Helping Riley's Family

Hi everyone! My name is Whitney, I am Rachael's sister. I am setting this up to help Rachael and Matt with their expenses. Tragedy struck on Monday, December 12th around noon as Matt was driving with their 3 year old son, Riley and their 19 month old, Piper. A man had a seizure and blew through a red light going about 50mph and T-boned their minivan (right where Riley was sitting) as they were going through the intersection. Their van then slid into another vehicle.The impact caused Riley's door to fold in towards him. The metal and glass cut open his forehead. Then the impact of that forced his head so hard into the car seat that he fractured the back/side of his skull. Matt, while hurt, was putting pressure on Riley's wound to stop the bleeding. A witness to the crash stepped in to get Piper and keep her safe (she only had minor injuries from her seat belts and had been rear-facing still). Riley was stuck and Matt didn't want to move him. During that time, he lost consciousness on Matt (who thought he died). The firefighters arrived and tried everything they could to get the door open but it wouldn't budge. They finally had to wiggle Riley through the window with Matt's help. Matt got in the ambulance with Riley... and the witness, who completely soothed Piper and calmed her down, rode with Piper in another ambulance. Riley had stopped breathing at one point, but thankfully he was in good hands. When they got to the ER, family started showing up and Rachael was finally able to be with them. Rachael watched over as they stabilized Riley. She stayed by his side to tell him he would be ok, not knowing if it would. Matt got reunited with Piper and helped them take X-rays of her hand (which was ok). When I was able to go back there, to watch over Piper as Matt got checked out - I finally saw my little sister... she was devastated and terrified. I hugged her and loved her as Riley was going through a CT scan. I also saw Matt, who was beside himself with fear for his two youngest children. The doctors finally told them that Riley was going to be sedated for surgery, to clean up the gash on his forehead (which was down to the bone). Matt and Piper hadn't been discharged yet, so they got separated again. Matt could barely move his left shoulder, his ribs on the right side hurt, and his left knee was killing him. They told him he was banged up, thankfully nothing broken. We were able to leave the ER around 4:45pm. We walked to the Children's Castle and spotted Rachael and Matt's two oldest daughters, Raylee and Rihanna. Then we walked into Riley's room in the ICU.I can't explain the gut wrenching pain caused by seeing his little body hooked up to those machines. Seeing his mom in a state of shock, but so thankful for the care she was getting for her son, thankful that he was alive. Seeing Matt lean over his son and place his forehead on his belly. Seeing the two of them finally back together. Seeing them all alive and fighting to be ok. Riley was taken off the sedation meds around 5pm. But that night, he didn't wake up.... The next morning, he didn't wake up... but they took him off the breathing tube and let mom and dad hold him. You could tell he was in there, he moaned in pain and squeezed hands when someone held them and talked to him. The next evening he still didn't wake up... then Wednesday came and he was still not waking up. The doctors are discussing putting in a feeding tube to get him some nutrition now - we will see.His dad, the witnesses, the firefighters, the police officers, the paramedics, the nurses, the doctors and the staff at the ER saved this little boys life. He is fighting with every bone in his body. He has a strong spirit and a will to live. He will make it through this... we know he will.In the mean time, I want to help Rachael and Matt. I don't want them to worry about the insurance claim, the down payment funds for a new car, the groceries, the medical bills, missing a paychecks, keeping the lights on, etc. I want them to focus on healing. So please, if you can - donate here to help them recover what they lost. Help them focus on the only thing they should have to worry about... Riley. Namaste.