On the evening of April 5, 2023, our neighbor, Alexus Bond—a bright, beautiful, and brilliant 27-year-old with a full life ahead of her—suffered a severe asthma attack, prompting her family to call 911 for help. Alexus's mom, Toni Barnes, tried repeatedly to get through to the Office of Unified Communication's (OUC) 911 call-takers for several minutes, but kept getting put on hold. Toni ran across the street to our house to ask my husband and I to also try calling, which we did. We were also kept waiting on hold for several minutes.

Ten minutes after the first call was placed to 911, Alexus lost consciousness. Toni and I began performing CPR until EMS arrived minutes later.

In addition to OUC's unconscionably-long call-answering delays, we later discovered that OUC also botched the dispatch by failing to assign the closest medic unit to the call. It took almost a full two minutes before OUC swapped the medic assignments and dispatched the closest unit to Alexus's house, contributing further to the already-unacceptable delays.

Although EMTs were able to restore Alexus's pulse, she suffered an anoxic brain injury (caused by a lack of oxygen) after waiting for nearly 15 minutes for help to arrive. As a result of OUC's delays and dispatch errors, Alexus spent 30 days in the ICU, followed by eight weeks at a rehabilitation center. She now suffers from low vision, slurred speech, and requires assistance to perform basic functions, like eating, walking, and getting dressed, that many take for granted.

The last several months have taken an incredible toll on Alexus and her family, including her younger sister, who witnessed the traumatic events that occurred on April 5. Toni has been unable to work since Alexus's injury and now cares for her daughter full-time. Her family relies solely on her spouse's income now, leaving their formerly-double-income household in a very precarious financial position.

Alexus continues to require therapy and will likely need long-term care. As the reality of Alexus's long-term needs have become clearer, we've set up this Go Fund Me with the family's permission to help reduce their financial strain and give them one less thing to worry about so they can stay focused on taking care of their daughter.

Toni and her family are incredible friends and neighbors and have always been a source of support. Now it's our turn to support them. Any contribution you can provide would be immensely appreciated. If you aren't able to make a donation at this time, we would be grateful if you could share this with friends and family. All donations will go directly to Toni and her family to help pay the bills and cover the costs of Alexus's continued care.

With deepest gratitude,

Colleen + family

If you live in D.C., you can take free hands-only CPR classes. Please sign up. You could save a life!

You can read more about Alexus's story in the Washington Post, WUSA9 , and NBC4 .