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Rebecca Aleck Koltun Needs Your Help

In March 2021, 21-year-old Rebecca was in a tragic skiing accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down. Please help her get the spinal cord injury care and rehab she so urgently needs. ( If you want to follow Rebecca’s journey to recovery, scroll down and click “Subscribe.” For information on fundraising and other activities, join our private Facebook group, Rally for Rebecca.)
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Updates (87)

June 4, 2023

Dearest Friends and Family:

Now that the series Succession is over and I have finished, Jewish Matchmaking on Netflix, I have some time to do an update. There is much to report so buckle your seatbelts!

Since the time of my last update Chat GBT has become a big thing. I want to assure you all that Chat GBT played no role in writing this update. I am doing it the old fashioned way.

As many of you know Rebecca's second annual 5K race took place this past Saturday over Memorial Day. It was an unbelievable success as there were over 700 participants. This far surpassed the turnout for the previous year. The weather was beautiful. Thanks to all of the wonderful sponsors and volunteers there were plenty of bananas, corn muffins, bagels and water for everyone.

We want to thank all the volunteers and the entire Plainview community who helped make the event run so smoothly. We especially want to thank the "Executive Committee" including the entire Mensch and Brenner families who work year-round to stage this fantastic event! We also want to thank the Gulotta's and Michelle Schneider who were also part of the committee. We are very fortunate to have such great friends! A special thank you to all of the sponsors! By the way, Rebecca does the entire 5K in her chair.

The 5K event not only serves as a much-needed fundraiser for Rebecca but it also helps bring about more awareness for those with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). We read about advances that are taking place for SCI and are of course cautiously optimistic that one day those advances can help Rebecca. In the meantime however we would like to see commercial airlines make a simple accommodation and provide space so that Rebecca can fly sitting in her wheelchair.

Rebecca if she is ever to fly anywhere, cannot fly commercial. She needs to be in her chair as she can not transfer to a regular seat. If the airlines did something as simple as removing a seat to provide an empty space for her chair, she could in fact fly just like you or me. I hope the CEO of Delta or Jet Blue reads this or even the head of the FAA.

In addition to the 5k, Rebecca also got to see Taylor Swift at Met Life Stadium the Sunday after the race. Many of you know this as she posted TikToks about the show. As her chauffeur, I got to listen to the concert from the parking lot. We could hear it loud and clear. There were thousands of teenage girls in the parking lot who presumably could not get tickets to the show. As one friend of mine aptly pointed out, Taylor Swift is their Rolling Stones.

Earlier in May Rebecca was invited to speak on a panel at an event at Glen Cove Hospital. The event focused on patient care at the hospital and advancements that have been made there. Audrey and I attended and it was a great chance to catch up with some of the staff there that we had not seen since Rebecca's discharge. Rebecca spoke beautifully. It was also enlightening to hear the other panel members speak as well. They were all former patients who had suffered traumatic injuries or had developed illnesses that impaired their cognitive and motor functions.

In the past couple of months, we have had several visitors stay with us. Audrey's parents came to visit in March to help celebrate Audrey's 60th. Audrey's sister Debra was up here for the 5K along with Audrey's dear friend from Denver, Lisa. My cousin Cheryl who lives outside of San Francisco also visited with us for five days in April. It was a delight having all of these guests as they bring such good energy.

That about sums it up. As for me, I have been trying to understand the origins of the universe and Planck density when I am not working. Audrey also is busy working. When not working she enjoys using the Swiffer, getting her nails done and shopping online for shoes. As for our dog Ollie he likes when we put tsatziki sauce in his food.

Thank you all for your continued interest and support.

Love to all, Audrey, Scott, Erik and Rebecca.

March 12, 2023

Dearest Friends and Family:

This Monday, March 13th, will be the two-year anniversary of Rebecca's accident.

To mark this occasion, I am writing this update, however quite honestly, I am struggling with what to say.

You see lately I am trying to only think forward. In the same vein, however I have a desire to speak to groups and organizations and share our story because it is such a compelling one.

I can say that we are trying as best as we can to normalize our lives although a part of me would retort that none of this will ever be normal.

We have more or less settled into routines. We work. We exercise. We socialize. We cook. We go out to dinner. We go shopping. We sleep. We get pissed off about stupid stuff. We laugh. We have good days and we have bad days.....just like everyone else.

Two things for sure:

We have had a lot of help along the way and Rebecca is truly a remarkable person.

We continue to welcome your support. Below is a link for Rebecca’s 5k which will take place on May 27, 2023.

Love to all,

The Koltun Family

events.elitefeats.com

2023 Rally for Rebecca 5K (elitefeats.com)

Photo Galleries (5)

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Guestbook

May 30, 2023

Stay strong Rebecca. You are an inspiration for us all. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family.

Joanne Ditchik

May 29, 2023

Happy to suuper Rebecca as you discover all your abilities post-accident. From Kerry Ring’s Uncle Bill

William Schineller

May 27, 2023

❤️ from Chris and Brian!

Chris Smellie