Cassandra's 4th of July Recovery

On July 4th, what should have been a day of celebration turned into one of the scariest experiences of her life. Newport Beach saw a massive, chaotic crowd descend on the area that day, and in the middle of that chaos, Cassandra was pushed off her e-bike and hit the ground hard. She lost consciousness. She woke up to strangers standing over her who had already called for medics.

She was rushed to Hoag Hospital, and everything after that was a blur of fear and pain. She was given morphine in the ER just to manage what she was feeling. The doctors ran CT scans and X-rays, and she was placed in a neck brace to protect against possible spinal injury while they figured out how serious the damage was.

Physically, she's still not okay. She hasn't been sleeping well, and her body still feels off in ways she can't fully explain yet. But it's not just physical. The suddenness and violence of what happened has stayed with her, and processing the emotional weight of it all has made it hard to even focus on healing.

She was told to follow up with a doctor within three days of being discharged, but honestly, she doesn't know where to start. She doesn't have a specialist lined up, and she's still trying to figure out who she even needs to see, an orthopedist, a neurologist, a trauma therapist. If anyone reading this has recommendations, she would be so grateful to hear them.

On top of all of this, she's now facing the medical bills that come with an ER visit like this: the ambulance, the scans, the X-rays, the ER care itself, and whatever follow-up treatment she still needs. To make things even harder, Cassandra does not have health insurance, so these costs are falling entirely on her. It's a lot to carry on top of everything else.

In the days since, the Newport Beach Police Association released a statement commending officers for their work responding to the crowd that day, describing the event as an "attempted July 4th TikTok Takeover" and noting that officers were significantly outnumbered while managing the situation. Because this is still an ongoing investigation, the City of Newport Beach has not confirmed whether it will assist in covering any of Cassandra's medical bills, which means the financial burden currently rests entirely on her and the support of people willing to help.

Any contribution, big or small, would mean the world to her right now. The funds raised here will go directly toward covering these medical expenses and the ongoing care she needs to feel safe and whole again.

From Cass:

I am so grateful for the people who witnessed what happened to me and even tried to chase down the group responsible. Knowing strangers cared enough to help means more than I can put into words. Any support, whether it's a donation, a shared post, or just a kind message, means so much to me as I recover from this. Thank you for reading my story and for anything you're able to offer.