Give me a chance

Dear Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and UnitedHealthcare Oxford Team,

My name is Raizel Lamm, and I am writing on my own behalf to formally and urgently request for acceptance into Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and for approval of coverage for acute inpatient rehabilitation during my current hospital admission.

I am currently hospitalized at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where my care has unfortunately been significantly compromised due to a lack of coordination with my established medical team at Mayo Clinic and a failure to accurately recognize and manage my documented diagnoses. As a result, my treatment during this admission has not aligned with my known medical history or with the approaches that have previously allowed me to maintain and regain function.

I am a highly motivated individual whose life prior to this hospitalization was centered around independence, physical conditioning, and consistent rehabilitation progress. I have repeatedly demonstrated strong engagement, compliance, and effort in therapy, and I am fully committed to doing the work required to return to my baseline.

Mayo Clinic knows my case thoroughly. They have followed me longitudinally and understand both the complexity of my conditions and the treatment strategies that are effective for my body. Their documentation supports the need for specialized, coordinated rehabilitation rather than prolonged acute hospitalization without forward progress. Unfortunately, Jersey Shore University Medical Center has refused to communicate directly with my Mayo Clinic medical team, which has directly impacted the quality and direction of my care.

For clarity, my diagnoses include:

• An incomplete spinal cord injury resulting from a lumbar puncture performed as a newborn
• Primary immunodeficiency

In addition, my Mayo Clinic physicians have documented the following autoimmune and neurological conditions as complications that developed as a result of me getting injured from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine:

• Autoimmune encephalitis
• Lupus
• Guillain-Barré syndrome
• Functional Neurological Disorder that is physiologic and trauma-based, not psychiatric or emotionally driven

Prior to this admission, I was doing very well in outpatient physical therapy and making meaningful gains in strength, endurance, and functional mobility. A hemiplegic migraine caused a temporary setback; however, this is precisely the type of regression that responds best to short-term, intensive acute inpatient rehabilitation.

My long-term outpatient physical therapist at Kessler Outpatient Rehabilitation in Howell, New Jersey strongly supports my admission to Kessler Acute Rehabilitation. She very much knows my baseline, my capabilities, and my work ethic, and she believes I am an excellent candidate who can return to baseline with approximately one to two weeks of focused inpatient therapy.

I have big goals and I know I can and will acheive them all.
Here are just a few:
• Returning to handcycling
• Getting back to adaptive dance
• Continue training to self-propel my manual wheelchair for next year’s NYC Marathon
• Acheive higher at adaptive karate

I am not requesting indefinite care. I am requesting placement in the correct level of care so that I can recover efficiently and safely.
Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation has the neurological rehabilitation expertise and interdisciplinary coordination that my case requires. Approval from UnitedHealthcare Oxford would allow me to focus on recovery rather than navigating systemic barriers while hospitalized at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

I am motivated, informed, and ready to work. I am asking for the opportunity to receive the care that will allow me to return to my prior level of function and continue moving forward.

Thank you for your time, consideration, and attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,
Raizel Lamm