatening skiing accident. 

In the wake of Rebecca’s devastating accidents, her parents, Scott and Audrey Koltun, not only had to cope with the overwhelming shock but also face exorbitant medical bills that are not covered by their health insurance. Rebecca currently requires around-the-clock care from specially trained nursing staff; regular physical, occupational, and respiratory therapies; and special equipment to get through the day, such as a custom wheelchair, adapted van, electric hospital bed and Hoyer lift, and a host of medical supplies. In the first year alone, the cost of Rebecca’s care exceeded $1 million in out-of-pocket expenses, and they estimate her care to cost between $200,000 and $300,000 per year for the rest of her life.  

Rebecca surviving this devastating accident is nothing short of a miracle. It is proof of her love for life and keen sense of purpose. Let us help families like Rebecca’s enjoy the miracle of survival rather than be overburdened by the financial challenges ahead. All contributions raised on behalf of Help Hope Live will help cover the cost of daily medical expenses for the Koltun family and other families in similar positions.  

About Help Hope Live 

For 38 years, Help Hope Live has been showing clients and families how to bring together a network of relatives, friends, and neighbors in fundraising efforts to help cover the cost of uncovered medical expenses. These efforts play a critical role in helping their clients recover and maintain their health and independence. 

Since 1983, they have helped thousands of people raise millions of dollars for Help Hope Live to pay a wide range of expenses, including out-of-pocket costs for medications, durable medical equipment, home health care, wheelchair-accessibility modifications, physical therapy, innovative treatments, medical travel and temporary relocation, even emergency living assistance. Their program has also helped thousands pay it forward and assist others with their medical expenses. 

Annually, they help place medical care within reach of about 5,000 families across the nation.