Keila Flores

Help Hope Live

Trusted Medical Fundraising  •  helphopelive.org  •  800.642.8399

Help Keila Heal

A Caregiver Who Gave Everything — And Needs Us Now

Monroe, New York  |  Orange County

I wasn’t thinking about statistics that evening in July 2025 when I reported for my 3–11 PM shift. I was just showing up — the way I always did — ready to care for the people depending on me.

That’s who Keila is.

She is a Certified Nursing Assistant from Monroe, New York — a woman who left the Bronx over twenty years ago with her husband and two sons, searching for something quieter and more stable after the upheaval of 9/11. She traded city wages for a slower pace, a smaller paycheck, and a community where she could plant roots and be present for her family.

Over the years, she found her calling. She moved from Personal Care Assistant to Home Health Aide, earned her Clinical Medical Assistant certification in 2023, and became a CNA — not because it was easy, but because it meant something. Every shift, nine residents counted on her. She never took that lightly.

The Night Everything Changed

It was an ordinary Tuesday evening. Keila was partway through her shift at the “Pavilion” — a nursing home in Warwick, NY — when she was assisting a resident with toileting. She did what every good caregiver does: she used her own body to support someone who couldn’t support themselves.

In that moment, she felt something give way on her left side.

By the next morning — July 22, 2025 — she couldn’t go back. The pain was too real, too persistent, too wrong. What began as a single moment of strain would unravel into nearly a year of physical suffering, financial hardship, and a fight just to be believed and treated.

What Came Next Was Harder Than the Injury

In the weeks and months that followed, Keila lived with sharp nerve pain radiating from her left side, difficulty bending or lifting, and nights broken by pain. At one point, she was cleared to return to work — and she tried. But the physical demands of caregiving made the injury worse, and she had to stop again.

It took over seven months to receive an accurate diagnosis.

Eventually, specialists confirmed what her body had been telling her all along: she had a recurrent ventral hernia with Spigelian defects — a serious condition requiring surgery. Along the way, she faced a denied Workers’ Compensation claim, benefits reduced without explanation, and had to stand before a judge— just to have her payments reinstated and her surgery approved.

Research shows nearly 1 in 3 injured workers experience significant mental health effects — with the likelihood increasing by 72% for those navigating compensation systems.

Source: Wadhwa S. et al., Workplace Injury Compensation and Mental Health Outcomes, National Library of Medicine (2024)

Keila knows those numbers now. She lived them.

“The stress became overwhelming,” she says. “I felt lost, powerless, and at times invisible within a system I had trusted to protect workers like me. For a while, it felt like there was no way forward.”

A Step Forward: Surgery Approved

After months of fighting, something finally went right. In April 2026, Keila’s Workers’ Compensation insurer approved prior authorization for hernia repair surgery — a robot-assisted ventral hernia reconstruction. Her surgeon, Dr. Frank Aversano of Ramapo Valley Surgical Associates in Suffern, submitted the authorization request, and it was granted on April 16, 2026.

The surgery is now pending scheduling. For the first time in nearly a year, there is a clear path forward toward healing.

Approved Procedure:

Repair of recurrent incisional/ventral hernia, incarcerated or strangulated

Approved Provider: Ramapo Valley Surgical Associates, Suffern, NY

Authorization Granted: April 16, 2026 by Workers’ Compensation Insurer

Status: Surgery pending — Keila is ready.

Where You Come In

Workers’ Compensation will cover the surgery itself. But it does not cover everything.

Since November 2025, Keila has been without consistent health insurance that was terminated while she was still receiving Workers’ Compensation benefits, leaving her exposed at the worst possible time. She has been paying out of pocket for appointments, medications, and everyday needs while waiting for her surgery and navigating her case.

The gap between what the system covers and what a real human recovery actually costs — that’s where Help Hope Live steps in. And that’s where you can make a difference.

What this campaign will help cover:

Pre- and post-surgical appointments and evaluations

Prescription medications during recovery

Transportation to and from medical visits (Suffern, Westchester, New York City)

Physical therapy and rehabilitation following hernia repair

Medical supplies and home recovery support

Out-of-pocket expenses and co-pays not covered by Workers’ Compensation

Outstanding medical bills from her many treating facilities

Keila’s average weekly wage before her injury was approximately $700 as a full time CNA. Every week she has been unable to work is a week her family has felt the absence of that income. Every dollar raised through this campaign goes directly toward her verified medical and recovery expenses — no exceptions.

“Then I Found Help Hope Live”

Those are Keila’s own words.

Help Hope Live gave me a structured, reliable way to seek help during one of the most difficult times in my life. Their guidance has given me something I hadn’t felt in a long time — a way forward that I don’t have to navigate completely alone.

Help Hope Live is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has helped thousands of families across the country fundraise for critical, uninsured medical expenses. All funds raised in Keila’s honor are held in a Regional Restricted Fund and paid directly to medical vendors or reimbursed for documented expenses. Their administrative fee is just 3% for check and money order donations.

This isn’t charity for its own sake. It is a community coming together for someone who spent her career coming through for others.

How to Support Keila

Donate by Check or Money Order

Make checks or money orders payable to Help Hope Live, with “In honor of Keila Flores” in the memo line. Mail to:

Help Hope Live

2 Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 100

100 Matsonford Road, Radnor, PA 19087

Memo: In honor of Keila Flores

Donate Online

Online donations can be made at helphopelive.org. Credit card and eCheck donations are accepted (5.65% fee applies, which includes Help Hope Live’s 3% admin fee plus the secure third-party processing fee).

Share Her Story

You don’t have to give money to make a difference. Share this campaign with your friends, your family, your coworkers, your neighbors. Every person who reads Keila’s story is someone who might help — or know someone who can.

Organize a Community Fundraiser

Dinners, auctions, raffles, collections — if you’d like to organize an event in Keila’s honor, reach out to Help Hope Live’s Client Services team first for guidance. All fundraising activities must be approved in advance. Call 800.642.8399 or visit helphopelive.org.

From Keila, With Gratitude

“I have spent my career caring for others.

Now I am humbled to ask for care in return.

I am fighting to get better — for myself, for my family,

and so I can return to the work that has always given my life meaning.

Any support — a donation, a shared post, a kind word — means everything to me.”

Keila Flores  |  Monroe, NY  |  (917) 716-8507  |  [email protected]

Help Hope Live  |  800.642.8399  |  helphopelive.org

Help Hope Live is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Contributions are generally tax deductible.