Benefit raises thousands of dollars for woman paralyzed in sledding accident

Saturday, a benefit for a Columbia woman who was paralyzed waist down in a sledding accident raised thousands of dollars.

In February, Kathleen Oglesby, 20, hit a tree sledding down a hill in southwest Columbia near the Country Club of Missouri on La Rail Drive. Oglesby broke five ribs, shattered several vertebrae, fractured her wrist, collarbone and shoulder blade and still has no movement in her legs.

A benefit put on by friends at Our Lady of Lourdes Church raised $11,500 dollars Saturday. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go toward Oglesby for medical bills, a remodel to make her bathroom wheelchair-accessible and a car with hand controls so she is able to drive, according to benefit organizer Ashley Adams.

“It’s kind of overwhelming,” Oglesby said. “I didn’t think there were gonna be this many people. But it’s awesome that there’s so many people here, and I really appreciate it.”

Oglesby said she plans to return to the University of Missouri in the fall and is excited to go back to school, be with friends and live a semi-normal life again.

“I’ve come a long ways just in the last couple months,” Oglesby said. “I don’t know, just being able to do stuff on my own. Every day I’m getting to do something new, which is awesome cause it’s just encouraging,”

Oglesby said she still has hope that she will be able to walk again one day.

“Some people five years later they’re able to walk again, some people it’s like a couple months,” Oglesby said. “My spinal cord wasn’t completely damaged, like separated, so that’s a good sign it means that there’s still hope.”