"When I started my organization my love was to take care of my comrades because of the bond we had," explained Kelly Carroll, an Army and National Guard disabled veteran who founded the "R Place of Refuge" charity out of her home in Kent in 2000. "I wanted to continue to give back."

Carroll, 47, worked without a salary of her own in order to solicit donations and provide for hundreds of struggling veterans, homeless and less fortunate families in the Pacific Northwest. Then, in 2012, she went to have a medicinal pump installed to help her cope with severe back pain. Tragically, when Carroll awoke she found that she was completely paralyzed on her right side and left with almost insurmountable challenges.

"I feel helpless and I am tired of not being able to make a change myself," she sobbed. "I was always the one to fix it for other people and I can't now. I am in a dark place and I want to see the light again."

Her husband, Norm, has continued to work fulltime, despite his own medical challenges, and all the while he continues to care for Carroll, their five children and one grandchild.

"There are days where my good side is weak and I can't even hold a cup," admitted Carroll, who spends all of her time now in the family's living room. "My life has been destroyed in a physical sense - it is a whole other world."

The hope is to renovate the downstairs into handicap-accessible living quarters, giving Carroll access to a functional bathroom, a small kitchen where her medicine can be refrigerated and a dining island that she could reach from her wheelchair. The estimated price tag for the work is $125,000 in basic construction alone and doesn't include any Smarthome® technology features, which would allow Carroll to do many things on her own, and, in her own words "become an intricate part of the family again." Sadly, the family has already depleted most of its accounts and time and money are running low.

"I want him to get back to being my husband and not my caregiver," she said. "My kids are hostages in their own home trying to take care of me and I want them to be set free."

Brandner Communications, based in Federal Way, had partnered with Carroll and her charity for years and the company, now dedicated to helping her through this hardship, has set up a fundraiser in the hope of alleviating the family's financial strain.  

"Brandner is the hand that is reaching out and walking with me and I appreciate it," she added.  

To donate to the Carroll family and return the generosity they've shown for years, visit https://fundly.com/kelly-carroll by Jan. 18. Donations made after that time can be mailed directly to the Carroll family at P.O. Box 6478, Kent, WA, 98064.

"Sixteen months is a long time of looking at the same wall. I want to be able to have a testimony next year that tells how much I am doing for myself and for the charity again," said Carroll.