Kari Donnelly is a patient who was in a snowmobile accident.
History[]
Kari and her child, Toby, were snowmobiling when they crashed and the snowmobile rolled. Kari and Toby were airlifted to the hospital. Kari had neck and back pain, so she had an x-ray, which showed that her neck was broken. An MRI showed that the damage went all the way down to her lumbar spine. They operated to decompress her spine, but during surgery, she suddenly lost signal to all four limbs. Toby was told that their mother would be paralyzed from the neck down. ("Add It Up")
The doctors came to Kari and her child with a new treatment that was being tested which involved stem cells being directly injected into her spine. She agreed to have the treatment and the stem cells were injected during surgery. ("Head Over High Heels")
After the injection, the doctors continued to monitored Kari, but there was no sign of mobility in her upper limbs. ("What I Did for Love")
Thirteen days after her transfusion, Kari still had no movement in her arms and had pneumonia. A CT revealed a lesion on her lung, so they had to remove a portion of her lung. Despite these setbacks, she said she didn't regret it because she was finally living her life in a way that made her happy, which had been inspired by Toby coming out to her. ("Drawn to the Blood")
Shortly after her surgery, Kari's finger twitched. They thought it might just be a spasm, but monitored her just in case. Just when she was about to give up on it, she squeezed Toby's hand. They celebrated and she had even more purposeful movement of her hand and fingers, showing that the stem cells had been a success. ("Jump Into the Fog")
Relationships[]
Familial[]
According to her child, Toby, she is the one who always has the answers and knows what to do and is always pushing Toby to be brave.
Notes and Trivia[]
- She was 50 at the time of her hospitalization.
- According to Toby, she drives too fast, at least on snowmobiles.
Gallery[]
Episodic[]
Appearances[]
| Grey's Anatomy, Season 15 | |||||
| #01 | "With a Wonder and a Wild Desire" | #10 | "Help, I'm Alive" | #19 | "Silent All These Years" |
| #02 | "Broken Together" | #11 | "The Winner Takes It All" | #20 | "The Whole Package" |
| #03 | "Gut Feeling" | #12 | "Girlfriend in a Coma" | #21 | "Good Shepherd" |
| #04 | "Momma Knows Best" | #13 | "I Walk the Line" | #22 | "Head Over High Heels" |
| #05 | "Everyday Angel" | #14 | "I Want a New Drug" | #23 | "What I Did for Love" |
| #06 | "Flowers Grow Out of My Grave" | #15 | "We Didn't Start the Fire" | #24 | "Drawn to the Blood" |
| #07 | "Anybody Have a Map?" | #16 | "Blood and Water" | #25 | "Jump Into the Fog" |
| #08 | "Blowin' in the Wind" | #17 | "And Dream of Sheep" | ||
| #09 | "Shelter from the Storm" | #18 | "Add It Up" | ||