SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (KTVK/KPHO/Gray News) – An Arizona grandmother is battling a brain injury caused by a freak workplace accident that happened while she was helping a woman bring groceries to her car.
Lynn Knutson, 63, loves spending time with her grandson and family, but it’s not easy. She has an assortment of health issues, all stemming from a freak accident a few years ago when she was working at a Trader Joe’s grocery store in Scottsdale.
“I had headaches. Then, my speech started to slur, so much so that I could barely get words out,” Lynn Knutson said. “Then, when I’d try to walk, I’d be falling like this.”
The 63-year-old grandmother doesn’t remember much about the accident that happened while she was helping a customer bring groceries to her SUV. She says the woman accidentally dropped the back hatch of her SUV on top of her head, causing a severe brain injury. That woman drove off and hasn’t been seen since.
“People are like, ‘Oh, did you go unconscious?’” Lynn Knutson said. “I don’t know. ‘Did you get up off the ground?’ I don’t know. I have no memory of that.”
Ever since that day, the grandmother’s life has not been the same. She’s been in and out of hospitals and doctor’s offices and has been unable to return to work as she continues to struggle with blurred vision, memory problems and balance. She’s also extremely sensitive to light.
“Florescent lights, halogen lights, LED lights, which are everywhere, it messes up my central nervous system,” Lynn Knutson said.
She has vision charts posted in her living room to help focus and a list of goals to stay positive.
Lynn’s son, Tyler Knutson, says his mom is on disability, but that doesn’t come close to paying the sky-high medical bills that have made it difficult for her to pay for other things, like food and electricity.
The family has set up an online fundraising campaign to help Lynn Knutson get the care she needs.
“It’s always heartwarming to see when people give out of their own pockets to help others,” Tyler Knutson said. “I would definitely like to see her get the funding she needs to get the treatment she needs because the treatment is expensive. My hope is that she gets better. That’s what I ultimately want to see.”
Lynn Knutson said that workers’ compensation covered some of her early medical bills, but the case was later dropped. Despite her legal fight to challenge that decision, no additional assistance has been provided.
