Guns 'N Hoses Ride 2020 Recipients
The Lewis Family
Phil Lewis is a Merriam Police Officer. In December of 2018 he began to not feel well, which started a string of doctor visits. By January of 2019, he was diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer and in the same month underwent surgery to remove the cancer. After an initially successful surgery, he soon developed complications that led to an infection which made him gravely ill. His organs began to shut down and he immediately underwent a second aggressive surgery to save his life. After undergoing kidney dialysis and a month stay in the hospital, he was left to learning to walk again and do basic tasks. After regaining his strength, he underwent 6 months of chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, an additional health setback put him back in the surgery room for two additional surgeries in December of 2019 to correct previous surgical complications in his abdomen. Phil is currently at home recovering with his family. He has not been able to work and bills not covered by insurance have become extensive.
The Rogers Family
Kaitlyn Rogers has been a dispatcher with the Overland Park Police Department for 5 years. In November of 2018, she was diagnosed with a chronic illness called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). EDS is a connective tissue disorder that affects the skin, joints, and blood vessels. It causes overly flexible joints, joint dislocations, extreme muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, brain fog, full body pain, bruising and scarring, migraines, and other issues. Kaitlyn is in constant intense pain and there is no cure for EDS.
What does relieve the pain is prolotherapy. Prolotherapy is a series of many injections, 800 – 1000, injected into the specified affected locations to repair weak and stretched joints. Each session last four hours and
costs $1600. The sessions are not covered by insurance. The treatments strengthened her joints and cut her pain levels in half, but they need to continue for the rest of her life.
Although she has been dealt this blow, she considers herself a warrior. Her motto is “I am a warrior. I fight an ugly war inside my body every day. I may not win the battle, but I won’t go down without a fight”.
The Olsen Family
Sarah Nauser-Olsen is a veteran Kansas City, Missouri Police Officer who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in May of 2018. She was a GNH family recipient in 2019 and since then has not stopped in her mission to not only be resilient and fight this battle head-on, but also educate people. She has been to Washington DC to speak out on finding a cure and she was featured on Nightline giving testimony on how important it is to begin effective treatment in the United States.
At the beginning of the year, she traveled to China for a series of stem cell transplants. Although not a cure, it is an effective treatment shown to stop or reverse some ALS symptoms. These treatments and travel are not covered by insurance. This first trip has cost her $30,000. Sarah has taken this fight head on and we are willing to take this road with her for a second time. #SarahsSoldiers