Kent Freeburg

My name is Carrie Freeburg. My husband Kent is an amazing husband, dad, son and friend. We have 2 unbelievable kids-Owen (11) and Anna (7). We are a super active family that is always playing sports, hiking, kayaking and traveling. This site is to keep family and friends updated as Kent has suffered a serious injury.

On August 23rd, Kent was at the Lake of the Ozarks. He was on a jet ski and had a collision with a boat. Kent was thrown into the water. Kent remembers landing in the water and swimming up to the surface. I am not sure if that was the life jacket pulling him up or what. His friend Mike was following him on a jet ski and jumped in the water to get to Kent. Mike was able to get to Kent quickly. When he got to Kent, Kent was face down in the water. Mike turned him over and supported him until the water medics arrived. We are so thankful that Mike got to Kent so quickly!!! After a minute or so, Kent told Mike that he couldn’t feel his legs. Kent was then air-lifted to the University Hospital at MU in Columbia, MO. I was able to drive to Columbia to be with Kent. They ran some tests at the hospital and were then able to transport Kent to a hospital back in Kansas City.

August 24th we received the confirmation that Kent’s spinal cord was severed-which is why he hasn’t felt his legs since the injury. We were told to prepare for him to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His doctor said that a surgery cannot fix Kent’s spine-only time and rehab can. His doctor also said that he’s seen spines do all sorts of things…

So here we are-a super close and active family navigating something completely foreign to us. We are moving forward preparing for life in a wheelchair while also having tremendous hope that our story is not yet written.

We appreciate your support, prayers and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for listening to our story and for joining us on this journey.